Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Poland and their partners

Benefist 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 Poland.

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

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Polish 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 Polish 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 Poland

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 Polish culture

• Situated at a crossroads between Western and Eastern Europe
• A rich and turbulent history
• A uniform population with significant regional differences
• An identity based around the Polish language and Catholicism
• The educational system

3. Polish values and behaviour patterns

• The family, man and god
• A high degree of individualism combined with a strong community spirit
• Consensus-based thinking
• An entrepreneurial spirit
• Pride and touchiness
• Passion and emotions as part of day-to-day life
• Attitudes to risk-taking and uncertainty

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 Poland

1. The Polish corporate world

• The impact of communism upon working methods.  The American model
• Respect for hierarchies.  Powerful unions
• Skills, professions and roles: unemployment as a key factor

2. Effective communication with the Poles

• Politeness and courtesy: a respect for etiquette
• The importance of networking
• Understanding the true meanings of yes and no.  Understanding unspoken and verbal communication

3. Working with Polish teams

• Effective management: leading, cooperating and verifying
• Key skills: a strong character, leadership and responsiveness
• Building trust and confidence: empathy, respect and a willingness to listen
• Boosting your credibility: legitimacy and diplomacy
• Encouraging ambition in order to maintain performance

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Poles

• Helpers and mediators
• Monetary adjustments
• Giving relationships that personal touch, setting deadlines
• 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