BECC

Individual Courses Launch

2/4/2010

For professionals who need to use English at work, career advancement is easier said than done. While many options exist for individuals to learn and practice English, professional development that actually makes a difference to their job performance (and future career goals) have been surprisingly hard to find. To meet this need, the BECC Consulting Group has devised a new and unique solution: Career Development Training.

BECC has already helped some of Taiwan's most successful companies increase productivity and get better results. Now the same high-quality training is open to any individual who wants to improve their careers by improving their English. In a weekly class, professionals of all language levels will now be able to practice performing key job tasks in English and develop the vocabulary, language, and communication style to do their jobs more professionally and fluently in English.

BECC combines custom, completely original training materials with trainers who have years of ESL and business experience to provide courses that have immediate and dramatic results on job performance. For their Career Development Training, BECC has decided to offer some of their most effective corporate programs to groups of between three and eight individuals.

For most English learners in Taiwan, the question isn't "How can I speak better English," but "How do I speak better English at my job?" An answer has arrived. More details, including a full list of available course, are available here.

Seminar For Physicians

28/3/2010

When Kevin Liu of Abbott, a leading global healthcare company, wanted to find ways to add value to a medical convention his company was sponsoring, he thought quickly of BECC. BECC's training solutions had made a difference in his company's sales staff, and he realized BECC's professional approach to presentation skills might be just what the doctor ordered.

The result was a three-hour Presentations for Medical Professionals seminar held in sunny Kending. In attendance were five rheumatologists whose practices were based in South Taiwan. Though they all had local practices, they still had regular need to join international conferences to present their own research and findings - a tough task even if they could rely on their native language.

BECC senior consultant Vince Praught saw the opportunity to make a real improvement to the way these professionals handled a critical part of their job. "Three hours really isn't a lot of time. I prepared materials directly related to their field of expertise, and made sure all the skills we practiced would transfer directly to their next conference presentation." Mr. Praught focused on four key skills to improve their next presentation, making sure every participant had sufficient practice.

And the business result? Says Mr. Liu from Abbot: "Most importantly, [our company's] messages were embed in the training and seamlessly delivered. I have to say it was really a successful promotion activity. I believe our sales will grow in the near future." With doctors learning and Abbot achieving sales results, with BECC, said Mr. Liu, Abbot had found a "win-win."

BECC Joins Taiwan's Next Business Leaders to Look Forward

2/2/2010

The packed auditorium of the Forte Hotel in Hsinchu buzzed with activity as over three hundred university students waited anxiously for AIESEC's Winter National Convention to convene last week (Jan. 27). The organization, the largest student-run organization in the world, brought students from fifteen universities around Taiwan to review the successes they had this year. The event also aimed to provide new education, skills and knowledge for the coming year, according to event organizers.

BECC has been a partner with AIESEC since 2008. For the convention, BECC prepared a team-building workshop that taught students valuable workgroup principles through fun, hands-on activities and interactive lectures. By the end, twenty teams put the bridge their teamwork built to the test, seeing whose broke, and whose stayed strong. All students learned a valuable lesson in workgroup management and leadership, and the workshop proved to be a popular event that day.

Though BECC has many community partners, AIESEC offers special rewards, says Vince Praught, the BECC senior consultant in charge of BECC's AIESEC program. "It gives us the chance to take all this knowledge and experience we have in the business world to help the next generation of leaders pursue their dreams. It's really satisfying to share our expertise with such motivated, energetic people."

BECC Consulting Tools Suite Needs Analysis Software 2.0

15/6/2009

The first in the BECC Consulting Group's series of web-based business software programs launched today. Called ABT™ Consulting Software Suite 2009, the software offers professional corporate needs analysis to Taiwan for the first time. The software identifies where communication problems occur, and then links emplyees' on-the-job English effectiveness to overall company performance. "The most exciting thing about this software," said Michael Keenan, BECC's chief software engineer, "is that our clients can see exactly which communication activities will improve their profitability and efficiency, and then plan the training programs around that." For HR managers, who are constantly called on to quantify ROI for English training programs, this software provides a reliable, objective means of doing just that.

Even before deciding on a training program, however, the exclusive software helps HR and managers plan better English training programs for their staff. By making the specific needs of departments, job types, and individuals completely clear, CSS 2009 takes the guesswork out of planning training, even down to how many hours of training should be spent developing what skill. As one of the services the consulting firm provides, the needs analysis is completely independent from BECC's successful line of corporate business English courses.

Consulting Software Suite 2009 determines the critical communication methods the organization uses English for, and what weaknesses the organization has in these areas. Entirely online, clients need not download or install anything, and can access the software from any web-enabled computer. After employees complete a detailed online analysis, the information is collected and presented in a clear needs analysis report. A step-by-step guide to the web software, as well as a sample needs analysis report, is available on BECC's website.

BECC Helps Hitch Break the Ice on Business Networking

1/6/2009

For Hitch, an online group that coaches professionals on networking and socializing skills, their first networking event had to be great. When CEO David Wu approached BECC about partnering to give his group it's first venue, BECC consultants were happy to help. After all, part of how the consultancy sees its role in Taiwan's business community is to provide more opportunities for professionals to get together, share ideas, and have a good time.

Networking events are supposed to be fun, and that's what CEO Wu needed. His company, which coaches and helps people overcome shyness to succeed in business as well as life, couldn't get started with just another boring mixer. With experience hosting events for the ECCT, and a reputation for fun and engaging activities (and some exceptional catering contacts) BECC was really just looking for a reason to do more networking events.

The event also featured a short workshop facilitated by BECC consultants to help get the group ready to network. Focusing on helping people break the ice in English, participants got up and got to know each other right away, while practicing useful communication skills while they did it. By the end of the event, they not only had new friends, they had the English skills to go out and make even more!

BECC and the ECCT Reach Out to Entrepreneurs

The European Chamber of Commerce has a reputation in Taiwan for their active approach to business and for the relationships they build between Taiwan and the rest of the world.  It's little surprise that when the directors of the ECCT decided to launch their Small to Medium Enterprise Centre, they turned to BECC as a founding member.  With the goal for helping foreigners run or start businesses, the SME Centre is in line with BECC's commitment to building successful businesses in Taiwan.  Bringing the experience and business knowledge that is the cornerstone of their reputation, BECC helped organize workshops and events that supported entrepreneurs from both in and outside Taiwan.

Since its inception in October 2007, BECC has helped the SME Centre arraigned events with topics like Internet marketing, corporate branding, logistical solutions, accounting, HR and ARC related legal issues.  In the SME Centre, BECC saw another opportunity to use their understanding of business to improve the lives of the people in their community, as well as promote Taiwan's role internationally.

 

BECC's New Office to Provide Unique Training Experience

With over three years at work providing professional English training and consulting to some of Taiwan's most noteworthy companies, BECC is pleased to announce that they will shortly be offering individuals the same professional and high-quality solutions that have made them an industry leader.  "We needed to expand our offices to meet the needs of our growing list of corporate clients, but we also took it as an opportunity to begin answering all the requests we've had from individuals for classes outside the workplace," said Daniel Hailstone, BECC's Chief Operations Officer.

Located in the heart of Taipei city, next to the Far Eastern Hotel on AnHe Road, BECC's new office will include an exclusive training environment with class sizes ranging from one to eight individuals.  "We wanted to make this an experience, and so we're really excited to offer a level of service you won't find at other training facilities in Taiwan.  We can't wait for our students to come down, have a cup of coffee in our sun-lit lounge, cross paths with other motivated professionals and receive the sort of attention outside the class we've always prided ourselves on providing inside," Mr. Hailstone added.  BECC is offering the full range of their training programs, and for one-on-one classes, exclusive executive level coaching in their new location.

 

BECC Helps En Tie Commercial Bank Through Acquisition

When an international private equity fund decided to purchase a controlling stake in En Tie Commercial Bank, it meant reorganization and new opportunities for for growth.  En Tie's employees also found themselves suddenly part of a larger English-language company, and with a new chairman with whom they had to communicate.  The challenge and stress of the situation decreased their confidence in their language skills and job performance, now having to make presentations, write reports, and participate in meetings using English.  BECC's first job was to determine their levels and needs, after which they designed a twelve week  program to address those needs.

With En Tie staff suffering from shaky confidence and mounting pressure, BECC consultants realized that to enable En Tie's employees to do their jobs better, they had to do more than teach English language - they had to motivate and inspire.  The training and guidance BECC provided helped En Tie quickly dismantle communication barriers, communicate with their new board of directors, and bring to their work the same level of professionalism they always had in Chinese.  When the course finished, BECC received a 100% satisfaction rating from the entire class, proving again that for BECC, actually helping people comes first.

 

For Mega Financial Holdings, BECC's Training Makes a Difference

Finding a training solution that targets managers specifically presents several challenges for Taiwan's growing companies.  For Mega Financial Holdings, the first of these was finding instruction that could not only improve the way their managers communicated in English, but strengthened them as managers and sharpened their understanding of  business.  When BECC stepped in, the management team had already had several unsatisfying experiences with other training solutions.  After evaluating their specific needs, BECC designed a program that improved their English communication at the same time as teaching valuable lessons on organizational behavior and important managerial strategies.  The change was almost immediate as Mega Financial Holdings managers found new professional skills to apply in their jobs, and as it would turn out, to their lives.

For one student, the lessons BECC consultants delivered did even more.  After studying reflective listening, a communication techinque used in meetings and negotiations to bridge the gap between participants and improve understanding, one manager found herself using the strategies with her teenage son.  “It didn’t mean I agreed, but rather understood, what he was saying and this went along way with my son," she said, emphasizing that the techniques are useful even when speaking in Chinese.  Comprehensive training, like the kind BECC is quickly becoming known for, finds relevance in all corners of a student's life.  The real test of a training solution, therefore, must certainly be how a student finds uses for it, and only BECC has made training solutions that truly help people a priority.