Practice Listening Business English Exercises for A2 – Teamwork

1   The company is having problems recruiting recent graduates.

2   As a result, they are not recruiting the number of management trainees they need.

3   c, d, f

Audioscript

A = Anatol   M = Michael   E = Erin

A:   Right, I’ll get straight to the point. New graduate applications are almost 30 percent down this year. And, as a result, we’re not recruiting the number of management trainees we need. Now, we have a good reputation. We pay well. And we offer excellent bene­fits. So what’s happening?

M:   It’s a new generation, Anatol. Graduates today just don’t want to work for big organisations like us anymore. Besides, most twenty-one-year-olds simply aren’t interested in insurance as a career.

E:   To be honest, it’s also a question of the work culture. College-leavers these days prefer the workplace to be informal and … well, fun!

A:   Fun? We’re an insurance company, Erin. What do you want? Music on the TV and pinball machines in reception?

A

1 d   2 a   3 e   4 c   5 b

B

Anatol suggests they stop the meeting and meet again in a couple of days when they’ve had time to think about the issue a bit more. He says there’s too much negativity.

Audioscript

A = Anatol   M = Michael   E = Erin

A:   OK, so, let’s get some ideas written up on the flipchart. ‘How … do… we … attract … new … graduates?’ How about attending more careers fairs?

M:   No, that’s a complete waste of time. Students can ­find out all they need to know about us online.

A:   More talks at universities, then?

E:   No, there’s no point. Michael’s right. Jobhunting’s all online these days. Now, a video promotion on YouTube – that might be more effective.

M:   We tried that before and it didn’t work.

A:   We’re not doing very well, are we? Erm, let’s look at what more we can oer as an employer. Erin, any ideas?

E:   Well, most of the people I interview tell me they expect training.

M:   Yeah, but we’re already doing that.

E:   Real training, Michael. Like sponsored diplomas, MBAs.

M:   You want us to pay for trainees to do MBAs? We don’t have the budget for that!

A:   OK, look, there’s far too much negativity in this meeting. I suggest we go away and think about this a bit more and meet again in a couple of days.

a 3   b 5   c 6   d 1   e 2   f 4

Audioscript

A = Anatol   E = Erin   M = Michael

A:   So, Erin. Let’s start with you.

E:   OK, well, we all agree that our biggest problem is getting new graduates to think about insurance as a career. So I suggest we introduce twelvemonth internships. Believe it or not, it’s actually harder to get a paid internship these days than to get a job! I think we’ll ­find it easier to recruit students before they graduate rather than after.

A:   Mm. I really like that idea. And twelve months is long enough for them to learn something about our business.

E:   Exactly. And while we’re on the subject of learning the business, why don’t we provide personal coaching as well? Teach them the professional skills they don’t learn at university.

A:   Good idea. Of course, there is the problem of cost. What can we do about that?

E:   Couldn’t we just spend more on student internships and less on graduate recruitment?

A:   You know, that might not be such a bad idea. Now, Michael, you’re looking at how we market ourselves to graduates. What have you got so far?

M:   Yes, well, the ­first thing is: we need to go mobile with our advertising. Most students prefer to use their mobiles to look for work. So, this is the perfect way to reach them as soon as we have job opportunities.

E:   What a good idea! And doing that means we could also make job offers a lot faster – direct to the applicant’s phone. Did you know that at the moment, a quarter of the people we offer work to have already taken another job by the time we contact them?

A:   Really? But that’s terrible …

E:   OK, as we know, another difficulty we have is our size. So the question is: how do we make our large company feel like a small one? And I think the answer is to put our trainees into smaller project teams.

A:   Actually, I think that’s a great idea. And if we do that, perhaps we can also create a bit of friendly competition between teams. Might make things more … fun. As you say, Erin, that seems to be important nowadays.

M:   Mm, it’s a nice idea, Erin. I’m just wondering about the amount of reorganisation it’ll need. How can we manage that?

A:   Mm, good point. Let’s see what the board thinks.

A

1   It’s expanding / getting bigger.

2   They need to make new members of staff feel they are part of the company.

3   ways of making everyone feel part of the team, ways of getting everyone to work together

4   They are too busy.

5   a challenge / a teambuilding activity

6   one or two new employees with two or three employees who already work there

B

1 b   2 b   3 a   4 b   5 c   6 c

C

1   T

2   F – (‘We’re also planning to employ more staff in the office: two more people in marketing, one more in production …’)

3   T

4   F – (She only asks them to ‘suggest ways of making everyone feel part of the team’ and ‘ways of getting everyone to work together’.)

5   F – (‘We could do it after our usual update on a Friday.’)

6   F – (There is a prize (‘The most interesting or unusual or the funniest could win a prize – something small, like a box of chocolates.’), so it is competitive.)

Audioscript

M = Manager   E1 = Employee 1   E2 = Employee 2   E3 = Employee 3

M:   Hello, everyone. Thank you for making the time to come to this meeting today. I know you’re all very busy.

E1/E2/E3:   That’s fine. / It’s OK. / No problem.

M:   OK, so you all know that we’re expanding the business and that next week, ten new salespeople are joining our team. So we’re getting a lot bigger and this is just the beginning. We’re also planning to employ more staff in the office: two more people in marketing, one more in production and two more in research and development.

E1:   So there will be fifteen more people working here.

M:   That’s right – and more later in the year. We’re expanding everywhere.

E2:   Things will change!

M:   And it will be better for everyone. But we need to make new members of staff feel they are part of the company as quickly as possible.

E1:   OK, and how do we do that?

M:   Well, that’s why you’re here. I would like you to suggest ways of making everyone feel part of the team, ways of getting everyone to work together.

E2:   So like a team-building exercise.

M:   That sort of thing, yes.

E3:   We could start by having a meal together, maybe, going out to lunch.

E2:   But we’re too busy to go out for long lunches right now.

E1:   It doesn’t have to be lunch. We could go out to dinner.

M:   Well, I was thinking of something a bit different. Maybe a team-building activity – you know, like a challenge or something.

E2:   I don’t know … I think it might scare them when they’ve just joined the company.

M:   It doesn’t have to be a big challenge or anything that takes a long time. We could do it after our usual update on a Friday.

E1:   Yes, that’s a good idea. How about putting everyone in groups of four or five employees – with one or two new ones in each group. Each group has to find three things they all have in common with each other. That will get everyone talking.

E3:   Actually, that’s not a bad idea. How will it work exactly?

E1:   OK, well, for example, you can have two new team members and two or three who already work here. Then each team has to find three unusual or interesting things they all have in common to tell everyone else later. Each team could have half an hour to do this. They will have to communicate quickly but it should be quite fun.

E2:   Yeah, sounds good. Then there could be a feedback session where each team has to tell the others what they found out. The most interesting or unusual or the funniest could win a prize – something small, like a box of chocolates.

M:   I really like this idea. It’s good to make it a bit competitive.

E1:   OK. I’ll organise it.

E2/E3:   Yeah, OK. / Sounds good.

M:   Great! Thank you, everyone. Now, let’s have a look at …

1 a   2 c   3 b   4 a   5 a   6 c   7 b   8 a

Audioscript

1   What is the problem with the meeting room?

A:   Hi, Lee. Can I book meeting room 3 on Friday at 10 a.m.?

L:   Let me see if it’s free. Erm, how many people are coming?

A:   There are twenty people.

L:   You won’t get everyone in that room. It’s only for twelve. Why don’t you use meeting room 4 instead?

A:   I don’t like it. There aren’t any windows. Is there anywhere else can I book?

2   What does the woman say about the team building weekend?

A:   Are you excited about the work team building weekend?

B:   The camping trip? Not really. I don’t like outdoor activities.

A:   You too? Everyone is saying that! I hear they’ve prepared lots of different activities for us to do.

B:   Well, I don’t mind that, but we need more people who have done this kind of thing before. I don’t even know how to put a tent up!

A:   I know what you mean. Me neither!

3   What does the man think is the most important quality of a team?

A:   I think a team is really all about the people in it. What do you think?

B:   I agree. It doesn’t matter if they have a lot of experience, the most important thing is that they can work well together and listen. I don’t like it when the people on a team don’t respect the others, are competitive and argue all the time.

A:   I completely agree.

4   How does the woman feel about the promotion?

A:   Hey, congratulations on the promotion!

B:   Thanks. I worked so hard for it but now I’m not sure I want to take it.

A:   Really? Why not?

B:   Well, I looked at the contract and they want me to travel for work more. I just can’t do that. I’ve got to think of my family.

A:   Oh, that’s too bad!

B:   Yeah, I know. I feel really sad about it.

A:   Well, try to put it behind you and move on. There will be other opportunities.

5   How does the man feel about the email?

A:   I can’t believe the email I’ve just received from Human Resources.

B:   Really? What does it say?

A:   It says I’ve taken too much holiday this year, and that I need to pay back two days.

B:   I didn’t know they could do that.

A:   Me neither! How can they? They should monitor the holiday days before we take them. I’m going to complain, I’m not happy about this.

6   What do they decide to do for the team building activity?

A:   So, what should we do for the team building day? How about something creative? Maybe cooking?

B:   I think there will be a lot of people who don’t enjoy that. Not everyone likes cooking. Maybe something more fun like board games or rafting?

A:   I think games could work because everyone has played something before and we can do them in teams. We can’t do water sports because not everybody is fit enough.

B:   OK, well let’s get some games that everyone can do.

7   What do the employees like most about the company?

A:   I love working here.

B:   Yeah, me too.

A:   I imagine most IT companies are good to work for. They are always thinking of their staff, and lots of companies have relaxation and games rooms like we do.

B:   Yes, but here we get paid much more than the others.

A:   Yes, that’s definitely one of the biggest benefits.

8   What is the company going to do to attract more employees?

A:   So, we’ve really got to think about a way to attract more young employees. Maybe we could do a promotional video?

B:   But where will we put it and who will watch it? I think that’s a waste of time. We need to get out and meet people.

A:   What, like go to career fairs? We already go to the important ones. Maybe we should offer more training?

B:   We don’t have the budget for that. Let’s just think of any other fairs that could bring us more employees.