A large company in the IT industry in Poland where 50% of employees are Polih nationality and 50% are foreigners. Prior to our involvement, the company only provided the employees with hard relocation support, but with an increase in the number of relocated employees, the company started to need support with soft skills, and training focused on increasing the efficiency of intercultural teams. The company was looking for a comprehensive cross-cultural training programme that could eventually be implemented in other countries.

The programme we developed looked like this:

# 1 CULTURAL AWARENESS WORKSHOPS (series of workshops – 8 hours in groups of 15-20 people)

Objectives and Results: Employees are aware of intercultural differences and the consequences of these differences for team communication. They know how to respond to situations of conflict and recognise the differences that underlie these conflicts.

# 2 COMMON GROUND MEETING (8-12 hours, 100-200 employees)

Objectives and Results: The company has developed communication standards for international teams. These standards have been created by employees who now feel responsible for their implementation in their teams and for communicating them to new employees.

# 3 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION TRAININGS AND WORKSHOPS

Objectives and Results: Employees know how to effectively communicate with people of other cultures in English in situations such as negotiations, presentations, or providing feedback. Team leaders know how to manage an international team.

# 4 CHECK-IN meetings (2 meetings for each group, 3 hours each)

Objectives and Results: Employees have the opportunity to discuss their experiences in the field of intercultural communication and applied solutions, and to develop new solutions in the event of new challenges.

A global company from the financial industry based in Poland where more and more middle and senior employees are relocated from other, often culturally-distant countries. Prior to our involvement they had not received any cross cultural support, which resulted in a high percentage of unsuccessful relocations and conflicts in teams.

# 1 CROSS-CULTURAL COACHING for relocated managers (10 hours: 2–3 hours pre-departure; 7–8 hours in-country)

Objectives and Results: Managers can discuss their expectations regarding Poland and their potential clash with reality, and develop an appropriate, flexible approach. After arriving and meeting the local team, they are able to manage employees with more awareness of cultural differences. They understand, anticipate and respond appropriately to potential conflicts arising from these differences.

# 2 RELOCATION TRAINING COACHING for partners of relocated managers (6 hours: 2–3 hours pre-departure; 3–4 hours in-country)

Objectives and Results: Partners of relocated employees acquire basic knowledge about the country of relocation, and they are comfortable in everyday situations.

# 3 POLISH YOUR BUSINESS WORKSHOPS for foreigners who start working in Poland (4 hours each)

Objectives and Results: New employees acquire basic knowledge in the field of business communication in Poland and Polish culture. Being aware of cultural differences, they can anticipate problems and respond appropriately to potential conflicts.

# 4 “COMMUNICATION FOR BREAKFAST” WORKSHOPS (2 hours each: 5 workshops per month, each for around 15 people)

Objectives and Results: Employees know how to communicate effectively in situations such as presentations, negotiations and teleconferences in the context created by Polish culture. Both foreigners and Poles take part in the workshops, which are held in English.

A large global company with a shared services centre in Poland. They cooperate with a customer service hub in Malaysia, with whom they share projects, joint clients and cooperation at the strategic level. Before our involvement, HR managers in the Polish branch received complaints from both sides: the team from Malaysia complained about the aggressiveness, rudeness and lack of flexibility of Polish colleagues, while the other side accused the Malaysians of a lack of feedback when they disagreed or failed to understand something, of failing to meet deadlines and of frequent breaks at work. The Polish team perceived the situation in terms of low efficiency and laziness. Frustration and dissatisfaction were growing on both sides.

# 1 WORKSHOP: INTERCULTURAL DIFFERENCES (8 hours)

The workshop was focused on building awareness, communication and cross-cultural competences as well as specific solutions for the Polish team to apply in cooperation with their Malaysian counterparts. This part of the programme consisted of five modules:

1. Cultural awareness—discussing key cultural areas that were important from the perspective of the team leader and consultant, identifying blind spots

2. Communication and politeness principles—practice

3. Managing conflict

4. Summary—who is my Malaysian Partner? Who are they and what is important to them?

5. Solution-building—developing specific solutions and tools for implementation after the workshop with teams of consultants, and in co-operation with the Malaysian side in three areas: 1) building awareness; 2) quick fixes; 3) long term solutions.

# 2 FOLLOW-UP SESSION (3 hours, 4–6 weeks after the workshop)

Discussing the experience of implementing the developed solutions and activities as well as sharing good practices. This session was also an opportunity to talk about the resolution of problems or difficulties, and about changing or adjusting solutions.

Feedback from client: “After the first session, we were positively surprised by the results – the first workshop group successfully implemented several initiatives in just four weeks, including a series of mini-trainings for agents, and a video for the Malaysian team about Poles and their work style / values / communication. The participants emphasised how important this training was for them as it opened their eyes to what is important in communication with the Malaysian side and what underlies some behaviours.”