You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin and I'll be your host for today's lesson on English collocations used to discuss change management.
In the 21st century.
The pace of change is very fast and businesses have to fight to keep up to adapt to changes in both the world and the economy.
In meeting rooms around the world, people are debating issues of change.
How do we attract and retain millennials?
How do we make good use of emerging media?
How do we become more efficient?
How can we outsource?
The list of questions goes on and on.
In today's lesson, we'll listen to a meeting in a company that has experienced a lot of growth.
But with success comes growing pains.
They're talking about restructuring their company and trying to figure out exactly how to go about it.
During their discussion, you'll hear many English expressions that we call collocations.
A collocation is a natural combination of words.
For example, you'll hear people talking about making a smooth transition.
We don't say soft transition or clean transition.
Native English speakers always say smooth transition because that's what they grew up hearing.
So now it's a natural collocation.
Even if you didn't grow up with English, you can learn these natural expressions.
By studying collocations, you'll improve your vocabulary and sound more fluent.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to pick out some of these collocations and we'll discuss them later in the debrief.
In the dialogue, we'll hear Lauren, Finn, and Jake.
They're trying to determine how to take the company they founded to the next level.
In particular, they're talking about how to involve company employees in their discussions about change.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
According to Finn, what do they need to show employees rather than just telling them?
2.
Besides talking to employees, what does Lauren think they will need to assess?
3.
What does Jake say they will do during the discussion phase of the process?
I guess what I'm getting stuck on is the difference between consulting with them or soliciting feedback and getting them to champion these changes.
Those seem like completely different goals to me.
I see what you mean.
So it starts with getting their input.
Right.
But then we abdicate the final decision.
That seems risky.
I mean, can we really expect them to take a holistic view of the situation?
Well, we're not delegating responsibility for all decision-making, but we do need to involve them.
This is how we've always functioned.
And maturing doesn't mean becoming super top-down.
Exactly.
You can't just say you value someone's input.
You need to show them, by involving them on some level in the decisions.
Okay, but I'm just concerned about some of the tough changes.
I mean, reorganizing will involve reassigning some employees.
So, I'm not sure how we involve them in those decisions.
I guess we'll have to work that out.
I think the whole idea of authentic consultation is that we don't go in with everything planned out.
We engage all the different stakeholders first, present the goals of the restructuring and ask how best to do it.
Let's call it a listening phase.
I like that.
A listening phase.
Or maybe we call it listening and learning talking to employees, but also assessing all the external factors that come into play.
For sure.
The market has changed.
We're not the only show in town.
Still the best show, though.
Anyway, I like all this.
And so, after all the listening and learning, we go into a discussion phase where we determine our priorities, figure out what it all looks like the vision, so to speak and if people have had their say in that process, then they'll help implement that vision.
Yeah, that's starting to make sense, great.
I see us making a smooth transition over the next year and we'll be set up nicely to roll out some of the changes.
We've talked about new services, new platform, that kind of thing exactly.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and collocations used during the meeting.
At the beginning of the conversation, Lauren is trying to clarify how they will involve employees in the changes.
I guess what I'm getting stuck on is the difference between consulting with them or soliciting feedback and getting them to champion these changes.
Those seem like completely different goals to me.
I see what you mean.
So it starts with getting their input.
Right.
But then we abdicate the final decision.
That seems risky.
I mean, can we really expect them to take a holistic view of the situation?
Lauren feels confused.
The others have been talking about getting employees to lead some of the changes, but she's concerned about abdicating the final decision or giving that decision to the employees.
She's worried that the employees can't really understand the complete picture of the company and its future.
Lauren calls this taking a holistic view.
When you take a holistic view of something, you consider all its different aspects and all the circumstances.
Let's practice some more examples of this collocation to take a holistic view.
Taking a holistic view of the situation means considering everyone's input.
An outside facilitator helped us take a more holistic view of the problem.
Next, Jake clarifies a point about decision making.
Well, we're not delegating responsibility for all decision making.
But we do need to involve them.
This is how we've always functioned.
And maturing doesn't mean becoming super top-down.
Jake is talking about involving employees but not actually delegating responsibility for decision-making to them.
In this case, responsibility refers to the job of doing something, and if you give someone that job or duty, you are delegating that responsibility.
Delegating responsibilities is a big part of a manager's job.
He or she distributes work, duties, and responsibilities to different people.
What are some other ways of using this collocation to delegate responsibility?
Let's run through some more examples.
If you can't complete the proposal, then you need to delegate responsibility to someone else.
Delegating responsibility is an important skill for any manager.
Now let's hear Finn add to Jake's explanation.
Exactly.
You can't just say you value someone's input.
You need to show them, by involving them on some level in the decisions.
Finn is talking about involving employees in decisions, on some level, or to some degree.
They're not making the decisions themselves, but they're part of the decision-making process.
According to Finn, this is how you actually show people that you value their input.
Input, in this case, refers to the ideas and opinions that someone adds to a discussion.
And if you value something, you believe it is important or worthy.
Valuing input means that you truly appreciate what someone has to say.
Let's try some more examples of this expression to value input.
Listen, Mark.
I value your input on this, but in the end, it's my decision.
Staff will only believe you value their input if they can see how it impacts the plan.
Lauren seems to understand what Finn and Jake are saying.
But she's thinking that some decisions and discussions are harder than others.
Let's listen.
Okay, but I'm just concerned about some of the tough changes.
I mean, reorganizing will involve reassigning some employees.
So, I'm not sure how we involve them in those decisions.
The discussion is about restructuring or reorganizing the company.
And reorganizing the company means that they'll have to reassign employees.
Assigning employees means giving them specific positions or jobs.
But if you reassign an employee, you change their role or job.
The challenge that Lauren is talking about is how to involve people in big decisions about their own work.
Of course, they might try to protect their jobs, which might mean resisting change.
This is a very important issue in change management.
Let's practice some more ways of using the collocation to reassign employees.
Our marketing department is too big, so maybe we should reassign some employees.
When we shut down our Chicago office, we had to reassign about 30 employees.
Does Finn have a clear solution to the challenge Lauren mentioned?
I guess we'll have to work that out.
I think the whole idea of authentic consultation is that we don't go in with everything planned out.
We engage all the different stakeholders first, present the goals of the restructuring and ask how best to do it.
Let's call it a listening phase.
Finn doesn't have a perfectly clear idea of how the whole process will happen.
Rather, they'll have to work it out or figure it out as they go along.
He's presenting a very 21st century approach to change when he talks about authentic consultation.
Authentic consultation is about asking people what they think and then actually using their opinions, rather than asking them their opinions but ignoring them in your decision.
The whole process of asking people what they think is part of what we call engaging stakeholders.
Your stakeholders might be inside your company, like your employees, or they might be outside, like your customers or your partners.
What are some other ways of using this collocation to engage stakeholders?
Let's try some examples.
We hired a consultant to help us engage stakeholders outside our organization.
Engaging key stakeholders should be the first step of any strategic planning process.
Remember, Finn called this stakeholder engagement a listening phase.
Let's hear what Lauren thinks about this idea.
I like that.
A listening phase.
Or maybe we call it listening and learning.
Talking to employees, but also assessing all the external factors that come into play.
Lauren finally seems somewhat clear or positive about the process.
And she expands their scope, saying they should not only talk to employees but also assess external factors.
External means outside, as opposed to internal, which is inside.
External factors are all the circumstances outside a company that impact that company's performance.
This might include the competitive market, the economic climate, or changes in customers.
Let's run through some more ways of using this collocation, external factors.
Sure, everyone in the company wants to change, but we need to consider external factors.
External factors like the market and regulations will affect our growth strategy.
Now let's hear Jake talk about what comes after the listening phase.
For sure.
The market has changed.
We're not the only show in town.
Still the best show, though.
Anyway, I like all this.
And so, after all the listening and learning, we go into a discussion phase where we determine our priorities, figure out what it all looks like, the vision, so to speak.
After listening comes discussion.
And as Jake explains, that's when they determine their priorities.
Priorities are the things that are important.
Anytime you make a plan, whether it's for five years or a single day, you determine priorities or decide on the most important things to work on.
As Jake says, this is part of creating a vision for the future.
Let's try some more examples of this expression to determine priorities.
We can't change everything at once, so we need to sit down and determine our priorities.
Now let's get back to the dialogue.
And if people have had their say in that process, then they'll help implement that vision.
Jake mentioned a vision for the future.
Now Finn is talking about implementing that vision.
He's saying that people will help make changes in the company if they were part of the discussion about those changes.
Implementing is about making or doing or putting something into action.
Besides implementing a vision, you can also implement a plan, an idea, or a change.
Sometimes learning one collocation means you learn several, as we tend to use one verb with several different related nouns.
Let's practice some more examples of using to implement a vision.
Charlie has some amazing ideas, but he needs help implementing his vision.
Implementing this new corporate vision will require effort by every employee.
It sounds like the team is starting to reach a common understanding of how they'll go about restructuring.
Let's listen.
Yeah, that's starting to make sense.
Great.
I see us making a smooth transition over the next year and we'll be set up nicely to roll out some of the changes we've talked about.
Finn is using two very common expressions that relate to change.
First, Finn predicts a smooth transition for the company.
A transition is a change from one situation or state to another.
And if that change is smooth, then it's relatively easy, with few problems or bumps.
Let's try some more examples of this collocation, smooth transition.
Good leadership is key to making a smooth transition from a startup to a successful company.
Our hopes for a smooth transition fell apart when the union refused to support the changes.
With a smooth transition.
Finn is confident that he'll be able to roll out the changes that they've discussed.
Earlier, we heard the verb implement, which means to put a plan, vision, or idea into action.
That's the same idea as to roll out.
You can roll out a project, a plan, or as Finn has said, changes.
How else can we talk about rolling out changes?
Let's run through a few more examples.
We plan to roll out these changes one at a time over the next year.
I love this new direction, but I still don't know when we are going to roll out the changes.
Exactly what kinds of changes were the team hoping to roll out?
Let's find out.
New services, new platform, that kind of thing.
Exactly.
It sounds like they have some good ideas for the new things the company can offer, and restructuring or reorganizing the business will help them do that.
Now it's your turn to practice some of the collocations we've looked at in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence, including the missing word.
Remember a collocation is two or more words that we commonly use together, so pay close attention to the words before the beep.
For example, if you hear, You can say, The new CEO has broad support for implementing his vision.
After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
In the Discussions Answer.
Social media helped us engage our stakeholders in the discussions.
Answer.
We can't make a good plan unless we consider all the external factors.
We need to talk to our employees before we roll out these Answer.
We need to talk to our employees before we roll out these changes.
How do we know our first steps when we haven't determined our...
Answer.
How do we know our first steps when we haven't determined our priorities?
Answer.
I know it's hard, but we'll have to reassign some of our employees.
That's all for this lesson on collocations for talking about change management.
We've covered lots of vocabulary in collocations for talking about how to engage stakeholders, determine priorities and implement a vision for the future.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
