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Showing posts from July, 2010

How to take phone calls for your colleagues?

Very often, our customer calls us and would like to talk to my colleague. If my colleague is at lunch, I would say, “He’s at lunch,” or, “He’s away at lunch.” You can even say, “He’s taken off for lunch,” or, “He’s not back from lunch yet.” ( Ways of saying “out to lunch” ) If it’s not lunch time, and he/she is not at his/her desk, I would say, “He is not at his desk. Can I take a message?” ( He is not at his desk ) If my colleague is off sick, this will be appropriate: “he is off sick.” or "she is out sick."

What is Ascension Day?


Secondment, Job shadowing, Study visits

The term secondment is used broadly to cover a temporary movement or 'loan' of an employee to another part of an organisation or to a completely different organisation. Job shadowing is actually one of the most common of all training techniques for new employees. Essentially, job shadowing involves spending a period of time with a seasoned expert, observing everything that he or she does that is related to the work that is expected to be accomplished as part of the daily routine of the job. Involving one new employee to act as the observer, and one person to function as the demonstrator, this allows the new hire a chance to get a handle of what is involved in performing the tasks associated with the work. Study visits, it's quit straight forward to understand its meaning.

The festivals, fetes, fiestas and parades

Festivals means a day or period of celebration, typically for religious reasons, or an organized series of concerts, films, etc. The word originates from latin festivalis, from festa 'feast'. Fetes. In Britain, fete is an elaborate party (often outdoors) or an organized series of acts and performances (usually in one place) to raise funds for a charity or institution, typically involving entertainment and the sale of goods. In chiefly North America fete is a celebration or festival. Fiestas is an elaborate party (often outdoors), normally refers to a religious festival or a festive occasion in Spanish-speaking countries. The word originates from Spanish, from Latin fest, specifically means saint's day celebrated in Spain and Latin America with processions and dances. Parades, is a noun, means a ceremonial procession including people marching.