Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Kenya 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 Kenya.

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

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Kenyan 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 Kenyan 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 Kenya

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 Kenyan culture

• An East African nation in the very heart of the Rift Valley 
• The impact of colonisation
• A patchwork quilt of tribes and ethnic groups spanning eight provinces
• An agricultural and service-based economy
• The failed dream of long-term political stability

3. Kenyan values and behaviour patterns

• Family life as a social bedrock
•  A predominantly patriarchal society.
• Christianity, Islam and animism: religious fervour as part of daily life
• An adaptable view of time.  The notion of time being subject to the requirements of personal life
• A respect for age and authority

4. Practical day to day information in Kenya

• 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 Kenya

1. The Kenyan corporate world

• A pyramidal company structure
• The differences between the private and public sectors
• The advantages and privileges of decision-makers
• Personal commitment and “fear of the boss”
• The role played by the political parties

2. Effective communication with the Kenyans

• A reduced personal space
• Greetings and etiquette
• Networking and mediators
• Kenyan English and the advantages of learning Swahili

3. Working with Kenyan teams

• Building trust and confidence: Prudence, humility and neutrality
• The qualities of a good manager: experience, qualifications and charisma
• Supervising decisions and the time required to have them implemented
• The importance of socialising outside work

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Kenyans

• Meeting the key players to improve responsiveness
• Giving relationships that personal touch to get things moving more quickly
• Patience and persistence
• Written contracts, their interpretation and implications

5. Final handy tips

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