Innovation through Cooperation. Studying Professionalisation.

Dec. 21, 2011 - PRLog -- The Dutch term ‘zesjescultuur’, which means as much as ‘culture of unmotivated students’, regularly resurfaces in the current Dutch political debates. As a Dutch state secretary recently explained; students nowadays aim for average results with a minimum input and are unwilling to go that extra mile that leads to maximum results. This has become a cultural ‘attitude problem’ that is spreading around Europe and deepens the gulf between education and business. For, where students aim for the mediocre, businesses, in the current financial crisis, need to work hard and be innovative in order to keep the economy going. This problem was the topic of a seminar in Den Haag that took place last week. TeleForwarding attended was there.

With the slogan: “Lifelong learning and professionalization” a number of representatives from the educational and corporate field gathered together in the Dutch Den Haag last December 14th to think about development in ‘the Netherlands Inc.’ During an interactive meeting, in which several visions on the subject were presented, it soon became clear that this conference would revolve around one keyword: innovation. A concept that, in these difficult financial times, is interesting for companies around the world. Most guests connected this term to (personal) development. Students, who were able to give their opinion in several interviews, agreed with this. Nevertheless, many of the people present held the opinion that students, for the greater part, are not motivated to make a real effort towards corporate innovation. “They only want to learn, if they get something in return, like credits for example”, one of the present CEOs claimed.

Several sides came forward with a solution to this problem. Ton Korver, lecturer in HRM at the Haagse Hogeschool, shared with the people present his vision about a future job market, that will be characterized by ‘jophoppers’ hopping from job to job on a regular basis. This, Korver claims, will keep them motivated to further develop themselves. Robin van Barneveld, representing the business sector, called for a closer connection between students and employers during the students’ education. This would make clearer to students what will be expected of them once they enter the job market and motivate them to make the most of their new career. The positions are clear; the educational sector expects a change in business, businesses want more involvement from the educators. The solution seems simple: if both give in a little, the two sectors together can motivate the students to actively help innovating the corporation the Netherlands Inc.

Even so, it soon became clear that nothing is as simple as it seems; the only final conclusion that could be made after an elaborate discussion, was that a big gulf remains between education and business. With keywords such as ‘innovation’ and ‘development’ both sectors mainly wondered: How can the other contribute to my (professional) development? Although everyone present was prepared to discuss the presented issues, it was this question that came to stand between the parties. However, with a small adjustment, this question can also offer a way out of the stalemate. “Instead of wondering: ‘What can the other do for me?’ ask yourself: ‘How can I contribute to the development of the other? ‘ This requires a real commitment to change”, says Hans Lasonder, CEO at TeleForwarding Inc. USA.

As the owner of a small company with great ambitions, Lasonder soon realised that his business could only grow with the help of young, motivated people who actively wanted to contribute to innovation. Personal development is definitely important, but, Lasonder claims, “this works both ways: mutual motivation is a key value in our company, for real innovation can only be achieved through cooperation and investment from both management and employees.” In this context, Lasonder feels inspired by Aristotle’s motivation theories, in which the classic philosopher asserted that one can give meaning to life and work by doing those things one cannot yet do, but shall be able to do in the future. “When you start to realize the complexity of a task and conquer the difficulties relating to it, you will experience an increasing pleasure in performing this task and discover an infinite wealth”, argues Lasonder, “that is why we, at TeleForwarding, keep motivating our people to ‘think outside the box’ and thereby go beyond their own world.” Lasonder is convinced that it is mainly about being part of a greater whole, to which you can make your own, small, contribution. With this motivation, that directly opposes the so-called ‘culture of unmotivated students’, Lasonder wants to create more awareness of the world in which we live and work. For, only when the space between ‘me and the world’ is diminished the gap between the worlds of education and business can be closed.

Therefore, apart from offering innovative contact numbers (such as Universal International Freephone or UIFN Numbers, ITFN, Premium Rate and Geographic Numbers), TeleForwarding also tries to keep a bigger picture in mind. “With values such as ethics, reliability and transparency we provide added values that enhance our services in an innovative way. Our customers highly appreciate this, but it also causes our employees to be continually motivated to keep improving our services”, Lasonder adds. In this way a company can reform the ‘culture of unmotivated students’ into a culture that does not settle for anything less than perfection.

Do you want to find out how TeleForwarding can help innovate your company? Take a look at our website: http://www.teleforwarding.us and contact one of our employees.