Bates PanGulf Group sends its senior management personnel to 'school'

Conducted by Andy Eklund, Managing Director of the Burson-Marsteller University, a part of the Y&R network, the experiential learning session was attended by BPG's senior management personnel from Dubai, Kuwait, Jeddah and Baghdad. The twenty-seven participants are responsible for client relationship management across BPG Advertising, BPG PR, Healthworld PanGulf, Premiere PanGulf, PanGulf Media and 141 PanGulf.

The workshop used a board-based business simulation module called 'Tango' to create a better understanding of specific factors that boost profitability. The module involved the familiar tangible factors such as pricing and capacity, as well as critical intangible factors such as image, know-how, personal chemistry and individual competence.

Speaking about the workshop, Abdulla Majed Al Ghurair, Chairman of BPG Group, said: "We at BPG have always fostered teamwork and employee development, which is evident from the workshops and training sessions that we conduct regularly. The Tango workshop provided know-how on how to synergise the intangible factors like image and personal chemistry to financial success, besides shedding light on practical strategies to manage these factors."

He added: "BPG's unique blend of talent and expertise, backed by a 'can-do' execution capability, is committed to offering strategic and integrated communication solutions and is geared towards building significant competitive advantages for our clients in the future. Such workshops help us to strike a balance between increasing our group's effectiveness and profitability in the short run and enhancing its strength in the long run."

At the workshop, the participants learnt to operate for several simulation 'years', tackling the challenges of balancing intangible assets to establish long-term profits in a knowledge organisation.

Avishesha Bhojani, BPG Group Chief Executive Officer, said: "As we are in the knowledge industry, we have a commitment to our clients for consistent investments in the development of our human capital. Ultimately, clients stand to benefit heavily from the expertise our staff gain at such workshops."

He added: "Bates PanGulf has already built a strong regional presence, which is now in an exciting expansion phase. Such workshops will help us raise the bar in terms of our specialised services, and at on a day-to-day level help us to consolidate knowledge, ideas, insights, research and innovation, leading to strategic thinking and quality work for our clients."

The process involved formulating and implementing strategies which fit both employees and customers, finding the balance between an effective short-term strategy and successful long-term planning. It also provided a model on how the knowledge organisation's profitability relates to investments in competence and confidence-building measures with customers.

Bates PanGulf Group, headquartered in Dubai, delivers measurable business results to clients through a full range of consulting and communications disciplines, operating in over 50 countries across six continents. The agency divisions reflect the Young and Rubicam model, of providing specialization in integrated services. For instance, Bates PanGulf PR is the exclusive affiliate of Burson-Marsteller, the leading global public relations and communications consultancy, a part of the Y&R network.