Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Denmark 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 Denmark.

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

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand the Danish 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 Danish 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 Denmark

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 Danish culture

• A territory encompassing more than 400 islands
• A long history of conquest
• The oldest kingdom in Europe
• A trade-based economy

3. Danish values and behaviour patterns

• The private sphere and family life: a secret garden
• The Danish woman: a model of successful emancipation
• Well-being and good manners: understanding the concept of Hygge
• Modesty, restraint and discretion
• A monochronic view of time
• Tolerance and consensus

4. Practical day to day information

• 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 Danemark

1. The Danish corporate world

• The “Scandinavian model”
• Rigorous organisation and concerted decision-making
• The marketplace, employment and staff turnover
• Understanding Denmark’s welfare state

2. Effective communication with the Danes

• Direct and informal communication
• The importance of context and intonation
• Deciphering non-verbal communication
• Understanding networks and the way they operate

3. Working with Danish teams

• Effective management: courtesy, discretion and a willingness to listen
• Building trust and confidence: discipline, fairness and expertise
• Planning, anticipating and persevering
• An emphasis on consultation and joint decision-making

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Danes

• Launching an “everyone’s a winner” strategy
• Openness and honesty
• Carefully honing your persuasive skills
• 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