Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Vietnam 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 Vietnam.

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

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Vietnamese context and the culture
• Analyse situations in which misunderstandings may arise and identify ways of communicating more effectively
• Reduce and manage the symptoms of culture shock
• Understand Vietnamese 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 Vietnam

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 Vietnamese culture

• A multi-ethnic country with significant regional variations
• From Indochina to partition
• The impact of Chinese domination and French colonisation
• The Communist regime
• Highly encouraging economic growth levels

3. Vietnamese values and behaviour patterns

• The family unit at the heart of all Vietnamese traditions
• The importance of one's geographical origin and village.
• The country's significant Confucian heritage
• Attachment to customs and spirituality
• A culture based on prudence

4. Practical day-to-day information in Vietnam

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

Module 2 : Successful professionnal integration in Vietnam

1. The Vietnamese corporate world

• The weight of the Vietnamese hierarchy
• Perseverance in work
• Party domination and corruption
• The role of national and local authorities

2. Effective communication with the Vietnamese

• The benefits of "small talk"
• Deciphering smiles and unspoken messages
• Creating, maintaining and reinforcing networks
• The vital role played by the interpreter

3. Working with Vietnamese teams

• Establishing your personal credibility: availability, openness and charisma
• Building trust and confidence, working to achieve consensus
• Encouraging a team spirit and group working
• The importance of respect and allowing others to save face

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Vietnamese

• Effective tactics
• Taking your time... in order to save time
• The verbal aspect of agreements
• 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
• Humour: a double-edged sword