Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Burkina Faso and their partners

Benefits of Attendance

This seminar aims at significantly improving the ability of the participants to meet the challenges of living and working abroad. The objective is to enable them to identify the stumbling blocks that lie ahead and to be able to adapt and integrate in Canada.

At the end of this training, participants will have acquired insights and techniques to:

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Canadian context and culture
• Analyse situations in which misunderstandings may arise and identify ways of communicating more effectively
• Reduce and manage the symptoms of culture shock
• Understand Canadian mindset, work practices, decision-making processes and negotiating styles
• Strike the right balance between personal et professional lives

Training Approach

• A cross-cultural approach of International Mobility
• Country specific trainers
• Personalized and familiy focused action plan
• Access to the Nomad’ Network, an exclusive online tool for Akteos’ clients and experts:  find resources, exchange experiences, knowledge and insights

Programme Outline

Module 1 : Successful personnal integration in Canada

1. Cross-cultural awareness : the key to a successful expatriation

• Taking stock of one's own cultural baggage
• Culture shock and the integration process
• Identifying and going beyond cultural stereotypes

2. Key aspects of Canadian culture

• A huge country with vast resources
• The "other America".  Significant regional differences
• A federal state
• The country's Protestant heritage
• A multi-ethnic and multilingual population

3. Canadian values and behaviour patterns

• Private life: the holy of holies
• Fairness and uprightness
• Professional success as a badge of honour
• Open-mindedness and national identity
• A precise and organised view of time
• Secularism and respect for others
• Encouraging individual performance

4. Practical day to day information

• Focus on the host town or city
• Transport, administration, housing, security, hygiene and healthcare
• Social life, leisure activities
• Schools, extracurricular activities, sport

Module 2 : Successful professionnal integration in Canada

1. The Canadian corporate world

• An open but effective hierarchical system
• Discipline and diligence at work
• A sense of service
• The role of national and local authorities

2. Effective communication with the Canadians

• An informal and relaxed communication style
• The importance of networking
• The French and English languages: linguistic challenges
• Subtle yet meaningful verbal communication

3. Working with Canadian teams

• Building trust: making the most of your charisma and tact
• Effective management: inventiveness, motivation and availability
• An openness to team working and joint decision-making
• Winning strategies: getting the most from straight talking
• Dealing with touchy or sensitive people.  Seeking  positive outcomes to conflicts

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Canadians

• Building trust and confidence
• Seeking consensus, time and deadline management
• Written contracts, their interpretation and implications

5. Final handy tips

• Social standards, gifts, business cards, dress code, etc
• Sensitive subjects: politics, history, religion
• Humour: a double-edged sword