Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in New Caledonia 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 in New Caledonia. The objective is to enable them to identify the stumbling blocks that lie ahead and to be able to adapt and integrate in New Caledonia.

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

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Caledonian 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 Caledonian  mindset, different 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 New-Caledonia

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 New-Caledonian culture

• A French archipelago in the Melanesian Arc
• A multi-ethnic and multilingual population
• New Caledonia's  Kanak and Caldoche heritage: a turbulent history
• An economy based on mining, finance and tourism
• An unusual and temporary French overseas regional authority

3.  New-Caledonian values and behaviour patterns

• A strong attachment to the land and to one's origins
• Powerful patriarchal and clan-related values
• Spirituality and  stability
• When private and public life overlap
• A respect for status and authority
• A strong sense of identity and honour
• Community and collective ties

4. Practical day-to-day information

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

Module 2 : Successful professionnal integration in New-Caledonia

1. The Caledonian corporate world

• The labour market: a source of social betterment and discrimination
• Clearly defined and managed roles and functions
• The role of the state and the authorities

2. Effective communication with the New-Caledonian French

• Moderation and formality: the importance attached to appearances
• The importance of protocol and etiquette
• Deciphering non-verbal communication
• Varying communication styles according to the situation
• The French language and local dialects

3. Working with the Caledonian teams

• Effective management: leadership, discipline and experience
• Encouraging a team spirit and group cohesion
• Supervision, guidance and praise
• Giving relationships that personal touch
• Enhancing complementarity and encouraging performance

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the New-Caledonian French

• Understanding and verifying the context or situation
• Adapting your strategic decisions
• Creating the right conditions for a long-term partnership
• Attitudes to contracts and their implications

5. Final handy tips

• Caution, patience and humility
• Social standards, gifts, business cards, dress code
• Sensitive subjects: politics, history, religion