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Sep 17

Cultural Awareness Training: Ensuring a Successful Cultural Adaptation

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

An international assignment is always a challenge from both a professional and personal perspective as coping with the differences within the workplace and the personal environment can be difficult.

Statistics show that failed international assignments are mainly related to a lack of adaptation either from the expatriate or his/her family. A failed expatriation can have severe consequences for an organisation and result in a significant loss of money as expatriates can be expensive.

Globe Kasia i Cultural Awareness Training: Ensuring a Successful Cultural Adaptation

© istockphoto.com/ Kasia

 

Studies suggest that a failed international assignment can cost between$100,000 and $300,000. Failed business or project objectives also indirectly harm the brand image and limit the future business perspectives of the company. Finally, the damage on the expatriates’ morale and performance can also be disastrous, depression and a long lasting loss of confidence can affect them even after they return.

Working habits are one of the main problems encountered by expatriates as they can be fairly different from one country to another. The way people deal with risk, hierarchy, time and decision making processes are different and these differences can hinder an expatriate’s performance. Expatriate cultural programs can increase the understanding of the impact of these differences which will help them to adapt more easily to his/her new environment. Cultural awareness training will also provide expatriates with key insights and practical information about business and social practices in the country.

It is also crucial to assess and understand the expatriates’ main concerns in order to help them to succeed. According to the HSBC Expats Survey results, expatriates are mainly preoccupied with their ability to make friends abroad, socialise and adapt to the local community. They are also concerned about ensuring their partner and family have an enjoyable experience.

All of these challenges can be difficult to overcome without the appropriate and relevant cultural awareness training. Deciphering Chinese or Indian social and business practices and customs is almost impossible without the proper guidance. During an expatriate cultural program, delegates can also benefit from the experience of their trainer who will share anecdotes and first hand testimonies that can help expatriates to foresee what await them in their host culture. Cultural awareness training also helps to break down myths and stereotypes which sometimes lead to false assumptions and cultural insensitivity.

Providing expatriate cultural programs such as Living and Working in India or Living and Working in China can help future expatriates to adapt quickly to their new environment and reduce the risks of failure. The relevant and appropriate strategies and tools they will receive on expatriate cultural program will give them the confidence they need to work effectively in another culture and cope with the specific challenges of their expatriation.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Sep 10

Helping the Whole Family to Adapt to a Foreign Country

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

According to the 2010 Global Relocation Trends Survey, only 47% of international assignees had families with children when they went abroad last year. This all time low percentage shows a new trend in international human resources: organisations increasingly prefer to send expatriates with no children for short and long term assignments. This is primarily because the inability of the family to adapt is one of the primary causes of failed international assignments and is one of the main concerns for HR professionals.

Family H Gall i Helping the Whole Family to Adapt to a Foreign Country

© istockphoto.com/ H Gall

 

Indeed, sending a whole family to a foreign country can represent a huge challenge without the proper preparation. Offering an expatriate cross cultural program to the partner and children can be an excellent way to prepare them for their international experience. By undergoing an expatriate cross cultural program, families can get the insights and understanding they need about the environment, way of life, currency, customs or food in the target country. Increasing their understanding of the visible part of the culture they are going to live in is just one aspect. Training can also make expatriates aware of the core cultural values of the target country that they will need to understand and adapt to.

Deciphering the core cultural values of the target culture can help all family members to cope with culture shock which is one of the greatest challenges they will face and can jeopardise the whole expatriation process. An expatriate cross cultural program can also help them to understand the different communication styles and social etiquette to ensure they can communicate what they need and behave without making any cultural faux pas during their expatriation.

Expatriate cross cultural programs can also provide the partners of international assignees practical tips about finding a job or building their social network. This ensures partners avoid getting bored and feeling disconnected from society which can negatively impact their adaptation to the new country. Getting the children ready is equally important. Expatriate cross cultural programs can help kids to understand the differences they will encounter in their new school while it will also improve their ability to adapt to their new environment and make new friends.

Regardless of where you are going on an international assignment, going through a cross cultural training course is the best way to make sure you enjoy your new life as an expatriate. Cultural training programs can also provide peace of mind to human resource professionals responsible for ensuring the expatriation is a success.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Sep 08

Getting your Expatriates Ready for an International Assignment

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Human Resources 1 Comment »

International organisations recognise the benefits of sending skilled employees overseas to open new offices, win new business, manage local teams, etc. Assuming that employees selected for an expatriation have the skills they need to be efficient in that role can be dangerous. Every culture has a unique set of values and working practices that can be difficult to understand, adapt to and manage if the expatriate does not have the appropriate level of intercultural preparation.

 

Meeting Neustockimages i1 Getting your Expatriates Ready for an International Assignment

© istockphoto.com/ Neustockimages

 

Culture shock is probably the first and most important challenge expatriates will encounter when relocating abroad. The different lifestyle, food, language and environment among other things can result in a feeling of culture shock that needs to be considered by both the expatriates and the organisation in order to prevent serious performance issues. The inability to cope with culture shock can result in a failed expatriation which can represent a huge financial loss for any organisation.

Culture also widely influences working practices. Attitudes to time for instance can vary dramatically from one culture to another. Germans tend to consider time as linear and will schedule projects carefully and do their best to follow the project plan or agenda. Indians on the other hand, tend to consider time as circular, meaning they usually don’t plan their actions throughout the day and are likely to do several tasks at a time. Bringing the two cultures together without an expatriate intercultural program before their collaboration can result in frustration and misunderstandings about when things should be completed. Attitudes towards authority, decision making or reward systems are other examples of where working practices can also vary significantly across cultures.

Communication styles are another factor of international working that can greatly differ from one country to another making it difficult at times to decipher your foreign counterpart’s message. Non-verbal communication such as eye contact, touching, smiling or even the distance between people can have totally different meanings depending on your culture. Other elements of communication such as context, accents, acronyms or specific vocabulary (e.g. American vs. British English) can also be obstacles for expatriates communicating across cultures.

Expatriate intercultural programs like Living and Working in Germany can ensure that expatriates have the right knowledge of cultural attitudes and how they impact business practices in other cultures. The importance of expatriate intercultural programs should not be underestimated as with the right level of intercultural preparation expatriates can avoid cultural conflict, loss of time and failed assignments.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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