The world seems to be getting smaller, and our lives are ever more intertwined and connected. It is faster and often cheaper to travel from Leeds in England to Amsterdam, than from Leeds to London!
Skype, OoVoo, FaceTime, Linc etc. mean we can connect effortlessly over the internet, and have meaningful interactions with visuals for both business and pleasure; the ease of travel means that it is possible to be in the UK on Monday, facilitate a two-day workshop in Phoenix Arizona on Tuesday and Wednesday and be home for dinner on Thursday.
Our business in the last two years has been mainly delivered in the English language, in the UK, USA, Canada, Singapore South Africa, Denmark, Sweden and Australia. To do this we ensure that the consultants who facilitate your programmes have local experience and/or bring cultural sensitivity born from their experience of your markets.
For example, Nick Girling (Senior Consultant) has delivered over 200 days of workshops in North America over the last four years, earning him a prestigious O1 Visa from the US Government, as well as developing the ability to adapt quickly and feel comfortable in the culture.
For example, Jean-Marc Soulas (Senior Associate Consultant) delivers in English, French, German and Dutch and adds value in Spanish.
Lesley Cartwright, (our Content Manager and co-author of Developing Reflective Practice) speaks and writes excellent French, and has for many years worked closely with professionals from Germany, Spain, South America, France and Francophone countries.
Noemi Ripert (Senior Commercial Assistant) is French, living in England and fluent in both languages with a more than average grasp of business German.
Our extended family of associate consultants can deliver / facilitate in seven other languages including Mandarin, so our ethos is simple; we will travel to where you need us whether that be Newport Gwent, Newport, Rhode Island, or Newport, Australia.
Before 2009, some larger training, coaching and consulting firms prided themselves on the number of embedded local ‘in country’ consultants they had.
Indeed, it can be a unique selling point to have 120 or more salaried consultants in various parts of the world ready to deliver the local part of a global project in the local language at a few days’ notice.
Unfortunately this model has high fixed cost, and demands the firm charge high fees. It can work as long as a firm can sell more than it can deliver. If not it can be a fragile and unsustainable model as sadly some good organisations have found to their cost over the last four years
At NGA we have a core of high quality trainers, coaches and consultants who are associates of the business. We call on them when we need a particular set of skills, languages or locations, and let them get back to their own businesses when the project is over. This makes us nimble and agile, as well as around 25-30% less expensive than some other firms.
We assure the quality of what we deliver to you by virtue of the fact we have known all of these girls and boys for over 10 years. We trust them!
We also believe in the theory of reciprocity, written about by Robert Cialdini in his book Influence, The Power of Persuasion. If we cannot help you, we will ensure we refer you to the best expert that can. What comes around goes around as they say, so contact us, whether your project is regional, national or international we will be happy to discuss it with you.
