NBK Insider January 2011 issue

NBK Insider

Rev it up!

January 2011 Issue 31

Dearest NBK family, The Qatar Motor Show 2011 was the first International Motor show to be held in Qatar, under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabor Al Thani, Prime Minister of foreign Affairs. The Motor show was organized through Qatar Tourism Authority in part-nership with Q-Media Events and GL Events, organizers of Bologna Motor show within a consortium to enable the International standard. Over 40 of the world’s top brands were on show includ-ing Concept cars, Super cars, Specialized after sales suppliers and a major outdoor arena area which will be staging test drive and motor sport “drifting” for the enthu-siast. NBK were represented by the Mercedes-Benz team which previewed the new G55 Arabia Edition, the official launch of the car for the region at the show. Michelin was also present to reinforce their 36 years as the official distributors for Michelin Tyres in Qatar. We conducted a press conference on the 26

th January 2011 at 3:45 pm to officially launch

the G55 Special Edition. The Chairman and CEO, Sheikh Nawaf Bin Nasser Al-Thani and the President of Daimler Middle East, Mr. Mike Belk joined the Management Team at the Press Conference that day. That same day there was a major Automotive Congress taking place at the Four Seasons where some of the top Automotive Experts from around the Globe shared knowledge and experience to an invited audience. NBK Automotive with the support of Head Office Public Relations has invested substan-tially in this important and prestigious event to reinforce our number one status as “The Luxury Car Brand” - Qatar. I hope everyone had the chance to go and visit! All the best ,

Paul Maryan COO –Auto

Insider’s Note


NBK IN THE NEWS


NBK revs up the Qatar International Motor Show 2011 with Mercedes-Benz and Michelin!

Nasser Bin Khaled Automobiles has show-cased its most mind-blowing automotive col-lection at the Qatar Motor Show 2011 in its first international edition held at the Qatar Interna-tional Exhibition Centre from January 26 till 29. The event saw in attendance Sheikh Nawaf

Nasser Bin Khaled Al Thani, Chairman and

CEO of NBK, Mr. Mike Belk, President and

CEO of Daimler Middle East & Levant, Mathias

Geisen, Senior Manager, Sales & Product

Management G-Class Cross Country Vehicles

Division (PBG/V) Daimler AG, and Khalid

Shaa'ban, General Manager of NBK Automo-

biles and comprised a series of launches

amongst which was the unique and first, G-

Class Arabia 100 Limited Edition 2011 and the

ML Grand Edition 2011.

After 32 years, and over 200,000 units of G-

Class sold to customers around the world, this

rugged off-roader is still going strong today

and shows no signs of fatigue. With over 4000 units sold in the past 10 years, the Middle East has played a pivotal role in this success, being the 4

th

biggest market for G-Class world-wide and the biggest market in terms of G55 AMG sales. As a tribute to this growth, and to continue the success of the limited Edition 79, Mercedes-Benz Cars Middle East & Le-vant, in cooperation with Mer-cedes-Benz G-Class produced the Middle East-only version of

the “G”. Limited to 100 units and intertwined with the Middle Eastern motoring heritage, this new member of the G-Class family is available in two exciting Designo Magno colours, Cash-mere White and Nightblack. Exterior parts in Designo Magno Nightblack, inlay protection strips in carbon design and 19” alloy AMG wheels in black matt finish give the vehicle a stylish and unique exterior look.

Its most spectacular features include a 2-tone Designo leather in black and porcelain, an in-ner- section door covers in porcelain, floor mats with bordering porcelain, a champagne white Designo piano lacquer wood trim, a media inter-face, a rear entertainment system, the NeckPro headrest as well as a badge. The Mercedes-Benz Grand ML is an upgraded version of its premium selling M-Class SUV. Among the features that make the Grand Edi-tion stand out from the rest include a 19-inch light-alloy wheels featuring a unique Y-spoke design, special blue-tinted thermal insulation glass, dark-tinted headlamps, and darkened taillights. The Grand Edition also boasts the use of LED technology. Both the Mercedes-Benz GL 55 Arabia Edition and the Mercedes-Benz ML Grand Edition are on showcase at the Qatar International Motor Show and at the NBK Automobiles Mercedes-Benz dealership located on Salwa Road.

Additionally, Michelin put to show its driving sensation enhancers, the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 and the Michelin Latitude Cross. Pilot 3, made especially for sports-oriented vehicles and high-powered saloons, attracted passionate drivers looking for the latest technical developments from the favorite tyres brand, Michelin whereas the Latitude Cross, geared for at-ease perform-ance on track, had visitors flocking to the Mich-elin's stand to have an up-close feel of the driv-ing comfort provided by a real on-road tyre.

NBK IN THE NEWS

QAC fulfills its commitment to “100% customer s

In a new effort to teach teamwork and build a stronger team for a stronger customer satisfaction, QAC has recently come up with offbeat activities during the “QAC Front Line Committed Team to 100 percent Customer Satisfaction” day. After a small gathering for a casual lunch, a re-freshment training session was conducted under the theme of “Customer Enthusiasm”. Then em-ployees headed all together by buses as one team to Al Gharafa Stadium, to watch the Asian Cup Quarter Final Football Match, Japan versus Qatar. And the organizers of the QAC event insisted on attending this game, considering that QAC is the sole agent for Mitsubishi Motors Corporation of Ja-pan, which made it difficult to take sides.

Building customer satisfaction One of QAC’s major priorities had always been achieving full customer satisfaction, through know-ing what the customer wants, and delivering his needs. In order to achieve that, the company em-phasized on building a valued team, that is able to work together, and as such is evenmore pro-ductive. Joining between professional training and leisure is a way to achieve that goal.

Enthusing employees Basically, “happy customer” means “happy employee” and vice versa. Therefore, QAC has many strategies to enthuse its employees and empower them, either through training sessions, or a wide variety of activities on monthly and annual basis, in addition to interactive upon needs. For exam-ple, certificates for best performing employees in every department are awarded on regular basis, to those who reach the highest above the target. Choices are based on targets and numbers. On the top of that, all members of the team have the chance to vote for the best employee. Elected employees and laureate receive certificates, as well as financial rewards and gifts items.

customer satisfaction” through teambuilding activities

Evaluation and follow-ups In order to evaluate customer satisfaction, QAC uses follow-up questionnaires, to build the CSI scores for each department within the company where there is interaction with the customer, mainly in the sales department, service center, and body shop. Last year, as Lassade said, over 4,000 questionnaires were conducted in 2010. Following a sales or a service offered, customers were contacted and asked about 12 questions to evaluate how satisfied they were. Upcoming events Finally, it is worth noting that QAC is gearing up towards the upcoming inauguration of its spec-tacular showroom for used cars, and the Fuso dedicated showroom, expected by the end of Feb-ruary. And in the second quarter of the year, a state of the art service center with over 100 work-stations will be inaugurated. It is also worth mentioning that the current service center opens its doors from 7a.m. to 12.30a.m. past midnight, “for better customer convenience”, said Lassade.


HR NEWS

In today’s fast-paced business world with so many

pressures on our time, we need all the help we can get

to avoid any unnecessary extra work duties. Our col-

leagues do not deliberately overburden us with work but

they often do so unconsciously, particularly when com-

municating via e-mail.

With that said, what percentage of internal business e-

mail do you think is unnecessary and what percentage

marked ‘high priority’ do you think actually demands the

reader’s immediate attention? Although the statistics

may or may not surprise you, they should shock you into

evasive action. So, here goes. Research conducted by

Gartner revealed that 34% of internal business e-mails received are unnecessary and only 27% identified as ‘high prior-

ity’ are indeed urgent (cited on www.geek.com).

Therefore, how can we communicate more effectively and with more consideration from an e-mail Etiquette perspective?

Em@il Etiquette

• Don’t send copies of e-mails to people unless they

really do need to be copied.

• Don’t send attached files, especially large ones,

unless you have a good reason to, and only if the per-

son is expecting them and you know they can open

them.

• Avoid sending e-mails marked “high priority” unless

they really are.

• Use “receipt requested” only if really necessary. Re-

member that some people either do not know how to

use this functionality anyway and/or will not use it so

that you have no proof they received the e-mail in the

first place.

• Use the ‘private’ or ‘confidential’ sensitivity option

when communicating such information so that the

reader knows to treat it as such.

• Be careful when ‘replying to all’ after receiving an e-

mail as part of a mailing list.

• Reply timeously to received e-mails as this also en-

courages senders to reply quickly to your e-mails: this

is helped by a daily cleaning out of your In-Box and

prioritising those e-mails that you must reply to

quickly. NB. If you can’t reply quickly due to the

amount of information-gathering required, let the

sender know you will reply and give a date when you

will do so.

• Set your ‘Out of Office’ reply when you are not at your

desk so senders know when they can reach you or an

alternative contact person.

• Let the sender know you have received his or her e-

mail (via ‘read receipt’/quick one-liner).

• Be careful of divulging the e-mail addresses of your

work colleagues, especially when forwarding mes-

sages. Use the Bcc option too.

• Think very carefully before sending a hostile, angry or

sarcastic message and avoid verbal attacks in elec-

tronic format. The reader will have a written record of

your tirade and may also send it on.

• Exercise good taste in the messages / jokes you send

to people and check they want to receive them in the

first place. If you do not wish to receive such mail, let

the sender know in a polite manner that you would like

to be removed from their mailing list.

By Lance Rooney

In The Spotlight

A Peak into the life of

LANCE ROONEY

A Masters Degree in

Education, a communica-tions specialist and a great business author, Lance Michael Rooney is NBK's Head of Training and Development and the man behind the steering

of a department that

keeps our business knowl-

edge fresh and healthy.

From England to Turkey

to KSA to UAE to South

Africa and now Qatar,

Lance has basically ad-

vised, consulted and

trained teams working in

various industries and has

been highly acclaimed for

his efforts.

This month, we speak to

Lance about business and

leisure so let's take a peak

into his life at NBK and in

Doha!


Have you faced any challenges in introducing employee Train-ing and Development (T&D) programmes? After having delivered a number of Customer Service and Per-formance Management training programs over the past 3 months, I would say that some managers lack a real appreciation of the value of T&D within the organiza-tion, seeing it as a cost rather than an investment and as an imposition on the time of their employees rather than as a value-adding experience for those employees and NBK itself. This is a mindset that I know I’ll need to change by showing the value of T&D through improved bottom line for their departments and higher levels of job satisfac-tion amongst their employees. Thankfully, the Business Owners and the Group HR Manager know the importance of T&D and are providing the necessary support to it, hence my appointment late last year.

Why do you think these programmes are impor-tant? Firstly, we need to ensure our staff have the neces-sary skills to enable us to compete in the domestic and global marketplaces. Secondly, we need to provide T&D opportunities to employees who are under-performing in their jobs so that we support them for improved performance. Finally, we must provide our staff with clear career paths within the company in order to retain our talented employees: T&D can assist greatly in this talent management process. What in your opinion is the most important HR programme for an organization? Without doubt, Leadership, as this is critical not just for managers who must have Team Leadership Skills, or executives who have to demonstrate Stra-tegic Leadership Skills, but all employees who must have Self-Leadership Skills. It’s not just the manager’s responsibility to lead, but the em-ployee’s too. They must always ask themselves some of the following questions: ‘How can I moti-vate myself?’, ‘How can I take responsibility in this situation?’, ‘How can I be a positive role model for

my colleagues?’, ‘Am I acting with the highest levels of integrity in my dealings with customers and my col-leagues?’ Leadership is not the domain of managers alone, but that of every single employee within the company, irrespective of their position. What is your strategy to improve team-spirit in an organization? One way is for the company or department within it to arrange an event which is open either to their own staff or to employees company-wide as QAC did with the visit which they organized to the Asian Cup Quar-ter Final match between Qatar and Japan earlier this month. However, the impact of such events can only be temporary and so need to be supplemented by other strategies to really sustain the ‘feel-good factor’. Once again, we can see the importance of a man-ager’s Leadership Skills in motivating staff through the establishment of a Departmental Recognition and Reward Policy. Such strategies can include an ‘employee of the month’ (voted for by managers) and a ‘colleague of the month’ (voted for by col-leagues), both of which recognize efforts made to im-prove processes and assist each other in our work. Managers can also award gift vouchers and certifi-cates of appreciation to outstanding employees, and can offer a 'special thankyou' at meetings for the good things people do during the week, like noticing when staff stay after hours and work extra hard to

complete a project. Managers should start a culture of 'catching people doing something right'. Since NBK is privileged to have a multi-cultural workforce, we could also establish cultural appreciation pro-grams, with perhaps one culture featured in the In-sider magazine, and employees from each culture doing a food and culture display once a month for their department, with a 'pot-luck' day at the end of every month, where everyone brings a small cultural dish for an end-of-week lunch. Finally, we also return to the importance of T&D and the role it can play in improving team spirit through the delivery of Team-Building programs company-wide which facilitate a mindset shift in which we all really appreciate the work that each individual and department does for the success of the whole. We’re all imperfect human beings from very diverse cultures and none of us deliberately want to sabotage the work of another colleague or department. So, we need to accept our differences and point out any imperfections in a diplomatic way so that people retain their dignity and learn at the same time. Ulti-mately, we will all stand or fall together: I prefer standing. How would you describe yourself in three words? Empowering. Appreciative. Adventurous.

What is the one thing that you can't do without in the office? My laptop as it enables me to have easy e-mail communications with my colleagues, research valu-able information on the Internet, design training pro-grams for NBK staff, and keep up-to-date with Eng-lish Premier League Football results and forthcom-ing matches before I begin my working day! What is your motto in life? Walk a mile in another person’s shoes’. That way, you’ll always be grateful for what you have, and treat all others with respect and consideration.

DID YOU KNOW? That Lance is the Author of ‘New Perceptions’; a Language, Communication and Academic Skills Course book written specifically for South Africa’s Historically Disadvantaged Individuals in their first year of tertiary study. Due to the fact that these learners originate from backgrounds where English is the 2nd, 3rd or even 4th language, they are significantly under-privileged when attempting to study courses in higher education institutions through the medium of English. ‘New Perceptions’ was published in February 1998 by Maskew Miller Longman whose parent company, Pearson Education (www.pearsoned.co.za), is the world’s largest publisher of English Language texts. ‘New Perceptions’ carries the ISBN number 0 636 03666 9, has sold over 10,000 copies to-date and is still the prescribed text in numerous universities and colleges throughout South Africa.


NBK STREET

“Where do you see yourself in 2022?”


May N. Sheqem

NBN Holding

Back home with my

own family business. Or

in Canada, forging a

new life! (I would rather

choose the latter. )

Leslie C. Cleofe

Finance Department

On those most amazing days of

FIFA 2022, I can see myself

travelling back to Qatar as a fan

supporting the Philippine Team

on their first ever FIFA World

Cup Tournament! And in God’s

will, I can come here again with my family, tour them to

Qatar, show them familiar old places, join them in ap-

preciating how Qatar grow all over the years and remi-

niscing memories in the country that one’s had been my

bread and butter from more than years and helped me a

lot in all sense!

Paul Maryan

COO –AUTO

NBK Holding

Tending to my garden

and enjoying my private

time with family and

dear friends. In other

words not in Doha!

Sheryl Mae Adolfo

Finance Department

I can see myself watch-

ing the 2022 FIFA

World Cup here in

Qatar together with my

husband and kids as a

tourist.

Lucya Abraham

HR Department

Settling in India! And

maybe visiting my

children if they are

here in Doha.

Dexter Javier

NBK Projects Promotion

I see myself in the Philip-

pines, managing my own

business and attending to

my farm.

Get Inspired


SUMMARY OF THE SEVEN HABITS Habit 1: Be Proactive Change starts from within, and highly effective people make the decision to improve their lives through the things that they can influence rather than by simply reacting to external forces. Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind Develop a principle-centered personal mission statement. Extend the mission statement into long-term goals based on personal principles. Habit 3: Put First Things First Spend time doing what fits into your personal mission, observing the proper balance between productions and building production capacity. Identify the key roles that you take on in life, and make time for each of them. Habit 4: Think Win/Win Seek agreements and relationships that are mutually beneficial. In cases where a "win/win" deal cannot be achieved, accept the fact that agreeing to make "no deal" may be the best al-ternative. In developing an organizational cul-ture, be sure to reward win/win behavior among employees and avoid inadvertently rewarding win/lose behavior. Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood First seek to understand the other person, and only then try to be understood. Stephen Covey presents this habit as the most important princi-ple of interpersonal relations. Effective listening is not simply echoing what the other person has said through the lens of one's own experience.

The 7 Habits of Highly-effective people Our character is a collection of our habits, and habits have a powerful role in our lives. Habits consist of knowledge, skill, and desire. Knowledge allows us to know what to do, skill gives us the ability to know how to do it, and desire is the motivation to do it.

Rather, it is putting oneself in the perspective of the other person, listening empathically for both feeling and meaning. Habit 6: Synergize Through trustful communication, find ways to leverage individual differences to create a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. Through mutual trust and understanding, one often can solve conflicts and find a better solu-tion than would have been obtained through ei-ther person's own solution. Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw Take time out from production to build produc-tion capacity through personal renewal of the physical, mental, social/emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Maintain a balance among these dimensions.

Health News

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Humor is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and in-creases happiness and intimacy. In addition to the domino effect of joy and amuse-ment, laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF HUMOR AND LAUGHTER

LAUGHTER IS STRONG MEDICINE FOR MIND AND BODY

Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relation-ships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.

“Your sense of humor is one of the most pow-

erful tools you have to make certain that your

daily mood and emotional state support good

health.”

~ Paul E. McGhee, Ph.D.


Laughter is good for your health

• Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty

laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

• Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter de-

creases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resis-tance to disease.

• Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the

body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

• Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the

function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other car-diovascular problems.

The Benefits of Laughter

Physical Health Benefits:

• Boosts immunity

• Lowers stress hormones

• Decreases pain

• Relaxes your muscles

• Prevents heart disease

Mental Health Benefits:

• Adds joy and zest to life

• Eases anxiety and fear

• Relieves stress

• Improves mood

• Enhances resilience

Social Benefits:

• Strengthens relationships

• Attracts others to us

• Enhances teamwork

• Helps defuse conflict

• Promotes group bonding

Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life. Begin by setting aside special times to seek out humor and laughter, as you might with working out, and build from there. Eventually, you’ll want to in-corporate humor and laughter into the fabric of your life, finding it naturally in everything you do.

BRINGING MORE HUMOR AND LAUGHTER INTO YOUR LIFE

Here are some ways to start:

• Smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter. Like laughter, it’s contagious. Pioneers in “laugh therapy,” find

it’s possible to laugh without even experiencing a funny event. The same holds for smiling. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling.

• Count your blessings. Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the good things in your life will

distance you from negative thoughts that are a barrier to humor and laughter. When in a state of sadness, we have further to travel to get to humor and laughter.

• When you hear laughter, move toward it. Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke

among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?”

• Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at

life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious.

• Bring humor into conversations. Ask people, “What’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”

Please email us with your thoughts and comments at [email protected]

Cartoon January 2011 Issue 31

Documents

NBK Insider January 2011 issue