Corporate Learning Alliance partners Sciences Po Executive Education

Financial Times | IE Business School Corporate Learning Alliance today announced that Sciences Po Executive Education www.sciencespo.fr will become a member of the Corporate Learning Alliance. The new partnership will expand the custom learning opportunities available to organisations through the Alliance by integrating the multidisciplinary approach and insight into public affairs, publicly regulated sectors and policy that Sciences Po has earned through 40 years of experience.

VanDyck Silveira, CEO of FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance, says: “Many decisions inside the boardroom are increasingly being viewed through a geopolitical lens. Our partnership with Sciences Po will help give the C-suite and senior managers a greater public affairs sensibility. We believe this makes for a very powerful combination when paired with the journalist and business expertise from the Financial Times.”

For over 40 years Sciences Po Executive Education has trained future leaders in the public and private sectors, in France and worldwide, and educated open-minded and enlightened citizens capable of changing the world and transforming society. Sciences Po believes in a multidisciplinary approach, combining professional reality and academic rigour for their 200 executive education graduates every year from 150 different countries, including a notable growth area in Africa. Sciences Po Executive Education trains 7,000 executives each year through 120 custom training programmes.

Nicolas Péjout, Director of Sciences Po Executive Education, says: “We are thrilled to partner with FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance and to join an alliance that includes some of the best business schools around the world. The Alliance provides access to unique expertise, content and innovative learning technologies for a deeper understanding of the real-time challenges in the business world. We look forward to sharing our expertise in publicly regulated sectors, as well as our specialist knowledge of policy, governance and public affairs to companies around the world that are eager to use these skills as a competitive advantage.”

FT journalist offers recipe for improving employee trust in companies

Companies wanting to increase employee trust should listen to frontline staff and deliver on their mission — Michael Skapinker

FT journalist offers recipes for improving employee confidence at European HR conference

An audience of more than 100 HR professionals from across Europe heard how trust has become one of the most important issues of our time. The mistrust that is becoming so prevalent in the political arena needs to be avoided by employers if they are to win the confidence of their employees.

Michael Skapinker, Associate Editor of the Financial Times, used his long experience of reporting on management issues to describe how trusting employees to do a good job is the key to a successful business. “No one sets out to do a bad job,” said Skapinker. “The best managers give employees who make mistakes the chance to fix the problem by understanding the causes, the events that led to them.”

Skapinker was speaking at a leadership development session for FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance (www.ftiecla.com) at the annual HRcoreLAB conference in Barcelona on 9 March 2016. His subject – why employees mistrust their companies and what we can do about it – drew one of the largest audiences at the event.

“After the financial crisis of 2008 employees’ trust in their companies pretty much collapsed,” said Skapinker. “Slowly it’s been improving but evidence from many countries shows that at best today only around two-thirds of employees trust their companies.”

There are several reasons why over a third of staff do not trust the companies they work for, according to Skapinker.

“The tearing up of traditional contracts of employment means that companies no longer offer their people jobs for the long term. In most cases these have now gone and there is so much less job security.

“Some of this has been inevitable. The growth of global trade has created much more price competition. Moving jobs abroad, the introduction of automation, these have made jobs less secure. And the huge pay gap between people at the top and the bottom of organisations has contributed to feelings of mistrust.”

Skapinker described his first personal experiences of managing teams at the FT, learning to trust his staff to do their best, and in turn being trusted. “It’s important to listen to frontline staff, people who deal directly with customers,” he said. “Many people are proud of the work they do for their companies and this should be recognised.”

Skapinker’s advice to companies wanting to regain the trust of their employees is for them to stand for something and clearly say so: “And to deliver on their mission, not just talk about it.”