The world has become a very small place in the last decade or so, with instant communication, foreign assignments in every corner of the globe, and cross-cultural teams working together on projects within the same firm.
This is all great news for most businesses – unless, of course, your team aren’t fully prepared for the cultural differences, language variances, and social changes they are likely to encounter when working with people from all around the world.
If your employees are ill-prepared for working in a cross culture environment it can cause issues such as, misunderstandings around business etiquette, communication problems, or, at its worst, it can cause negotiations and deals to break down irreparably.
In order to avoid this scenario, many firms enlist the services of a cross cultural trainer, coach, or training company who can offer specific guidance to employees where different cultures are concerned.
The cross culture courses that these training companies offer can include elements such as, expatriate relocation, sales and communication, team building and negotiation courses. They can often be tailored to fit your requirements, and ideally should be country specific in order to get the best training available for your staff.
If you are new to cross culture training, or are looking to enlist the help of a trusted, reliable training company, then it is worth considering the following advice before making your choice:
Continuity of Cultural Training
A well-structured cross culture training curriculum should provide ongoing support and learning. Education isn’t something that only happens in a classroom, but is a long term investment that takes time to perfect.
Finding a training company that offers structured, specifically tailored training courses, which suit all your requirements may mean using more than one company/trainer, especially if you require training for many different cultures.
Quality of Cultural Training
Trainers and training companies should be able to give examples of the quality of their work, and should come with a wealth of experience and knowledge.
If you are looking for training in a specific country or culture check that the training company can offer bespoke courses, and has expert trainers who are either native, or have lived and worked in the target, and source, country for many years.
There are also quality standards such as, ISO 9001, which give a universal standard for quality management within a company. These standards ensure that their products and services consistently meet customer’s requirements, and that quality is consistently improved.
Adaptable Cultural Training
While it is important that training be consistent, it is also vital that courses and content can be adaptable to suit learners’ needs and requirements. For instance, it is sometimes necessary to use distance learning, classroom settings, or one-to-one training, so check with prospective training companies to see if they offer a variety of learning options.
Time scales are another factor to consider when looking at adaptability. If you have numerous employees who will be completing training then it is sometimes advisable to let them complete this at their own speed.
You’ll find some employees might prefer to complete their training within the shortest time possible, while others prefer to let information sink in over an extended period of time. Allowing your employees the opportunity to select their own learning pace often gives the best results, and with a training company that can incorporate this into their training structure you should get an excellent outcome.
Working with people from other countries can be difficult and frustrating at times, because of different cultural backgrounds, and recognised business norms.
We are all conditioned by culture, but through understanding this, and appreciating the difference between various cultures, it is possible to break down perceived cultural barriers, and conduct business successfully in many different countries.
Creative Word offer an expert team of trainers who can help you to overcome cultural differences. We offer various training courses, from team building to management, or negotiation to customer service, all of which can be tailored to suit your requirements.
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