Marico Bangladesh Limited, in partnership with global Toastmasters International, has come forward to create a corporate toastmasters club, which is currently the only company-sponsored corporate club in Bangladesh and the first corporate Toastmasters club in the FMCG sector in Bangladesh.
The pandemic has pushed businesses to re-invent their operations and work dynamics. As a result, the need for professionals to hone necessary leadership and soft skills to work, collaborate and manage teams remotely has soared.
The Marico Bangladesh Toastmasters Club will enable employees of Marico hone their leadership, public speaking and critical thinking skills in a social and experiential learning setting.
On this feat, Md Altaf Hossain, Territory Manager, also Vice President said "Marico's commitment to learning and development is unbound. We believe Toastmasters International will be a game-changer platform that will enable our members to develop life-long skills at their own comfort."
With over 352,000 members in around 16,400 clubs across 143 countries, non-profit educational organization Toastmasters International empowers people to become more effective communicators and leaders. Over a half of the Fortune 500 companies including the giants like Apple, Disney, Google, Boeing, Toyota etc. have their Toastmasters clubs. Marico Bangladesh joined the league by launching Bangladesh's only company-sponsored corporate club.
HR Director of Marico Bangladesh, Ashish Mane said, "Unleashing true potential of our members is at the heart of our business strategy. Even in the pandemic, we ensured that employee's professional learning and development remain unhindered. The best way to do so is providing inclusive upskilling opportunities and enabling them to deliver positive results through online and social learning. Our affiliation with Toastmasters International is one such avenue."
Mr. Mehedi Hossain, who is acting as the advisor and Vice President - Education of the club appreciated "While we have had a lot of community Toastmasters clubs, having a corporate Toastmasters club in Bangladesh FMCG sector is a first. It is great to see organizations such as Marico taking learning as a priority, even in times of such crisis."
Meanwhile, Marico Bangladesh has adopted multiple social and digital learning initiatives such as Inspire leadership Series, Blink learning app, etc to enable their employees to grow and learn collaboratively even during this time of social distancing.
Humaira Afreen, AGM-HR at Marico, said, "The importance of leadership, communication and critical thinking skills is paramount to keep pace with an evolving workspace. We are delighted to have partnered with Toastmasters International to provide the right experience and platform to our members."