In the fast-paced life that we live in, personal development has become more than an accessory. If anything, continuous learning, acquiring new talent and skills are key to any kind of growth we want to achieve. This has proven to have a positive impact on how to deal with short and long-term complexities we face on daily basis.
With the half-life of skills decreasing, now estimated to stand at just five years, it is more important than ever to keep improving and upskilling. Several studies have also shown that learning and development are significant factors in employee engagement and companies that engage in training courses see higher levels of staff retention and satisfaction. At Katch’s 12th anniversary just recently, we launched a series of personal development workshops with the goal to further improve our skills because we collectively complete each other – each with their own unique talent.
It is extremely important to look at development skills that benefit you and ultimately the type of clients you service. Having a generic approach to understanding the wide spectrum of the industry works perfectly, yet, it is far more impactful to be focused on what specific skills you can attain that you can implement on daily basis to have an actual and purposeful impact.
Personal development is a lifelong process and essential for personal growth, which then leads to career success. So far to date, we have conducted over 15 sessions on various topics including crisis management, negations one-on-one, leadership profiling, and the power of “why” through these Katch Academy sessions with plenty more planned for the future. Katch has already seen the hugely positive impact of this with some massive client wins in the recent past including Atlantis, the Palm and Atlantis the Royal, an iconic moment for everyone involved in the company. The self-growth and enhancement through the training courses have been extremely beneficial and our clients and reaping the rewards.
Every industry and most especially communication and PR is ever evolving, and it requires agility and adaptability. This also means we need to know and be able to anticipate trends be it offline or online to advise our clients as we are their trusted consultants. The personal development sessions are also a platform to share learning and what worked vs what didn’t. It is a continuous learning process for us and we have seen a tremendous impact on clients as we create measurable impact for them. Since its inception, Katch has grown exponentially, and this is down to the creative ways that the team has been constantly upskilled.
In any industry, you can never get it right 100 per cent of the time. The key to success is not laying down and giving in to moments that did not end as planned. The fun is in the learning as the experience is invaluable, and it is what we bring to our clients on a regular basis.
We are in the service industry, and in this business, which is such a large part of our lives, an average adult spends more than six hours at work each day at least five times a week. Research estimates that we make 35,000 remote decisions a day – even something as small as the font you use – has to be carefully considered because it’s the first glimpse of our client’s brand which they entrusted us with. Recognising how we can make better decisions is ultimately going to have an overall positive impact on everyone involved. Communication skill is another aspect we often overlook so getting better at it is of prime importance. Did you know that seven per cent is the verbal content we use, 38 per cent is the tone of voice used during the conversation and the rest 55 per cent is the non-verbal elements such as gestures and postures? The fact of the matter is that 10 per cent of conflict is due to differences of opinion and the rest 90 per cent is due to the tone of voice.
The journey of personal development never ends; however, it is a journey that we should all take to constantly better ourselves. At Katch International, we are taking this voyage of discovery and while we are attempting to better ourselves, we also hope to bring these benefits to our clients in the process.
A marathon is not won in the first mile, just as personal development is not achieved overnight. The process takes time, but the sooner you start, the sooner you can expect to yield results.
