B2B Cambodia sat for an interview with Andrew Barnes-Roberts, founder and Director of The Presentation Clinic, a soft skills training company in Phnom Penh established in 2016, to discuss why investing in training and development for staff is a win-win for Cambodian companies and the economy.
The Presentation Clinic provides soft skills coaching in group and one-on-one sessions for clients across a range of roles and industries, such as in management, hospitality, sales, public speaking, media writing, broadcasting, and more.
During the interview, Barnes-Roberts shared the importance of soft-skills training for companies in Cambodia, as the skills gap amongst Cambodian staff persists, soft-skills cannot be overlooked.
The English-born founder emphasised that staff are the product of the country’s environment, culture and education. Therefore when companies face difficulties in choosing the right candidates, he suggested companies work hard on closing those skills gaps by investing more in training.
This can be done through soft skills training to ensure that young Cambodians are able to take full advantage of the economic opportunities that they have, he said.
Sometimes soft skills training can be viewed as expensive, I wouldn't say it's a waste of time, but an expensive necessity. It's something that you need to do. But there is a huge return on investment. Cambodians love to learn. They respond really quickly, when the training is pitched at a level that they understand.
From South Africa To Setting Up The Presentation Clinic In Cambodia
Born and raised in Yorkshire, England, Barnes-Roberts later moved with his parents to South Africa, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in English and Drama from the University of Cape Town (UCT). He then spent over 25 years working in South Africa's radio and television industry, developing expertise in voice coaching, public relations, and broadcast media.
He was a Senior News Anchor for one of Africa’s biggest 24-hour news networks, eNCA, from 2001 to 2016, before relocating to Cambodia to launch The Presentation Clinic.
His decision to move to Cambodia was due to the appeal of the country's lenient business ownership laws and the demand for soft-skill training, specifically in areas like confidence building, public-speaking, and presentation skills, he told B2B Cambodia.
Barnes-Roberts said that the initial target was expats and multinational companies upon arriving in the Kingdom, however, he noted a rising demand among Cambodian companies looking for necessary soft-skills training.
He now trains those from lower-level staff to managers and CEOs, while the tourism and hospitality industry constitutes a significant portion of the Presentation Clinic's clientele, particularly among multinational hotels.
The Importance Of Soft-Skill Training For Companies In Cambodia
With Cambodia’s growing economy, local companies are stepping up and more multinational companies continue to enter the market. There is an increasing demand for his training for both frontline staff and managerial levels.
One of the issues in the hospitality industry, Barnes-Roberts said, is when young staff hesitate to make decisions in the moment due to a lack of confidence, and he is confident the training he provides results in fewer delays and frustration for guests in terms of enhancing service quality.
“What a lot of young staff are doing, is they would rather not have the confidence to make a decision in the moment, [so they] waste time going to find their team leader or supervisor. In that gap of time, the guest becomes more annoyed; they feel the attitude is bad and the service is not good,” Barnes-Robert said.
It's really about core soft skills – confidence, a sense of empowerment, what we call taking ownership, and realising your job is yours.
He further added that soft-skills training should not be limited to managerial levels alone. It is important to conduct training across all levels within an organisation. The founder and Director is adamant that different staff members have varying needs when it comes to soft skills development.
From mid-to-senior level management, he said they may not need as much training in confidence and empowerment, but they would benefit from enhancing leadership skills which could include time management, effective decision-making, and improved communication with staff.
In alignment with this, The Presentation Clinic introduced tools like the Eisenhower decision matrix to help individuals make decisions while dealing with interruptions and distractions throughout the day.
“How can I create a greater window of time to be doing strategic thinking and planning and having a good look around me to see if the right people are in the right places. That question of alignment, I think, becomes really important,” Barnes-Roberts said.
Choosing The Right Soft-Skill Training Companies in Cambodia
Since the opening of the Presentation Clinic in 2016, there are more choices among soft-skills training options and more locally-based training providers, online courses like those on LinkedIn, as well as the option to hire a consultant from overseas.
Barnes-Roberts said that the often-asked question from clients is how they know if the training is working. He explained that whether the training was with the Presentation Clinic or other reputable training organisations in Phnom Penh, clients will see an immediate difference.
"We're in the business because we believe in transformative training. It must make a difference; it should count. And with some training, you'll see an impact straightaway," he affirmed.
"But for things like sales training, and building more effective client relations, creating a better first impression, getting customers past pain points - where you start to see a difference in your bottom line in terms of the percentage of sales increasing, that needs to be tracked over a longer period of time," he added.
The Presentation Clinic will stay in touch with clients from three to six months post-training to find out if there's a difference, and usually, the answer is yes.
Find Those With Passion And Train Them
Barnes-Roberts mentioned that while investing in training and development for staff is beneficial for a company, there is still a prevailing attitude among corporates, not only in Cambodia but around the world, that they are not interested in skills training.
He observed that when a company advertises a position, they often prioritise finding a candidate who can already perform the job rather than investing more in developing that person to excel in their role.
“If the person we're looking for loves the industry, is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, with all the energy we need, and the love for their job, it will take care of the rest. But let's look for the passion first and worry about the skills later.”