GACacademy-latest-updates

eNewsletter April 2012

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Corporate Academy eNews

eNEWSLETTER APRIL 2012

GCA Courses: What’s In It For Me? Part 1

These days, the pressures on our time are enormous. As a result, before starting any course with GCA, it is essential that participants understand what’s in it for them, or what they will take away from the course to help them in their job. In this article we will feature the thoughts of just some of our participants, talking about “What’s in it for me?” in the courses. Adding Value The value in GCA courses comes from the fact that the courses are designed by GAC subject matter experts to be aligned with VY-GV objectives, and are run by GCA to meet the local need.
“Learning should be continuous, regular and conscious effort. Over five years, GCA has been continuing to add courses which are adding value to individuals personally and professionally in meeting company objectives.” Wilfred Nazareth, Customer Service Manager, Freight, GAC Dubai		“Tailor-made courses, like tailor-made suits, fit best! GCA courses cut the unnecessary clutter that generic external courses often have thereby increasing effectiveness and shortening learning times.” Daniel Jenkins, Assistant Manager IT, GAC Oman

GAC as a Learning Organisation Because GCA courses involve sharing the real experiences of GAC people all over the world, the learning never stops. GCA courses help to build GAC into learning organisation where knowledge, experiences and learning are constantly shared even though we work in different offices all over the world.
“After my IGW course, I find I am explaining our history to my colleagues and customers so that they understand that we have good network and strong team as well.” Abdussamed Koyappathodi, Customer & Cargo Services Coordinator, GAC Saudi Arabia		“This course has provided me with a considerable amount of extra information about GAC’s core businesses, variety of services and strengths. Now I feel that I have much more to offer to my customers when I approach them to explore new business options.” Pramod Kumar, Customer Service Manager, 3PL, GAC Dubai
Part 2 of this article will appear in our June e-Newsletter.

Profile

Group IT Learns with GCA

This month we spoke with Mattias Sundstrom, GAC Group IT Director, about the importance of learning and development in the IT department and role of GAC Corporate Academy in achieving its learning outcomes.

“The Information Technology field is an integral part of the knowledge-based ‘new economy’ and with this focus on knowledge it means that IT people are committed to undertake lifelong learning. Past are the days where you could prepare for your entire career in the beginning of your life and in the IT field we spend probably more time than any other discipline on learning.”

He further elaborated on this, pointing out that although IT staff need to spend a lot of time learning their own subject, “We also need to learn other fields such as finance, operations and more in order to understand the needs and provide solutions. Group IT is involved in many GCA courses such as Introduction to the GAC World (IGW), Air Freight Operations (AFO), Ocean Freight Operations (OFO), Shipping Agency Operations (SAO), GAC Financial Essentials (GFE) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). These courses provide us with a common terminology and a basic understanding for other functions from which we can continue and learn.”

“Group IT is committed to every team member taking part in at least one GCA course over the year”, Sundstrom said, and this clearly demonstrates Group IT’s high level of ongoing commitment to GCA’s learning programs.

Course Feature

Ocean Freight Operations

Ocean Freight Operations (OFO) is a new course from GCA, designed to give an understanding of the ocean freight forwarding business within the GAC World. The course introduces a commercial focus to our ocean freight business, building operations that contribute to our bottom line. By operating in a smart and efficient way using techniques like consolidation, profitable outcomes can be achieved.

“This course serves as a good foundation to new entrants in Ocean Freight Operations and serves as a refresher to those already experienced. Most of us in the industry learnt it the hard way but this course is a much better way to prevent this “learning by mistakes” technique and equips personnel with essential start-up knowledge. OFO will open doors to future development of a person into this field.” Vincent Dsouza, Regional Freight Sales Manager, Middle East

“This course is perfect for anyone new or in ocean freight who wants a good understanding of the way GAC handles sea freight shipments.”Richard Mallen, General Manager (Liner), Nigeria

Building communities

Helena Cuenat is the facilitator of OFO and discussed with us the important outcomes from the course:

“In GAC’s ocean freight business there are people in our offices all over the world working with essentially the same customers and markets. This OFO course has built strong communities through linking colleagues who have previously only met through email. By sharing their stories and experiences in the course context, it has benefitted all participants.

What this course covers:

Terminology & Equipment in OFO
Service Providers and GAC Service
Documentation and Application
Basic Ocean Freight Process
Consolidation
Specialized Ocean Freight Business

“Another one of the positive outcomes of the OFO course is the fact that the participants are being exposed to other markets and services that they have not experienced before, giving them a greater overall knowledge of the product.

“In the OFO course we are focussing on the operational, but highlighting the commercial aspects of decision making from a customer service and a financial perspective. This means we can differentiate between a company-focused business and a customer-focused business.”

If you are interested in finding out more about the OFO course, contact Sherol Fernandes at sherol.fernandes@gac.com

Oil Tanker Operations in Port (OTAO)

“Being the local partner of choice for our customers, we also have to be the experts on local requirements. To ensure we always improve to meet and exceed the ever developing Global requirements, it is essential to embrace the learning opportunities, especially related to safety, security and efficiency issues involved in oil industry. The OTO is a foundation and should be part of every staff member’s individual learning plan.”

Joachim Holst, Business Process Manager Shipping, GAC HQ

Oil Tanker Operations in Port (OTAO) is a new course being run by GCA in partnership with GAC Training and Services Solutions Ltd (GTSS). A two-day workshop, it covers a comprehensive view of the latest safety, security, efficiency and environmental measures as it relates to the shipping agency business in the oil industry.

What this course covers:

Oil distribution
Safety & security
Ship/shore interface
Associated operations
Mooring & oil jetty layouts
Pre-docking procedures
Measurements & calculations
Emergency procedures
Record keeping , Letters of Protest

If you are interested in finding out more about this workshop, contact Sherol Fernandes at GCA at sherol.fernandes@gac.com

Upcoming GCA Workshops

Team-Building Leadership >>	UPS Qatar GAC Qatar	2^nd May 3^rd, 4^th May
Leading Corporate Future >>	Nigeria	14^th , 15^th May
Team-Building Leadership >>	Ghana	17^th, 8^th May
Customer Relationship Management >>	Singapore	17^th, 18^th May

Team Building Leadership (TBL) is all about building effective teams for successful business outcomes. It is a two-day workshop that takes participants through a process of learning about leadership in teams, how teams work, how to make them more connected and how to assess how well they are performing.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is also case study-based two-day workshop that covers the tools and techniques required to build excellent relationships with both current and future customers. This includes identifying small customers that have the potential to grow, and also increasing customer loyalty that leads to long term customers and increased profitability.

Leading the Corporate Future (LCF) aims to provide a discovery experience and work through “what is” and “what can be” of the changing business landscape. It builds skills in how to take a proactive approach to creating the future, rather than reacting to an imposed one.

If you are interested in finding out more about any of these workshops, contact Sherol Fernandes at GCA at sherol.fernandes@gac.com

Sights and Sounds

Winner of the First GCA Newsletter Survey Prize!

Our first ever newsletter survey in February was a great success and we are pleased to announce that the winner of the $100 Amazon gift voucher was FEROZ ABDULLAH, C&F Coordinator from GAC Abu Dhabi. Congratulations to Feroz!

In his response he said;

“The best course I have completed with GCA is IGW because gives a clear understanding about my company’s activities and business. In the future I would like to see courses in the handling of dangerous goods, and the transportation of oversize and heavy lift cargoes by land.”

We learned a lot from all of your survey responses, and a summary has been compiled and passed on to management to highlight where you see the value of GCA courses, the best courses, and ideas for the future.

Check out our new survey (we will be running one every edition this year) and make sure you have your say on GCA to be in the running to win another gift voucher!

Have your say on GCA – and win!

This month we are running the second in our series of GCA surveys with a great prize for one lucky respondent!

The link below leads to a very short survey about GCA courses, and simply by submitting your response, you could win a $100 voucher from Amazon.com.

CLICK HERE TO START SURVEY
The survey will close at midnight on 15 May 2012.

The winner will be randomly selected from those who complete all the questions of the survey, so share your thoughts on GCA, and be in the running for this great prize!

GAC Corporate Academy | GAC HQ | PO Box 18006 | Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE
Office +971 4 805 9739 | waleed.jameel@gac.com

Balanced Scorecard (BSC)

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 03:34:28 +0000

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is designed for leaders, managers and practitioners responsible for managing BSC initiatives.

BSC is a tool that is used extensively in business worldwide to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organisation. In particular it can ensure the success of internal and external communications, and monitor organisation performance against strategic goals.

The BSC course is a 4 week eLearning progamme and 2-day workshop. It aims to build awareness of the Balanced Scorecard tool, and practice its use in a real-world context.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Describe BSC principles
Create and interpret a strategy map
Build appropriate scorecards
Implement and manage BSC initiatives
Discuss ‘a culture of measurement’
List the link between strategic direction, action and measurement

For further details on this career-enhancing course, please contact Sherol Fernandes, Business Development Manager - GAC Corporate Academy.

Jan Farnelid - GLO introduction video

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:29:02 +0000

Bill Hill - PCR introduction video

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:25:46 +0000

Bill Hill - GSH introduction video

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:20:34 +0000

Hakan Wester - OFO introduction video

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:20:33 +0000

Lars Latti - GFE introduction video

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:57:47 +0000

Bill Hill - FSS introduction video

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:45:10 +0000

Bill Hill - AFO introduction video

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:38:22 +0000

Testimonials

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:35:55 +0000

This 8 week course has been remarkable for me. I’ve learned a lot of things especially how handle challenges and hurdles of GLO. L&D forecast together with Leave planner will surely avoid conflicts in the schedule of participants. In addition, acquiring participants is one of our challenges here in Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, with the strategies that I’ve learned in marketing the courses are indeed can help to get the interest of our staff to participate.

John Michael Riboroso, GAC Saudi Arabia

With all the support from the Management I’m positive that my role as a GLO can now be carried out very effectively which in turn will help build knowledge within our business area and at the same time promote GCA as a concrete learning platform.

Mary Fernandez , NSGAC Abu Dhabi

Even though the team participated in this GLO session was entirely different from my initial course with GCA in 2007, the interaction has greatly helped to refresh my memory and commitments. I’ve now realised that GLO could do a lot more, much better. With close co-ordination and better interaction with staff / managers / GCA, I now feel that overall much more effectively a GLO can involve in the learning and development process.

Ramachandran Nair, GCA Oman

Before the course could start, I was already the GLO for GAC HQ, but I was not very sure about what my role was and my responsibilities as a GLO. After I started the GLO course my knowledge crossed all boundaries, each and every day I got to know so much about what a GLO actually had to do. I realized how important my role was as a GLO I realized that there were so many of my colleagues who were sailing in the same boat as mine ….. I enjoyed each and every week of the course…

Anita D’Souza, GAC HQ

Testimonials

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:26:26 +0000

When one goes to a general doctor, he prescribes routine medicines which may or may not really help. But if you go to a specialist, he will diagnose in detail and give provide a perfect treatment for your life. The course has been a specialist in equipping us with all the tools to analyse our customer in detail and apply a perfect solution.

Gracias Thevar, GAC India

I found the Customer Pyramid, Financial Modelling, Customer Supply Chain Analysis and Action plans were the essential tools that need to be done and reviewed frequently within our business.

These studies have definitely changed my approach towards our business and customers and will endeavor to use them in my daily life. Customer Satisfaction is something that we all are working towards but Profitability is also a very vital in a successful partnership.

I had great fun and wonderful to be a part of this group. Not only did I just learn while gathering data for my presentations but also a lot of knowledge was gained by reading others' presentation also during the course.

Pramod Rebello, GAC Dubai

The PCR course will definitely assist me in my daily work as well as knowing what to do/plan on the customers in order to provide good service. Having these tools I am able to understand the customers better & look on the weaknesses/strengths which can be improvised without having to wait for any feedbacks from them.

Nooraisah Binte Peer Mohd, GAC Singapore

Testimonials

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:19:44 +0000

The course gives me a clear procedure and framework of how to do my day to day job and it has really worked for me right away. A green car company just landed in Los Angeles, and of course the whole industry is approaching them here. Thanks to my learning in this course we got the first shipment - airfreighting a car from Los Angeles to Kuwait! It took me five weeks after my first phone conversation with their logistics manager, she called me at 9:00pm to discuss what she needs. The course is surely applied to my every move right now. I am so happy the energy I got from it. I have printed and posted some notes we have learned from this course on my wall. After this course every sales call I do I use these to guide me.

Cherry Wenyu Qian, GAC USA (EMO Trans)

Fundamental selling skills is important for me to better prepare myself for the ever competitive environment out there. All 7 weeks learning have been effective if not sometimes thought provoking and reflect current methods whether or not I could improve my skills and techniques. It will definitely have an impact on how I approach my business and to do better from here.

Jimmy Liak, GAC Singapore

For me the entire course as a whole is extremely relevant to my business. It begins with customer being the focal point of the meeting to handling a difficult situation/objection from a potential/existing client. Inter-personal relations are of paramount importance in maritime industry which has been reiterated here as well. Questioning in a meeting is something one must be extremely cautious as you might unknowingly touch upon a sensitive topic and also having the presence of mind to adapt in a meeting as no two customers are alike. Multi-cultural module some very useful real life examples from my course mates and then concluding to GAC being a sales driven organization

Kunal Talwar, GAC Singapore

For me, FSS is the foundation of knowledge for any GAC Sales Employees as well as support staff who have regular interactions with our existing or prospective clients.

I believe that the course had made me more aware of the company’s objectives and to be more sales driven and productive as well as to be proactive to a more systematic and structured sales approach that can be applied anywhere in GAC world in line with the measurements set by the Management.

Eduard Jeffrey C. Ortanez, GAC Qatar (UPS)

Testimonials

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:15:17 +0000

Through this course I learned how important it is to monitor the accounts payable as well as controlling accounts receivable in order to maintain good cash management. So now I am more able to closely monitor the accounts payable to suppliers. – Nidya Astuti, (Treasury Deputy of Finance Dept, GAC Indonesia)

This course has really offered much needed help to us and changed perceptions of the GAC financial environment… so that now if finance requests us to do certain things we know why and understand the responsibility behind it. – Sujata Mantri, (Move Coordinator, International Moving, Qatar)

GFE is what exactly I and my team of 14 members do every day. It was really interesting and has refreshed me to a good extent. I suggest every non finance staff should participate in GFE to understand the process of finance and their role. -Jayaram Sethuraman (Finance Manager, GAC Oman)

This great course has helped on a lot of levels in understanding what our finance team is trying to do on a daily basis in order to benefit the company. Based on what I have learned in this course I can assess customers on their average payment days in order to see if they are actually worthy to get credit from us or is it better for us to invest our time in getting some other business executive into the company where we can make good profit/ returns. Suraj Pinto (Key Account Executive, Qatar)

eNewsletter December 2011

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:38:22 +0000

Best Country: Rodrigo De Marco and Lars Heisselberg discuss the great year for GAC Brazil.

Best GLO: Ramachandran Nair wins Best GLO again for Oman.

Best Participant: Moly George wins Best Participant for excelling in five courses in 2011.

Best Participant: Jimmy Liak excels in Sales Development Programme.

Best GEP Participant: Hari Nair shines in the GEP course.

Best Country: GAC Brazil

Rodrigo De Marco, GAC Brazil

Based on measurements of CSF5/person and successful completion, GAC Brazil has been awarded the top performing company in the GAC World in 2011.

Group Vice President Americas, Lars Heisselberg, commented; "It’s extremely rewarding that GAC Brazil received the Best Country in the GAC Corporate Academy Awards for 2011. I’d like to commend Rodrigo and his team in GAC Brazil their commitment and efforts in achieving this outcome."

As both the Country Manager and GLO of Brazil, Rodrigo De Marco is closely involved in Brazil’s involvement with GCA.

"From my perspective I see double benefits from GCA, firstly the courses are designed to fit into our daily work despite our remoteness to the rest of the GAC
World. Secondly the courses expand our knowledge in different areas of the business, which allows us to remain on task in this competitive market we work in.

"The business outcomes are clear! We can see strong evidence that the English communications in Brazil improved significantly after participation in the Global English Programme, while business performance increased following courses in the Sales Development Programme."

Lars Heisselberg concluded by saying; "Besides the fact that GCA helps us enhance our skills base, which in a very competitive environment is essential, GCA brings the overall GAC values together. Staff embracing these learning opportunities also make new friends and feel the GAC bond and connection across borders. With Brazil being slightly off the beaten track I feel that the latter is exceedingly important to all our Brazilian colleagues. Parabéns GAC Brasil!’’

Best GLO: Ramachandran
Nair, GAC Oman

For the second time since the GCA
Awards began, Ramachandran Nair has taken out the Best GLO Award, bringing it back to GAC Oman. He offered the following thoughts about the award:

"First of all, I would like to convey my sincere thanks to management and staff at GAC Oman for their support and encouragement during 2011, without which such an honour would not have come to Oman for the second time! To me, the role of GLO is always challenging. It is the key link between GCA and the organisation, so the focus on spreading course awareness is very vital, thereby helping to develop a strong learning culture within the organisation. The increased CSF5 outcomes for GAC Oman in 2011 indicates that learning and development forecast was again very well executed this year.

"I see the key tasks as encouraging and following up on staff participation and assisting them throughout the course period. In 2011, we managed to significantly improve participant success rates by listening to their issues and finding appropriate solutions without disturbing regular tasks. Also as a result of the BELIT initiative during the year we have seen many personnel choose to improve their business communication competence through the Global English Programme.

"One of the initiatives in the company is to share learning outcomes from the current courses into the weekly management meetings. This ensures that follow up and support for participants is happening regularly, and allows the learning to be shared across the whole company. It supports the business focused outcomes of the Academy’s courses."

Patrik Hallden, GAC Oman’s General Manager was also very pleased with the award, commenting;

"GAC Oman has been a strong supporter of GCA since its establishment, and it has been an important factor to our success. Having a proactive and resourceful GLO who understands the strategic value of learning in our business makes all the difference! Ramachandran has done a great job of this."

Best Participant:Moly
George, GAC Qatar

Moly George from GAC Qatar last year won the Best GLO award, but this year took out Best Participant for her outstanding results in five courses throughout the year; the Global English Programme, FSS, PCR, GSH and the GLO course.

"First of all let me acknowledge the pride and honour in receiving the Best Participant GCA award. This achievement may not be possible without getting an appropriate environment from my office and management (GAC Qatar). Moreover the facilitators and other participants inspired me to accomplish this journey with another feather to my cap.

English is the window to the world especially when we are in an organization like GAC, we need practical knowledge in the common language to give a better performance to our customers. I recommend all GAC employees to participate in the Global English Programme.
Fundamental Selling Skills gives us an opportunity to understand the uniqueness of selling in a multicultural environment and learning from our actions: Negative and Positive Sales Impact in our negotiation skills.
The GAC Sales Handbook course presents effective sales tools and processes including CSF6. It helps us be more evolved in presenting ourselves and understanding our customers needs, to become more skilful salespeople.
Profitable Customer Relationships helps develop a ‘CUSTOMER ACTION PLAN’ to analyse different types of small and big clients and choose the best options for ensuring profitable business outcomes in line with GAC TIME.
The GAC Liaison Officer course introduces CSF5 and its alignment; the influence of learning outcomes in our business and improving the return of human resource investment.

All these courses helped me to apply SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) analysis in my career with GAC. Hence I am trying to achieve more confidence in any given situation in my personal and professional life as well as being a "Trusted Advisor" for my internal and external clients.

In 2012 I am looking forward to any new HR development courses. CGE (Corporate Governance & Ethics) is also a new and interesting subject for me. From my experience I recommend all GAC staff to enroll in their concerned job oriented subjects such as AFO, SFO, GSB, SAO, GFE etc. GEP, FSS, GSH, PCR are useful tools for any general staff also.

Borrowing a famous quote: "Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence". Robert Frost

Best Participant: Jimmy Liak
GAC Singapore

Jimmy Liak is one of the first in the GAC World to complete all three courses in the Sales Development Programme; Profitable Customer Relations (PCR), Fundamental Selling Skills (FSS) and GAC Sales Handbook (GSH). The award for Best Participant goes to Jimmy for his consistently high outcomes in all three courses.

"PCR & FSS are both great enhancements to developing our selling skills. Like many other salespeople, I sometimes get too carried away with selling or promoting services and forget the about human factor ie, the feelings of the customer... These courses help to bring this into our day to day sales activities.

"I would say GSH has the most impact among the three modules. Before GSH, my sales approach was not so organised and was lacking in some tools that resulted in missing important information during the meeting or discussion. With the knowledge and knowhow using tools in GSH, I can prepare meetings and questions more effectively in achieving my goals or what I intend to achieve in the meeting.

"I really enjoy learning in a group. Everyone contributes, reflects and shares their experience. I think this is the most important factor for GCA’s success. I get far more out of this real life experience than from the text book. In 2012 I am looking forward to a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) refresher workshop."

Neil Godfrey, Group Sales Director, Shipping, has been involved in the development of the GSH course and commented;

"The GCA Sales Development Programme has something for even the most seasoned sales professional. In three stages, it is helping build a better sales force across the GAC world by training and reinforcing best practices through providing practical tools but also through the shared experiences of our sales staff across different business cultures.

At the same time as educating our people to be better organised and prepared, the programme also focuses on the importance of knowing your customers, understanding their needs and positioning GAC to become a preferred supplier and ultimately, a business partner. In short, the GAC Sales Development Programme guides us to being customer focused and this is a building block in the overall Group objective of being a learning organisation."

Best GEP Participant:Hari
Nair, GAC Dubai

The Global English Programme focuses on improving business English skills alongside the normal work routine. This year Hari Nair from GAC Dubai has been awarded Best GEP Participant for his outstanding results in the course.

Hari has been a participant in GEP for one year, and says that "the regular assignments as well as the Speaking and Listening activities have helped enormously. There is no doubt that my communication skills have improved, particularly in telephone conversations and when drafting emails."

"Support from the management is a very helpful factor in achieving my learning goals" says Hari. "I am so grateful with my Line Manager (Manoj Kuriakose who was also a GEP participant during that time) who never hesitated to support me whenever I needed it. He even finds time and voluntarily extended his help just to teach me and assist me with my assignments."

"The Global English Programme is not for support staff only, but for all GAC people with different job roles around the world. It helps us improve our communication skills and gain that confidence when we face our customers. At the beginning of the year I was a Shift Supervisor. Four months ago, I was promoted as Stock Controller taking the role in managing stocks with administrative work as well. Now, I have been promoted again as Customer Service Representative. I believe the confidence I’ve enhanced and the knowledge I’ve gained from GEP with the support of my Line Manager are big factors which help me in my promotion. My managers have seen the improvement I’ve shown and worked hard with. I am sure that the other GEP participants within the GAC World will also enjoy the same benefits that I’ve taken advantage of. We are all busy. It’s only a matter of time management, self discipline, and perseverance in achieving our goals in life.

Pramod Kumar, Customer Service Manager 3PL, has been extremely impressed with the improvements in Hari’s overall communication."With the exceptional performance from Hari I believe GEP course has lot in it to offer but it depends upon the individuals how they apply themselves to this course to reap maximum benefit. I have seen a clear improvement in Hari’s English communication skills, and I even got an appreciation call in this regard from Mr. Jim Preston. He is the supply chain manager with ‘The One’, a client for GAC Dubai 3PL, and Hari
is an active member in the customer service team attending this client."

eNewsletter February 2012

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Corporate Academy eNews

eNEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2012

“Welcome to 2012!” Damien O’Donoghue, GCA

It’s great to welcome the GAC World to 2012, and on behalf of the entire GCA team, we are all looking forward to another year of learning and development opportunities. As we start out the New Year, I am enthusiastic about the possibilities in our business, and the important role that GCA is entrusted with.

Firstly, and perhaps most exciting is that on the 28th February (our newsletter release date) our Corporate Academy turns five years old. It is a big achievement and we have certainly come a long way in a short time. Today, we are a highly regarded corporate learning organization with a global reach that reflects the diversity of GAC.

In 2011, GAC was awarded the International Bulk Journal (IBJ) award for training and development, based on the activities of GCA. Further international recognition as a best-in-class leader in corporate learning from Moodle, the Learning Management System used by GCA.

Last year also saw the launch of our Sales Development Programme – a group-wide initiative to support enhanced sales focus and effectiveness. The suite of courses includes including the Fundamental Selling Skills (FSS), Profitable Customer Relations (PCR) and GAC Sales Handbook (GSH). The GAC Financial Essentials (GFE) course was also launched with the support of our Chief Financial Officer, and has already been credited with fulfilling the need of improving financial literacy throughout GAC.

This year, we will continue the development and launch of a number of new courses aligned to the business needs of GAC. The first of these include Personal and Professional Development (PPD), GAC Quality Management (GQM), Key Account Management (KAM) and Ocean Freight Operations (OFO). We also welcome a number of new facilitators to the team, Heather Orange (Singapore) and Jane Wardle (Dubai), who will bring energy and facilitation expertise to our learning programmes.

As the GAC Group moves towards its new strategic plan in 2013, we are looking forward to supporting this and other developments, to ensure GAC is positioned with a vibrant and connected learning culture. We look forward to seeing you being an active part of this.

Sights and Sounds

Growing with GCA – Gobind Kukreja and GAC Trinidad & Tobago

Gobind Kukreja is the Managing Director of GAC Trinidad and Tobago, a new GAC operation set up just last year. In an inspiring interview, Gobind discussed how GCA courses have supported the new development.

“We have actually been doing business through GAC’s GNA in Trinidad since 2007, however it was clear that our customers were missing the “GAC” touch. That has now been introduced with the opening of GAC Trinidad.

The plan to set up new office in Trinidad was based on aligning GAC’s policies and practices with local operational experience. So because we are employing local operations staff, GCA has provided us with the necessary tools and knowledge needed to teach the “GAC” way of doing business. Out of the four local staff we have so far, two of them have completed five GCA courses and the other two who joined in October will start their GCA training this month.”

Gobind points out that he already see the advantage of the courses. “For example a question about the GAC Spirit asked by one of the new employees was promptly answered by other two who have successfully completed their IGW courses. Also one of our operations staff who was initially struggling with GACagent has now enhanced her understanding the business application, thanks to SAO course she recently completed. HSSE awareness in the office has improved as well.”

He concluded by saying; “Overall I am more than satisfied at the clear outcomes the GCA courses have provided and look forward to our small team growing and continuing to learn as our business grows.”

GEP Award Presentation - Hari Nair

Hari Nair was presented with the GCA Award for ‘Best Global English Programme Participant in 2011’ in a ceremony in GAC Dubai. The award was presented by Dan Hjalmarsson, GVPR MEA, in a function that was also attended by Stuart Bowie, Andro Du Toit, Phil Showering, Pramod Kumar and Richard Potts.

In his acceptance speech, Hari acknowledged his impressive performance over the year-long programme, saying his biggest achievement was “the confidence it has given me to present myself in the most apt manner in the workplace.” He went on to point out that “English is the window to the world and especially when we are in an organization like GAC, we need practical knowledge in the common language to give a better performance to our customers.”

GEP aims to develop critical skills in effective communication both spoken and written. Through the programme, Hari progressed from Level 2 in his Business English skills at the beginning of the year, which represents a basic level of English, to Level 10 where his skills are judged as sufficient for dealing with complex business situations. This was achieved in around 60 hours of self-study.

Dan Hjalmarsson, Group Regional Vice President, MEA, presented the award and commented; “Hari's dedication to the Global English Program (GEP) has been well rewarded by significant improvements in his written and spoken English. As a result, he is more effective in his role – and is able to communicate more effectively with his customers at all levels.”

Introducing...

Dr Peter Hosie – GCA Governance Board

Dr Peter Hosie joins the GCA Governance Board as an External Specialist Representative from the University of Wollongong in Dubai. To GCA, Dr Hosie brings extensive experience as an Instructional Designer and Educational Developer in a range of educational institutions. Recently he conducted highly regarded research into job related psychological wellbeing and intrinsic job satisfaction, and authored Happy-Performing Managers: The Impact of Affective Wellbeing and Intrinsic Job Satisfaction in the Workplace published in 2006.

He is enthusiastic about his role on the Governance Board, commenting:

Already I am very impressed with the GAC Group. They have successfully managed to establish themselves as leaders in the dynamic corporate education industry and are creating excellent opportunities for learning across a global organisation.

They have clearly taken on social constructivism as the basis of their learning pedagogy, which means the learning is directly related to GAC’s core business, and ensures a wide range of tangible business outcomes for GAC. This is the essence of what a learning organisation should be.

Peter wishes to invite GAC managers to participate in a study being conducted by the University of Wollongong in Dubai on the Influence of Happiness on Managers’ Job Performance.

Unprecedented challenges are facing businesses across the world. Successful organisations need people capable of achieving and sustaining optimal levels of performance. This trend is particularly evident in the case of managers. In this dynamic environment managers’ happiness can affect their job performance and ultimately business outcomes.

For more details click on this link http://survey.healthengine.org/information.html

Farhana Kausar – GCA Customer Relationship Manager

Farhana Kausar has recently joined GCA as ‘Customer Relationship Manager’, and in this role, Farhana will be working to further develop excellent relationships with GAC Operating Companies, partners and commercial operations.

Farhana comes to GCA from GAC Dubai, where she worked as a Key Account Manager. Her experience in customer analysis and detailed understanding of GAC’s core business areas positions her to ensure GCA continues to meet the evolving needs of its customers across the globe.

With a long term and successful career in business development across a range of industry sectors, and an MBA graduate from Australia’s Murdoch University, Farhana is a great asset to the GCA team.

Course Feature

Personal and Professional Development (PPD)

Personal and professional development is at the core of our lives, but how many of us have a written five year plan with specific and measurable goals?

The Personal and Professional Development (PPD) course is designed for anyone who wants to pro-actively take control of their future success. The course will introduce participants to a wide range of tools that can be used to define their personal values and develop their own personal and professional goals. From there, the course will help participants plan how to achieve their goals in the most meaningful way. This will include learning plans, time management, performance management in the workplace and more.

In today’s competitive world, having a carefully developed personal and professional development plan is important for many reasons, including:

It can assist with career development by defining your desired career development path and helping you to stick to it.
It can become the basis of your performance appraisals.
It can ensure you maintain a balance of personal and work time.
It can set you on the path of being an effective lifelong learner.

“Everyone can benefit from enhanced personal and professional development skills - and this course covers such aspects such as time management, goal setting, career planning, work/life balance, stress management and relationship building. The course is an 8 week e-Learning program that will be open to everyone in GAC with an ambition to take control of their own destiny”. – Damien O’Donoghue, GCA General Manager

The PPD course is an 8-week e-Learning course for everyone with an interest in excelling in life and career. Contact your GLO or Sherol Fernandes at GCA sherol.fernandes@gac.com for more information

Have your say on GCA – and win!

This month at GCA we want to hear from you!

The link below leads to a very short survey about the GCA courses, and simply by submitting your response, you could win a $100 voucher from Amazon.com.

The survey will close at midnight on 15 March 2012.

The winner will be randomly selected from those who complete all the questions of the survey, so let us know what you think of our courses, and be in the running for this great prize!

Click on the link below to start:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QVR8MWJ

GAC Corporate Academy | GAC HQ | PO Box 18006 | Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE
Office +971 4 805 9739 | waleed.jameel@gac.com

Upcoming Courses

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:32:53 +0000

GCE - Corporate Governance and Ethics

The GCE course is designed to familiarise participants with the regulatory environment in which they work. Understanding the legislation and regulations that govern the shipping and logistics business worldwide is essential for GAC employees to avoid potential non-compliance issues.

This course is an 8 week e-Learning program that focuses on the how the relevant legislation and regulations affects day-to-day business from anti-bribery laws to the handling of LNG.

KAM - Key Account Management

Key Account Management is set to be a new addition to the suite of courses that make up the Sales Development Program alongside the highly successful Profitable Customer Relations, Fundamental Selling Skills and GAC Sales Handbook. Key Account Management focuses on strategically maximising the potential of business relationships with key customers. It is an 8 week e-Learning course that includes learning outcomes in the prioritisation of key accounts, relationship building and strategic planning in line with GAC’s strategy.

HS2 – Advanced HSSE Management

Advanced HSSE Management is a certification course that is designed to build a strong community of HSSE ambassadors to take GAC’s new HSSE strategy forward. This include specialist training on aspects such as HSSE auditing, investigation and planning and engagement.

PPD - Personal and Professional Development

Everyone can benefit from personal and professional development skills and this course covers such essential learning outcomes as time management, goal setting, career planning, striking an appropriate work/ life balance, stress management and building relationships….how to ‘win friends and influence people’.

The course is an 8 week e-Learning program that will be open to everyone in GAC with an ambition to improve themselves.

ENS – Effective Negotiation Skills

Effective Negotiating Skills is a 2 day workshop that aims to build confidence and savyness in achieving great outcomes from any kind of business transaction. Effective negotiation does not necessarily mean dropping the price and the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) approach focuses on setting a minimum acceptable limit to negotiated outcomes by taking all factors into consideration and communicating effectively to take the deal beyond that limit.

Customer Service for Sales Support Teams

The aim of this course is to provide the sales support service team an understanding of what excellence in customer service is when dealing clients. It will also to allow them to maximise opportunities to cross sell other products and services. By the end of the course participants will be able to implement strategies for customer service excellence, how to recognize customer expectations and how to increase credibility with customers amongst other outcomes.

The course is a 2-day workshop.

Presentation Skills

Being good on your feet is not something you are born with it is something that you learn. Inside everyone is the potential to be a highly effective presenter. This course will help participants learn how to put together excellent presentations that really ensure people get the message they are trying to put across. It will equip participants with the tools required to highly professional presentation that will leave people thinking “Wow! this person knows what he/she is talking about!”.

This course is a 2-day workshop.

eNewsletter October 2011

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 17:43:33 +0000

Top Story: GCA is set to launch a suite of great new courses in 2012.

Course Feature: The GAC Financial Essen-tials course is now underway and Lars Latti, the CFO, talks about its importance for the future of GAC.

Profile: Crystal D'Souza joins the GCA team as GFE facilitator.

Announcement:
Seeking GCA Awards Nominations from across the GAC World!

Sights and Sounds:
Snapshots of the TBL workshop in Nigeria AND Oman GCA grad-uation ceremony

New GCA Courses for 2012


Get ready for a big year because GCA has a new batch of courses ready to roll out in 2012!

With our focus on courses that meet the VY-GV strategic objectives to make GAC an even more competitive and successful organisation worldwide, the new courses offer a range of exciting new learning opportunities. GCE - Corporate Governance and Ethics The GCE course is designed to familiarise participants with the regulatory environment in which they work. Understanding the legislation and regulations that govern the shipping and logistics
business worldwide is essential for GAC employees to avoid potential non-compliance issues. KAM - Key Account Management Key Account Management is set to be a new addition to the suite of courses that make up the Sales Development Program alongside the highly successful Profitable Customer Relations, Fundamental Selling Skills and GAC Sales Handbook. Key Account Management focuses on strategically maximising the potential of business relationships with key customers. It is an 8 week e-Learning course that includes learning outcomes like prioritisation of key accounts, relationship building and strategic planning. HS2 – Advanced HSSE Management Advanced HSSE Management is a certification course that is designed to build a strong community of HSSE ambassadors to take GAC?s new HSSE strategy forward. This include specialist training on aspects such as HSSE auditing, investigation and planning and engagement. PPD - Personal and Professional Development Everyone can benefit from personal and professional development skills and this course covers such essential learning outcomes as time management, goal setting, career planning, striking an appropriate work/ life balance, stress management and building relationships….how to "win friends and influence people?. The course is an 8 week e-Learning program that will be open to everyone in GAC with an ambition to improve themselves. ENS – Effective Negotiation Skills Effective Negotiating Skills is a 2 day workshop that aims to build confidence and savyness in achieving great outcomes from any kind of business transaction. Effective negotiation does not necessarily mean dropping the price and the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) approach focuses on setting a minimum acceptable limit to negotiated outcomes by taking all factors into consideration and communicating effectively to take the deal beyond that limit. If you are interested in enrolling for any of these courses, talk to your GLO now so you can be included in the learning and development forecasts for 2012.

Enhancing Financial Literacy: Introducing the GAC Financial Essentials Course

By Lars Latti – Group Chief Financial Officer

We are very proud to launch the new GAC Financial Essentials course (GFE), which aims to increase the sense financial responsibility of everyone in GAC. The course is aimed at all staff who want to increase their understanding of finance, but in particular, people in non-finance roles.
For some time we have been hearing our financial managers talk of the need to increase financial literacy throughout the organisation. This is for some very important reasons.

Everyone has a role in GAC's financial position As a profit-seeking business, everyone in GAC plays a role in achieving our financial bottom line, whether they are an accounts manager, sales person or administrative officer. By understanding the basics of finance principles in GAC, everyone can be better informed about how to play this role more effectively, making us a more financially intelligent organisation.
Out of the seven Critical Success Factors that make up GAC TIME, three directly relate to financial aspects of our business…. CSF 2 says "We must have good cash management" and CSF 4 says "We must keep expenses under control". GSF 5 says "We must have viable cost effective business development". When we look closer however, we can see that in fact all seven of the CSFs relate to financial management in some way.
Better communication between finance staff and the rest of GAC Increasing financial literacy also means that communication is improved between finance and sales/ operations. For example, very often sales people need to communicate with finance people in order to create quotes and tenders, get invoices ready on time, collect money and more. We believe that speaking the same language will enhance this relationship and make us an even more successful and profitable business. Key elements of the GFE Course The course begins with understanding the basic elements of the GAC finance environment, and leads through the topics of Cash Flow to managing Money In and Money Out. With this appreciation developed, participants then learn about Financial Reporting and how our accounting system, Dolphin, works. The pilot GFE course is now underway and we are very excited at the learning that is developing amongst the participants from throughout the GAC world. If you are interested in enrolling in the course, please contact Waleed Jameel at the GAC Corporate Academy or your GLO and for more information, take a look at the GCA website.

Facilitator Profile: Welcome Crystal D'Souza!

	The launch of the GAC Finance Essentials (GFE) course has coincided with the introduction of a highly talented and experienced new facilitator to the GCA team. Crystal D'Souza brings more than 10 years of experience in corporate accounting, developing and implementing financial controls, budgeting and cost analysis to the GFE course. She adds a high level of expertise to the GFE course, ensuring the best possible learning experience for course participants keen to learn the basics of finance in GAC.
Originally from Mumbai, India, Crystal moved to Dubai earlier this year with her husband and two children. We asked her about her initial impressions of the GFE course: "I believe the GFE course is a great platform to refresh the finance knowledge of those in non-finance positions. Understanding financial health and the business factors that assist in managerial decision making are often not well understood by those outside of the finance team, but in fact they are essential for everyone in GAC, from administration to sales but particularly those with budgetary responsibility. "I am impressed by GFE's aim to create an awareness of the key aspects of organizational financial health. This is particularly important because it adds to the checks and balances within GAC and improves the communication and understanding between finance and operational staff. It goes on to make personnel more responsible and able to contribute to the overall financial health of GAC."

Sights and Sounds: Oman Graduation Ceremony
This month, GAC Oman held a staff get-together in the office to honour GCA graduates and long-serving employees. Course certificates were presented and the high achievers were acknowledged. Here are some great photos from the event provided by Oman?s GLO, Ramachandran Nair. Congratulations!

Photos from top left corner to clockwise…. Patrik Halldén, General Manager, GAC Oman presenting to: Sneha Sampat (IFS), Daniel Jenkins (IT), Ranganathan Krishnan (Finance) Sivadas P (TNT), Alia Abahri (Shipping), Duline Gonsalves (Moving), Sanjay Soanes (CNF), Dominic Savio (MSTA).

GCA Awards for 2011: Nominations NOW OPEN!

The fifth annual GCA Awards are fast approaching and it is time to start nominating for these prestigious awards in the following categories: Best Participant – Awarded to the participant whose grades and participation represent the best achievement towards fulfilling the learning outcomes and excelling as a GAC employee. Best Operating Company – Presented to the GAC operating company which has demonstrated the highest level of commitment towards making GAC a learning organisation through the best overall grades and strongest participation in the GCA courses for the year. Best GLO - For the GAC Liaison Officer who has excelled in spreading the message of the GCA courses and supporting participants in their learning. Best Global English Achievement – Awarded to the GEP participant who has achieved the most impressive improvement in business English skills. The awards represent the best of the year?s achievements through the Corporate Academy, and are a major recognition of the GAC World?s commitment towards our learning and development objectives, articulated in the VY-GV strategic plan. The announcement of this year?s GCA Awards winners will be made in our December newsletter, and the awards ceremony will be held at the GCA Governance Board Meeting in December. If you have been part of, or know of a great achievement in any of the four Awards categories, please be sure to submit your nomination to the GCA team. Contact Waleed Jameel.


Sights and Sounds: TBL Workshop Nigeria

Team Building Leadership (TBL) is a 2-day GCA workshop that prepares leaders to think more about their impact on, and opportunity with, individuals and teams. Here, one group was in the process of understanding each other's viewpoints, and demonstrating an understanding of each other's behaviour! The results spoke for themselves and we had a fantas-tic time together….Well done GAC Nigeria!

-Debbie Nicol, TBL Facilitator

White Papers

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:11:34 +0000

Corporate e-Learning & Moodle

Abstract

The GAC Corporate Academy offers a wide range of professional development programs that directly address the GAC Strategic Plan and Critical Success Factors. It uses state-of-the-art eLearning technology as the basis for all of the courses on offer, and these are built on the platform of Moodle.

Moodle has provided the ideal learning management system for GCA’s evolving eLearning programs for the last four years. In a company that spans the globe with almost 10,000 employees and features over 60 GAC operations in 40 countries, such an eLearning system has allowed employees from all over the world to participate in courses that build their own learning and growth as well as contributing to an overall increase in productivity for the company.

In this way, Moodle as a learning management system has become an indispensible tool in the achievement of the strategic corporate objectives for GAC and the result is that GCA’s Moodle-based courses provide learning opportunities for more than 1500 people each year.

Testimonials

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:11:11 +0000

IGW has provided me a wonderful opportunity to get an insight into GAC, services being provided, locations, organization, culture and much more which otherwise would have taken years to understand. Also, making new friends in overseas GAC locations is definitely a superb idea and has helped us all to obtain a good view into how these offices work to help improve our own offices. We should maintain these contacts forever.
Arun Julka India
arun.julka@gac.com
GeneralManager
Business Development, O&G Support Services, India
With GAC for 8 months

This course has given me great insights about GAC’s History, Culture, Services, Ethics, Strategies, Visions, Goals etc. By obtaining this knowledge, I am sure that it will make me more confident and optimistic while working with my GAC Family. Also, the knowledge which I have gained from this course will help me in dealing with our clients and customers.

“Knowledge is Power” always and this learning culture will also enhance the productivity of not only the employees but also GAC itself.
Priya M.G. India
priya_davis2002@yahoo.com
Customer Service
GAC Shipping India Pvt Ltd
Tamil Nadu. India
With GAC for 1 yr 3 months

My experience with IGW has been very positive, it has given me a broader view of the extent of the GAC world and family, I have connected with many different people around the world and shared views and philosophies with them. IGW has given me an excellent insight into GAC, the history, the make up of the company, the expectations and standards expected and also the methods put in place to guarantee a successful future.
I see GCA as an invaluable part of GAC and their role in promoting a learning culture is very important in contributing to a successful GAC going forward.
Adrian Henry UK
Agency Manager - Lerwick and Scalloway
GAC Shipping (UK) Ltd

Through the IGW course I really enjoyed making friends around the world who shared the same experiences at work. It even led me to colleagues in my very own office to whom I have never got the chance to talk to, building connections with them and gaining knowledge and sharing experiences with them.

The course gave me a wonderful Introduction to the GAC World. I truly appreciate the work and effort that our past and present top management has put in to making GAC a HSSE friendly company. The course has ignited me to keep the flame burning, preserving and maintaining the ethics of the GAC.
Doing this course has not only polished my communication skills but also taught me to work on schedule achieving targets as an individual while been a part of a team encouraging each other.

Hemal Kombalavithana Bahrain
hemal.kombalavithana@gac.com
Transport Coordinator for the Logistics division GAC Bahrain.
1 year with GAC

Testimonials

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:02:48 +0000

By maximizing the use of IT solutions we can increase our business productivity, cut down the non-operational cost and increase the profit.
We can improve use of the group’s IT solutions first by becoming well aware of and trained in the systems and then encouraging others within GAC by providing awareness and regular trainings on group IT solutions.
Rashid Ali Pakistan
rashid.ali@gac.com
Team Leader IT
GAC Pakistan
Years with GAC 15 years

The ITG course it has a lot of great information like communications etiquette and applications, roles and responsibilities, security and support etc... Through the course, all GAC employees will have great opportunity to learn and know their responsibilities and how to fallow the systems by doing these courses.
Everyone in GAC should do this course to learn about the ethics we should follow in our profession.
Harish Rambarki India
rambarki_harish@yahoo.com
currently not with GAC
Executive in commercial department , GANGAVARAM PORT LTD, Visakhapatnam.
With GAC 2010 - 2011

Information Technology is and will always be of great importance to our future development and competitiveness. Manual processing of information will not meet the business demands and computerization will come into more and more areas. IT solutions will be used to improve profitability, quality, productivity and efficiency in operations and to ensure the effective flow of information which facilitates good co-operation within the GAC Group and with external partners. Therefore, it is very important to maximize the use of our IT solutions through courses like the ITG.
Lorraine Pereira UAE
lorraine.pereira@gac.com
CRM & Process Analyst
Office: GAC Logistics Park – Jebel Ali
Tenure in GAC: 08years

The Information Technology in GACWorld (ITG) course is just right - it’s not too advanced nor too basic. It is focused on how the GAC World handles Information Technology within the company. The course offers some very useful information that you can apply in your OWN world of technology. I have learned a lot in this course from GAC Policy, Roles and Responsibilities, Business Applications, Technical Infrastructure, Communication Etiquette, Security and Support.
The course has highlighted to me the slogan, "Wherever you go Information Technology is there.... the more you are updated the more you are in".
Cherry Ann Galin UAE
cherry.galin@gac.com
Customer Service Representative
GAC Office: GAC Logistics Park, Coldstore Bldg. Jebel Ali Dubai UAE
Working in GAC for 4 yrs

Testimonials

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:00:50 +0000

I would like to share one specific example over here from our shipping department where Mr. Mohammad Azeem was given the opportunity of taking the IGW and Shipping Agency Operation courses. His performance in both these GCA courses was very good. After completing the Shipping Agency Operations course he is able to handle all the communications / queries / quotations for ship calls with very little supervision. His understanding of GAC business, GAC shipping operations has increased to a very high level. He has become one of the pillars of our shipping department and works round the clock for GAC Pakistan Shipping services. All this has been possible due to the help of GCA courses otherwise it would have taken ages for this young man to achieve the current level of competence. I don’t know how else can I explain conversion of training into business.

Hamid Zaidi – General Manager, GAC Karachi
hamid.zaidi@gac.com

SAO has been a very interesting experience for me. The concept of the "Shipping Ambassador" is excellent both as a guideline for all that we do, as well as for the development of training and career paths within the GAC community. I believe that emphasizing this concept will be a driving force behind our growth and success, and can be the unifying principle upon which we can all strive for excellence.
We have also seen clearly how important it is to nurture and grow our relationships with vendors and customers, and how doing this just opens more doors to us for new business and to growing existing business.
I am pleased to have contributed, and proud to work for a company which puts this much effort into expanding our learning and horizons.
Henry Kadoch US
Ex-GAC

The Shipping Ambassadors of the future will be known as GAC Ambassadors branding the whole group and not just Shipping. For this we need continuous focus on training from GCA, like this SAO course.
Jorgen Nielsen Singapore
Jorgen.nielsen@gac.com
Business Manager, Logistics Services Singapore
4 years with GAC

Testimonials

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:52:36 +0000

After doing the GAC Sales Handbook course, I feel that I learned a lot that I was never aware of. It’s just not important for our Sales guys who go out of office to get business, but it’s equally important for people who are working within the organization to understand our internal customers.
Sales is just not selling our products and then forgetting our customers, but it involves many other factors like how we treat them, how do we offer the after sales services etc. These are some of the important things that I have learnt from the course.
I would definitely like to bring to the attention of my supervisors that many more staff members or at least the key personnel who are not part of the sales team should be sent for this training.
Raji Nair Qatar
raji.nair@gac.com
HR & Administration Department
Gulf Agency Company Qatar
Been with GAC 3.5 years

The GAC Sales Handbook is a guide on how we can plan our steps towards sales success and achieve it. There is no rocket science material involved-only basic common sense but it's the basics in life that we always take for granted. GAC Sales Handbook should not to be taken for granted. It's a complete package tool towards achieving sales success.
I would like to thank the sponsors for the time, money and energy that was put in to come up with this simple yet brilliant course. Its courses like these that help the GAC sales people to be elevated in the eyes of the customers for building long term relationships in business.
David Uvarajan
david.uvarajan@gac.com
Sales Executive
GAC Cargo Systems (Malaysia)
Been with GAC 1 year

The GAC Sales Handbook is an indispensable guide for me to be able to attain my sales objectives. It is not enough that we have the contacts, connections and the innate ability to sell. More importantly, we need something to guide and tell us if what we are doing is effective because we wouldn’t be able to determine it just by ourselves. The Sales Handbook is just what the doctor ordered for me to be able to successfully implement each and every aspect of the sales process. The Sales Handbook provides a methodical, scientific and effective ways of assessing all aspects of the sales process. We can never go wrong with the Sales Handbook because it is a compilation of the best practices of all GAC companies.
Patrick Lim Philippines
pat.lim@gac.com
Sales Executive
GAC Philippines
With GAC 1 year and three months.

It is not only 'customer service personnel' or 'sales personnel' that have to be service oriented. Everyone in the organisation should keep their eyes and ears open and pass on information. If all employees became more 'service oriented' in their daily work, overall we'd be a more sales driven organisation. By providing excellent service at different levels, customers tend to open up and we gain more information. AND we all know that 'knowledge is power.'
Andrea Ameena D'mello Bahrain
andrea.dmello@gac.com
Corporate Sales
International Moving Division, GAC Bahrain
8 years in GAC

I have found the GSH course to be of great benefit for the understanding of the GAC sales process. I believe all of the content of the course to be relevant to our business and my individual role in the business. I think that the knowledge gained in this course will allow a more strategic and focused approach to the marketing of GAC.The more people who undertake this course the more successful GAC will become as a sales driven organisation and I would recommend it to anyone in a sales or marketing role with GAC.
Gareth Long Australia
gareth.long@gac.com
Commercial Manager
GAC Australia
3.5 years in GAC

Testimonials

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:49:56 +0000

This course has taught me a tremendous amount and I have gained knowledge on GAC's views on the Health, Safety, Security and Environment of our industry.
From what I have experienced, my entire working procedures have changed and this course should be provided and actioned towards ALL GAC Staff.
Francois Du Plessis South Africa
francois.duplessis@gac.com
Marine Representative
GAC Shipping (S.A.) (Pty) Ltd
2 years with GAC

This course has given me the inspiration to ensure HSSE in my workplace and will carry the same wherever I go. I believe that each and every participant of this course has enhanced their knowledge by sharing their experience. Hence it’s obvious that this course is an initial step to construct a powerful HSSE culture across the GAC World.
Lousha Zachariah UAE
lousha.zachariah@gac.com
QA & IT Coordinator
GAC (Ras Al Khaimah) L.L.C
With GAC for 5 Months

There were many things previously that I just ignored or paid no attention to in the office environment. Since doing the HSSE course, before I start something, I stop and think if it conforms to the HSSE rule that I learnt from this training. Small things like eating the right food and observing proper diet (Week 3 – Heath & Wellness); Promoting good security within our company premise (Week 5 – Security Audit); or conserving paper and energy for the environment (Week 6 – Chairman’s Environmental Award). I make sure that I apply every guiding principle that I learn. After all, that’s what trainings are for.
Engelbert Ranjo
engelbert.ranjo@gac.com.ph
Contract Manager
GAC Logistics Inc. Philippines
Year Started in GAC: March 1, 2010 (1 year and 4 months)

Testimonials

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:44:57 +0000

I strongly believe that my perception of my role has changed through the GSB course by bringing the tools available at GAC to their full use. I can now share business intelligence instantly using our own tools [GACship/ GAC Agent / GACSAM/Hub agency / GACOIL etc ] and this will increase our customer satisfaction which in turn will be greatest achievement for GAC.
Malay Bera India
malaybera@hotmail.com
Senior Executive at Haldia branch, India
Head office GAC Cochin
8 years at GAC

Through the GSB course I believe that my perception about my role has indeed changed as I feel that I am more aware of the general shipping business rather than focusing just on bunkers. I feel that I am more inclined to be able to sell GAC as a whole, rather than just one service that we provide. It has made me feel part of a very large group that deals with many types of services, which we should all be marketing through our own dealings.
Business Intelligence plays a very important role in the GAC Shipping Business as it is essential for us to know the services that we are able to offer to our customer and that we are aware of what we would be able to do to help our customers in case of an emergency situation, which tends to happen quite a lot!
Resham Raichandani UK
resham.rai@gac.com
Trader/Business Analyst
London Heathrow office – GAC
with GAC for 2 and a half years.

Testimonials

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:42:59 +0000

As I’m from logistics, I have learned a lot about other related products which GAC can offer through the GLB course. It has been really helpful for me to think about day to day activities in a different way. I’m looking forward to practice new products I leant in GLB and improve myself and colleagues.
Aruna Wickramarahne Bahrain
aruna.wick@live.com
Customer Services Representative
GAC Bahrain
with GAC 1 year

Although I have completed 14 years of service with GAC, the experience of this course has provided me with a considerable amount of extra information about GAC’s core businesses, variety of services and strengths. Now I feel that I have much more to offer to my customers when I approach them to explore new business options.
Pramod Kumar UAE
pramod.kumar@gac.com
Customer Service Manager - 3PL
Gulf Agency Company (Dubai) LLC
15 years GAC

Testimonials

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:09:18 +0000

Initially I thought this AFO course would be made up of lessons teaching us the basic of airfreight operations. Actually, it was a very different approach. It was more of gaining insight from actual experiences. I was a bit intimated at first because my exposure airfreight operations was very limited, but I soon realized that by using others’ experience as stimulus to learn, the learning is more realistic and valuable.
Amalia Dela Cruz
amy.delacruz@gac.com
Sales Manager
GAC Shipping & Cargo Systems (Phils)
With GAC for 13 years in service.

I have to say that this course has been very valuable for me as my knowledge on air freight was negligible before I joined this course. After the eight weeks of taking part in this course, I can now understand and be able to give advice to client when they approach me for the information. I can differentiate which cargo suits best for passenger flight or freighter, how to save costs for company or gain more profit on the shipment, learnt different experience of handling different way and many suggestions from here. Over all it has been worthwhile to spent time on. Cheers!!
Jirawan Satchathamrat
jirawan.satchathamra@gac.com
Assistant to Global Account Manager
GAC (Thailand)
With GAC for 1 year 9 months.

AFO1111 has helped me polish my knowledge on consolidation and aircraft specifications. Understanding the various horror stories will certainly alert me to avoid mistakes in airfreight operation. I also learned about the use of standardized air freight forwarding terminology, aircraft specifications, understanding consolidation to maximise profit and use of service provider effectiveness as well as of course cost consciousness.

This course has given me the opportunity to learn about the range of core logistical and supply chain services that we offer. I now understand what we do, and how we do it and how we can serve our valued customers in a better way.
I have gained a lot of valuable knowledge that comes from the front line and now I have a thorough understanding of how we can link our services to provide an integrated solution.

GAC gives me opportunity to learn as well as practical experience, the combination of which you will rarely find!

Joseph Ambrose
joseph.ambrose@gac.com
Airfreight Executive,
GAC (Oman) LLC
with GAC : 6 years 3 months

Through the AFO course I have become more aware that with a better mix of volume and dense cargo, we can make more money through consolidation. I now understand how incomplete and/or erroneous documentation can lead to big problems and how it is essential that we know what documents are required . . . and in some cases there are unique requirements in certain countries. The key is to communicate with all stakeholders - customer, counterpart agent, airlines, authorities, service providers/partners, etc.

Javier F. Cuerva
jake.cuerva@gac.com
President and Managing Director
GAC SHIPPING & CARGO SYSTEMS (PHILS.), INC.
With GAC for 12 years and 6 months.

One of my daily jobs is to prepare the shipping documents pouch with cargo for flight. This is very important because different countries have different document instructions about the declaration required and incorrect documents are subject to heavy penalties as per Customs legislation.
Through the AFO course I have learned more about different procedures and documents required with each function. This is helpful for me to improve my normal handling; both to save time and make sure the documents are correct.
Kelvin Guo China
kelvin.guo@gac.com
Air Export Supervisor
GAC China

eNewsletter September 2011

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:12:15 +0000

Top Story:
Jan Farnelid previews the L&D Forecast process for 2012 and invites the GAC World to consider their courses for next year.

Course Feature:
The new GTSS 2-day Understanding LNG workshop is set to launch in Dubai on 14/15 September.

Profile:
Patrick Lim discusses his experience of the brand new GAC Sales Handbook course.

External view on GCA:
Tom Bayes of EMO Trans talks Fundamental Sales Skills (FSS) and the future of relations between the partners.

Forecasting Learning and
Development for 2012: The
Time is Now!


The success of GCA is based upon the collective inputs of the entire GAC Group – where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Through the combined contributions of everyone from VPs to Country Managers, GLOs and course participants, the learning and development objectives of our Vision Y-Global Value strategy are realised, and we can measure these through GAC TIME CSF 5.

	Part of this strategy is the annual Learning and Development Forecasting process. In order to plan for 2012, each GAC operating company will project the number of participants for each course, and this demand becomes the GCA course portfolio for 2012. This forward planning works on multiple levels. With projected numbers, realistic targets can be created for meeting the learning and development objectives of GAC Group. At the same time, the forecast provides each organisation with the opportunity to properly plan and budget for learning and development in line with GAC TIME CSF5. For participants, forward planning means the ability to plan learning as part of an employee's personal and professional development plan.
Those people who take an interest in their own development are likely to find many more attractive career opportunities come their way! In order to ensure that sufficient capacity is available for those interested the L&D Forecasts need to be as accurate as possible. This is the perfect time to check out the courses on offer from GCA on the website and think about which would help your current and future career aspirations. Each year, a new range of courses will become available, and 2012 will be no exception. Be sure to let your Line Manager and GLO know your job aspirations, and plan how you see the fulfilment of your learning and development aspirations as a way to get there. - Jan Farnelid, Group Vice President Human Resources and Chairman, GAC Corporate Academy

Building Learning and Development Relationships with our GAC Partners: Tom Bayes, EMO Trans talks GCA courses
GAC’s global learning and development capability through the Corporate Academy is now becoming internationally recognised thanks to the growing number of GAC partner companies accessing the GCA courses. This is a positive trend towards global connectedness that is putting the GAC Group at the forefront of corporate e-Learning. Recently, Tom Bayes from EMOTrans USA participated in the Fundamental Selling Skills (FSS) course. He was full of optimism about the ability of GCA to play a role in
supporting EMO Trans' learning and development initiatives as well as building stronger relationships with GAC as an international partner. Tom is the Director of Asia Route Development for EMO Trans USA and the Chief Representative of EMO Trans China. He has been with EMO Trans USA since September of 1993 and one of his key responsibilities is to develop and support a strong working partnership between EMO Trans USA and GAC Asia. To achieve he makes sales calls with the GAC Asia Sales teams in their respective countries as well as working with the Managers and MD in each Country put focus on USA Sales. Tom’s feedback on the course clearly showed the importance of continuing to build relationships with our GAC partner companies like EMO Trans. “The Fundamental Selling Skills (FSS) Course was a great course, and no matter how long you have been doing Sales, this course is a refresher and can make you think about changing some of your sales approach and thinking before and after visiting a client. Two of the modules that I felt were most useful were Sales Psychology and Sales in a Diverse World. I believe that having access to the Multi Cultural Notes was some incredible information that would be of great value to anybody traveling that has a copy of this. The GCA courses I feel provide great value coming from a GAC Partner company, as one of the best things to come out of this course is the relationships you build during the course. I made it a point to make sure I personally said hello to my colleagues from this course during my June trip and was able to meet GAC employees in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia that I would have not probably been able to know if it was not for this course. Another point would be you get to learn a side of GAC that is not normally seen from the outside such as the different sales programs that GAC has to offer its employees as well as the important focus being put into Sales Development. Definitely I would recommend the course to other GAC Partners as well as supporting it in the EMO Group."

Course Feature: GTSS Launches the 'Understanding LNG' Workshop in Dubai
	The partnership between the GAC Corporate Academy (GCA) and the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) is underway, with the upcoming Understanding LNG workshop being offered through GAC Training and Service Solutions (GTSS) in Dubai. This two day workshop will be held for the first time in Dubai on 14/ 15th September and will be facilitated by Howard Candelet.
Howard worked for more than 47 years in senior positions with British Gas in the US, before retiring in 2008 to take on an active training consultant role with GTSS amongst other institutions. His extensive background in LNG management makes him a highly regarded international authority in the field of LNG. The Understanding LNG course is designed for any staff who are involved in the handling of LNG shipments, or wish to enhance their knowledge of the business. Please see the course specification for a detailed outline of the topics covered. Day One will provide a comprehensive approach to understanding the key elements of the LNG business, while Day Two focuses on the supporting activities that underpin an LNG operation. The key topics of the course include: An introduction to LNG The buying and selling of LNG Types of transportation agreement The LNG value chain Operational safety issues World markets LNG Shipping LNG trading Operational shipping logistics Maritime law, regulations and codes of practice New LNG concepts
Christer Sjodoff, Group Vice President GAC Solutions, has played an active role in bringing this course to fruition and commented; "We are really excited about the launch of this course as the first stage in our global partnership with NMCI. It will provide a very practical approach to understanding the entire value chain of LNG handling, as well as the hazards and support
activities required. It is a world class course run by a world class trainer and we invite GAC staff and our partner companies to register now.

Announcement: BELIT Testing for Better Business Communication
Good business communication is now more important than ever as the workplace in GAC goes global. However finding the right people with excellent communication skills in the GAC business language, English, is often a significant challenge. In job interviews it is often difficult to clearly ascertain the level of English proficiency of a prospective employee, which can lead to problems later.
The Business English Level Indicator Test, more simply known as BELIT, is a cost effective and easy way to assess both prospective and existing employees in GAC. It is conducted through an online program that can be either a comprehensive 50 minute test, or a more condensed but still highly effective 30 minute test. The result is a score on the level of proficiency from 1-10 (10 representing Advanced Learners). This can be used to determine where further training is required appropriate to the role of the employee, for example the Global English Programme. Currently, GCA is conducting BELIT testing throughout the GAC World, and each month BELIT tests form part of the GCA schedule. Please contact Sherol Fernandes at GCA or your GLO for further information.


Profile: Patrick Lim on his Outstanding Success in the first GAC Sales Handbook Course
	GCA recently launched its latest course, the GAC Sales Handbook (GSH), and it has been hailed as a success by all involved. The course is part of GAC’s 3-part Sales Development Programme (SDP) which aims to build the sales competence across the GAC World. Developed and refined with sales experts throughout the organisation, the GSH course has received strong support from the first batch of participants. One of these first participants was Patrick Lim, GAC Sales Executive from the Philippines. Patrick talked of his experience:
My roles as a Sales Executive includes opening up new accounts, managing the existing ones and making sure they are happy and satisfied with the service that we are providing. The sales activities that I am involved in include doing sales calls, conducting sales presentations, preparing of cost efficient and tailor fit logistic solutions to clients via formal quotations, conducting research on prospective clients, sending sales leads to GAC partners abroad. I also suggest ideas to clients on how to effectively and efficiently implement logistic solutions. Major Sales Challenges Selling is not an easy task as we have to strike a delicate balance between providing our customer what they really need when they need it and earning an income for the service that we extend to them. It is difficult to perfectly achieve what we set out to do all of the time. Sometimes things turn out exactly the opposite of how we planned to implement things, things like service failure, commitment gone awry, not being able to provide a competitive rate, unreasonable demands from customers, etc. We just have to take things in stride and keep in mind that these are all part of the territory. At the end of the day, nothing beats the emotional high of what closing out a sale brings. It gives sales people like me so much fulfillment and motivation to achieve more. The GAC Sales Handbook The GAC Sales Handbook is an indispensable guide for me to be able to attain my sales objectives and goals. It is not enough that we have the contacts, connections and the innate ability to sell. More importantly, we need something to guide and tell us if what we are doing is effective because we won’t be able to determine it just by ourselves. The Sales Handbook provides a methodical, scientific and effective ways of assessing all aspects of the sales process. This tool helps us measure the productivity of a sales person in a precise and scientific manner. The five-step GAC sales process is helping me to achieve what I set out to do and in case we didn’t accomplish our objectives, this tool will help us diagnose and determine what went wrong and how to rectify those mistakes or shortcomings. It serves as a direction or path as to the proper way to go about our sales activities. In fact we can never go wrong with the Sales Handbook because it is a compilation of the best practices of all GAC companies.
Recommended I would recommend the GSH course to all GAC personnel, regardless of work assignment and department that he or she is involved in. All of us must have a salesman’s mentality even though we are not all sales frontliners. It is imperative that all of us have the same mindset for us to be able to connect with each other effectively and seamlessly. We are all salesmen our own little way so we must learn to utilize it at all times. If you are interested in enrolling in the GAC Sales Handbook course, visit our website for the GSH course specifications, or contact Waleed Jameel, Business Manager – GAC Corporate Academy.

GCA Policies

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:58:55 +0000

GCA Plagiarism Policy
GCA Late Submissions Policy
GCA Re-Enrolment Policy

GCA Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism in GCA Courses
GCA is a business unit of GAC Corporate Headquarters that is responsible for competency-based assessment through its training and development activities.

GAC has an obligation to all stakeholders to ensure that the certification and qualification of participants are a fair and accurate representation of their work -and the knowledge and skills that are attained.

Plagiarism and other forms of cheating, undermine the value of qualifications for all participants. If a participant receives a certification by unfair means it undervalues the qualification of others who achieve it on their own merit.

For these reasons, GCA has been are tasked with ensuring appropriate measures are taken for assessing individual and team work projects, and to ensure the outcomes are their own original contribution.

The GAC Ethics Policy is the guiding framework for GCA’s position of plagiarism, and considers individuals involved in either offering or receiving assessment tasks as equally accountable.

Copies of submissions for previous courses are retained, allowing easy detection of plagiarism.
In cases where plagiarism is detected, a participant will be removed from the course, and the matter referred to the relevant Company Manager and Group Vice President - Human Resources.

Definition of plagiarism
Plagiarism is a form of cheating; it is a practice that involves knowingly taking and using another person’s work and claiming it, directly or indirectly, as one’s own.

This definition covers a range of degrees of seriousness and intent. Participants may be motivated, for example, by laziness as well as by a direct intent to obtain a certification through unfair means.

Whether intentional or not, plagiarism presents a problem when it interferes with the accurate assessment of a participant’s contribution.

Because it subverts the purpose of assessment, it is also as a breach of trust between a participant and GCA.

GAC does not condone any form of plagiarism as it is seen as a serious violation of the GAC Ethics Policy.

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GCA Late Submissions Policy

Following is the GCA Late Submissions Policy for eLearning courses.

An extension will only be granted if the participant requests before one business day and with a valid and verifiable reason. There will be a definitive yes or no for an extension given by the course facilitator
No points will be awarded after the grading day (Monday COB) if no extension has been asked for, with the exception of emergencies (see below). If there is no activity posted by the participant in the forum by the extension date given by the facilitator, then no points will be awarded unless a valid and verifiable reason can be given
No percentage grades will be permitted for late submissions
Participation history will be carefully checked before the facilitator will allow a second extension later in the course
GLO’s will validate a reason for a participants extension request if necessary
EMERGENCY CLAUSE: In the case of emergencies where the participant cannot ask for an extension beforehand ie. death of a family member and/or emergency flight, hospitalisation of participant, an extension can be given if the participant intends to continue the course and/or will not be absent for more than 10 days.

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GCA Re-Enrolment Policy

The following is the GCA Re-Enrolment Policy for eLearning courses:

Course re-enrolment will be granted only if requested and approved by the participant’s Line Manager.
GLO will validate the reason for the participant’s withdrawal on the course and advise on re-enrolment.
A re-enrolment will be invoiced in line with the prevailing Learning Services Agreement.

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Who should apply

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:03:36 +0000

Who this course is for:

The course has been specifically designed to suit all managers and staff with involvement in LNG vessel operations and who want a clear understanding and overview of the LNG industry.

Content

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:00:51 +0000

Subjects in the course include:

An introduction to LNG
The buying and selling of LNG
Types of transportation agreement
The LNG value chain
Operational safety issues
World markets
Shipping
LNG trading
Operational shipping logistics
Maritime law, regulations and codes of practice
New LNG concepts

GACacademy-latest-updates

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Balanced Scorecard (BSC)

Jan Farnelid - GLO introduction video

Bill Hill - PCR introduction video

Bill Hill - GSH introduction video

Hakan Wester - OFO introduction video

Lars Latti - GFE introduction video

Bill Hill - FSS introduction video

Bill Hill - AFO introduction video

Testimonials

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eNewsletter December 2011

eNewsletter February 2012

Corporate Academy eNews

eNEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2012

“Welcome to 2012!” Damien O’Donoghue, GCA

Growing with GCA – Gobind Kukreja and GAC Trinidad & Tobago

GEP Award Presentation - Hari Nair

Dr Peter Hosie – GCA Governance Board

Farhana Kausar – GCA Customer Relationship Manager

Personal and Professional Development (PPD)

Have your say on GCA – and win!

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eNewsletter September 2011

GCA Policies

Who should apply

Content