Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Belgium 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 Belgium.

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

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

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 Belgian culture

• A recent kingdom boasting an age-old history
• The federation, communities and regions
• The home of numerous European and international institutions
• Flemings, Walloons and German speakers: the various faces of the Belgium population
• A multiethnic society
• An economy based on industry and on the service sector

3. Belgian values and behaviour patterns

• The family and private life: a protected area
• Belgian women and the challenges of successful emancipation
• Hospitality and courtesy, formality and politeness
• Strong community roots: festivals and celebrations
• Punctuality and discipline, modesty and discretion

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 Belgium

1. The Belgian corporate world

• A management style which puts the emphasis on service and efficiency
• Attitudes to hierarchy and equality: some useful guidelines
• The marketplace, employment and staff turnover
• The role of national and local authorities

2. Effective communication with the Belgians

• A minimal use of verbal communication
• Understanding unspoken messages
• The “French language trap”
• Belgium’s languages: multi-level communication

3. Working with Belgian teams

• The regional challenge, pragmatism and flexibility
• Effective management: responsiveness, versatility and leadership
• Building trust and confidence: consultation, a willingness to listen
• Motivating, delegating, providing feedback and handling conflicts

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Belgians

• Efficiency and expertise
• The preparation phase, identifying decision-makers
• Time and deadline management
• Written contracts, their interpretation and implications

5. Final handy tips

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