Everyone is excited to welcome new colleagues from abroad. However sometimes, can misunderstandings occur: Did he or she understand me? Why doesn’t he ask questions but always says “yes”? How can I proactively encourage? What can we do to help our new colleagues feel comfortable and settle in well?
These are the kinds of topics we address in our intercultural workshops. They are designed for future colleagues of international professionals as well as for managers. In these three-hour sessions, which we conduct at your facility, we provide information about the healthcare systems and educational standards of the professionals’ home countries, as well as their reasons for emigrating. We highlight cultural characteristics and explore possible “critical incidents.” We offer insights into our selection process, language preparation, and ongoing support for the professionals. Each workshop is tailored to the specific countries of origin and professional qualifications of your international staff. The result is improved team communication, fewer conflicts, employee satisfaction, team spirit, and the quality of patient care or childcare.
A potential flashpoint for cultural differences might be, for example, when a new colleague from Asia does not express feeling unfairly treated despite having to work more Sunday shifts than others. Or when a colleague from Latin America fails to submit their vacation preferences for the upcoming year despite being reminded multiple times. The latter may be due to a different time orientation—planning is often more short-term. He may still be adjusting to the long-term planning expected here. The former example may stem from a different understanding of authority: In their home country, it may be completely normal not to question decisions made by superiors—whereas in our education system, critical thinking, even toward authority, is encouraged.
We use the cultural dimensions theory developed by Geert Hofstede and E.T. Hall as a conceptual framework. Among other things, we explain in an interactive format how Germany and the respective home countries differ in terms of individualism vs. collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and short-term vs. long-term orientation. This helps in everyday clinical or childcare settings: Behaviors that initially seem unexpected become easier to understand. Based on this, we work with participants to develop easily applicable strategies for how they can best support their new colleagues.
From 13 years of experience, we know: Working in intercultural teams is enriching when all colleagues understand more about one another and are familiar with the culture of their new team members’ home country. That’s why, at TalentOrange, intercultural workshops for host teams are a standard part of the onboarding process. We also prepare apprentices and professionals intensively during their language training for life in Germany, as well as for local standards and role expectations.
By the way, we believe some cultural traits are worth adopting. In Colombia, for example, colleagues bake the birthday cake for the birthday person—not the other way around. Isn’t that much nicer?