When a European Works Council is constituted and/ or new members are elected, the new representatives very often feel a little bit lost because they have not been properly prepared for their new role.

For many of the representatives it is the first time they experience an event like a European Works Council conference and it can be quiet intimidating indeed.

Presence has developed introductory modules to make sure that all EWC members can quickly be effective.

A) EWC : How does it work ?

• Presentation of the European Works Council Directive: What is it?
• How does it impact on your company?
• Rights and obligations of management and employee representatives
• Analysis of your agreement: What's in it for you ?
• Interactive workshops to concentrate on some specific issues
• Etc ...

 B) Understanding the EU

• How is the EU built?
• What is the role of the different EU institutions?
• How does the EU function?
• What role do the EU members play?
• Etc ...

C) Working together

EWC members need to be aware of intercultural differences and be given the tools to use them constructively.
Learning to work together starts with intercultural awareness

• Cultural dimensions and meaning of culture
• Influence of culture on values, attitudes and self-perception
• Stereotypes and prejudices
• Social etiquette across cultures ; cultural dialogue
• Meaning and effects of direct and indirect communication
• Understanding non-verbal language
• Etc ..

Next we help them to work together efficiently with their fellow representatives and look beyond cultural stereotypes which condition any exchange.
In this stage they learn to appreciate other persons, their opinions and points of view, their values, ...
The objective of this session is to teach people how they can work as a team using each other’s complementary strengths.

D) Customised Language Training Courses

• What are the language requirements of your company?
• What are the fluency levels of the course participants?

After putting your candidate participants through a verbal and written language test, we put together a recommended programme. One that is perfectly geared to your company and your staff.

E) Financial Sense

The course is of considerable interest to members of the EWC who have no background in finance. It is of equal interest and value to other non-finance personnel, who nonetheless are held responsible for the financial impact of their actions, activities and initiatives.It sets out to explain how information contained in financial reports can provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses of a business. The main focus of the course will be on the generation of profit and cash, value adding, the utilization of assets and the impact of capital structure.

Educational Objectives

• To help promote an improved understanding of Financial Information provided to the EWC
• To link financial statements and cost information to operating realities

Course Prerequisites

• Sense of humour
• Commonsense

Course Content

• The Operating Cycle and the link with Profitability, Cash Flow and Liquidity
• Working Capital
• Ratio Analysis to gain insights into the health of the operation from financial statements.
• The meaning of the terminology, and the vital interrelationships among the different assets, liabilities, revenue, costs and expenses.

Methodology

The course is extremely interactive. Participants are led to understand key issues and relationships through a process of guided self-discovery. At the end of every exercise they will be required to present and explain their findings.
Participants work in groups with smaller case studies all through the course.