On 9th January until 11th January 2023, all MySEF staff attended training and team building at Semenyih Eco Venture Park, Semenyih. The sessions are handled by trainers from Talent Intelligence Sdn Bhd. The first two-days of training are related to Conflict Management and Negotiation conducted by trainer Chui Kean Phang. Chui Kean Phang, called Teacher Kean, is a graduate of the University of Manchester with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), with a license as an HRD trainer. Blending his advocacy skills, ten years and above of experience in corporate and finance, technical pedagogy from the educator section, and vibrant personality, the training session was surely impactful and unique. Teacher Kean conducted two-day interactive training which focuses on manhandling conflict avoidance and negotiation.
The objectives of MySEF training and team building are as follows:
- To develop effective conflict and negotiation skills as an employee
- To engage participants towards specific skills and concepts for internalizing the concepts and learning interactively
- To help participants become more productive and creative by identifying and resolving conflicts
- To hone the competency of any aspire participants by assisting in managing conflict
1) Sign and Go!
Firstly, for an ice-breaking session, staff are required to play the game Sign and Go! The trainee has to approach other trainees that meet the criteria of the option in the table provided and ask for their signature. The team that obtained the most signatures received points. From this ice-breaking session, most of the trainees are not capable to recall which person they approach and only focus on getting the signature. Hence, it proves that people strive for the output only and disregard memorizing the process of obtaining it.
2) Negotiation Techniques & Mindset
The next module introduces negotiation techniques and observes the negotiator’s mindset. Every conflict faced needs to be handled professionally be it a small or big issue. To achieve an effective negotiation, one should apply the 3As concept, Appreciation, Assurance, and Agenda which applies active listening and empathy toward the audience. To implement this, teacher Kean provides a role-play situation for each team. the scenario involves a manager, a waitress, and a reputable person, Dato Seri Smith as a customer at the 5-star rated restaurant. The scenario is as follows:
- Dato Seri Smith raise an issue with the waitress and she responds rudely without being compliant
- Each team is the manager and needs to provide a solution to overcome the issue faced
The correct way to handle this situation is to start with self-introduction, get a grip on the situation from both sides, use proper body language such as putting one hand on the chest during self-introduction, and get the waitress to apologize to the customer as well as being patience and speak nicely. It can be seen that a good negotiation allows both parties to have a win-win situation without disregarding one needs.
There are moments when conflict is unavoidable. For example, during work and meetings. Tonality and body language are crucial aspects of communication, especially when doing business. Great body language helps build rapport with other people such as smiling and making eye contact when talking, giving proper reactions when the other person is talking, and matching the pace of the storyteller. There are 5 steps in active listening, appreciation, observation, clarification, reassurance, and suggestion.
The first step is to appreciate the storyteller’s effort for opening up and then observe the issue by letting the storyteller knows that the listener understands and sympathizes with them. The third step is to clarify with the storyteller regarding the issue had there is any unclear or misconception perspective for better insights. Reassurance is to help the storyteller feels certain that there are solutions for the issue and that the listener is willing to help. The last step can only be done if the storyteller asks for any suggestion, advice, and/or help from the listener.
Therefore, teacher Kean asks the trainees to create five cards for each step. The trainees are required to do sharing sessions within teams and each member has to react according to the card. The sharing session should be about problems that the trainee has whether it is personal or work-related problems. Each trainee should share at least one problem and may ask for suggestions from the team members. From this activity, the trainees are getting to know each other better.
3) People’s Personality
The second day of the training focuses on learning one’s personality, and method to handle arguments and/or objections. To handle conflict, one needs to know the opponent’s personality to counter them. There are 4 types of personality which are Dominant, Influential, Compliant and Supportive. A dominant person is very result-oriented and may be aggressive at times. Influential people like to be the centre of attention, bubbly and cheerful people yet always seek validation from others. Compliant people tend to be organized and clean, loves information, and has high expectation of themselves and others. Lastly, supportive means the people are diplomatic, loving, lovable, good listeners, and always avoid confrontation.
By understanding the personalities, the trainees need to provide solutions based on a role-play given by teacher Kean. Referring to the same person, Dato Seri from the previous role-play, the scenario is as follows:
- Dato Seri Smith would like the team to finish a project that was assigned in 5 days where the actual period is 2 weeks.
- Each team has to provide solutions for 4 different types of Dato Seri Smith’s personalities.
This activity is indeed an eye-opener to all trainees as it is closely related to work-life situations. It provides great opportunities for the MySEF staff to find the correct way to confront the executives using a proper technique. Each personality has a different way to confront and knowing how to do it is opening one’s path to becoming a prestigious worker.
4) “Yes, Yes, Why Don’t We?”
Another role-play done during the training is to handle a conflict using the “Yes, Yes, Why Don’t We?” (YYWDW) technique. The scenario is as follows:
- Each team is a manager in a department.
- The team member, Josie offended another manager and refuses to apologize.
As a manager, each team needs to provide a solution for this issue. These role-plays required getting the team member to agree with the manager’s first two statements and convince the member to apologize to the other manager. From this role-play, it can be seen that as the leader, one should be able to confront the staff nicely and confront this situation with disagreement such as upbringing negativity in conversation will draw the line in between and harder to solve.
To conclude, the two-days training by teacher Kean is a fruitful workshop for MySEF staff. There is much deliverance as each activity is enjoyable to participate in. Despite the difference between the staff in terms of age, hierarchy, and gender, the staff managed to mingle, engage, and communicate well in every discussion, role-play, and activity held. Hence, this training is delivered well and reached all the objectives.
5) Team Building
i) Indoor activities: Ice-Breaking, The King and “But” Game
During the last day of the workshop, MySEF staff participate in a team building instructed by Surain A. Victor or known as Teacher Surain. Teacher Surain is a trainer with fifteen years of experience in learning and development who believe one can be successful by helping others to succeed. He is also a trainer that has been accredited and certified as iWAM Consultant by Asia Pacific Institute of Coaching, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner and Coach by the American Board of NLP and of course a licensed HRD Trainer.
The first session with Teacher Surain is an ice-breaking session between the instructor and the participants. The participants are required to form teams of four and to copy the movement of the dance portrayed on the screen altogether with team members. It is a 2 to 3 minutes video and just enough to warm the participants up to start the day. The next activity is to play a game to determine hierarchy. There are 4 levels from lowest to highest, chicken, crocodile, dinosaur, and the king. Each participant needs to find other participants of the same hierarchy and beat them through a game called “Rock, Paper, Scissor” to level up. One who wins and becomes king will stand at the back and watch the others just as a king would do.
The last activity done in the first session is a neurotic game called “But”. Neurotic is an exercise for the brain where neuro stands for the nerves in the brain and tic represents the acts of exercising. The participants need to form a circle and by turns, each of them has to count the numbers starting from 1. If the number is a product of multiplying 7 or numbers that include ‘7’ such as 17, that participant has to say “but” instead. Those who count incorrectly or mention the forbidden numbers will be kicked out.
ii) Outdoor activities: Save the Bear & Sacred Diamonds
The second half of the team building is done outdoors in the field area after the tea break. The participants are divided fairly into 4 teams of 4 to 5 members each. There are two activities, “Save the Bear” and “Sacred Diamonds”. Each game is participated by two teams and held simultaneously.
The first game, “Save the Bear” is a game where the bear is in the boat on the acid lake and yet to be saved. Hence, participants need to save the bear from drowning in the acid lake. The requirement is to choose one person that will instruct the team members that are blindfolded to save the bear using ropes that have been tied together. The blindfolded members and ropes used are forbidden to touch the acid lake, or else the marks will be deducted. The two teams have to save the bears from the same lake hence collision between team members could occur. The team members should appoint a person with great communication skills to provide instruction to avoid collision and misconduct.
The second game is the “Sacred Diamonds” which is using pipes and marbles. The diamonds are untouchable and the teams need to collect as many diamonds from the treasure area and transfer the diamonds safely using Voodoo pipes into a Neutralizing Bucket. The highlights of this game are enhancing the capabilities of the team members to be aligned and adjust with each other. The team that collects the highest amount of diamonds is the winner.
From both activities, each participant should be able to decipher the moral of each game. The first game thought that one should listen to the instruction attentively, provide accurate instruction to the team members, and trust the person instructing so that each team can cooperate well without issues raised. In the second game, since the pipe is not connected it has to be held to avoid the diamond slipping out. Team working is a fundamental key to winning this game. Hence, having someone to lead the team members in holding and controlling the pipes will greatly contribute to victory.
iii) Indoor activities: Mega Structure Challenge
The last team-building session is the Mega Structure Challenge. Participants were required to build a train track using provided materials with requirements as follows:
- The track is elevated about 18 centimetres from the ground
- The train track should consist of KLIA transit, Causeway Link, an island, Penang Bridge, Port Klang, KL Twin Tower, and a tunnel.
- The battery-operated train provided by Teacher Surain should be able to pass through the track for at least 2 rounds without disturbance
After discussion between the leaders of each team, the tasks are divided into two which are, the male staff will be focusing on building the train track whilst the female staff focusing on other required buildings. Throughout this activity, it draws out one’s potential in creativity and intelligence in crafting the design, the sturdiness of the model, and the efficiency of the track. Besides, it also allows participants to spend more time with each other and communicate well.
To conclude, it is delightful for staff to be able to participate in the training and team-building workshop conducted by the trainers from Talent Intelligence Sdn Bhd. All the activities in the team building help the participants to improve greatly in social skills, confidence level, creativity, communication skills, and the most important part is, to strengthen the relationship between MySEF staff. The concepts learned during the training are fit to be internalized. In conclusion, improving social, negotiation, and communication skills is an embodiment of successful employee development.
Prepared by: Nur Azizah Mohammad Mokhtar (UTM Trainee)