Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Slovenia 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 Slovenia.

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

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Slovene 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 Slovene 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 Slovenia

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 Slovene culture

• A tiny enclave-state
• An ethnically uniform but socially divided society
• The impact of the Yugoslav conflict
• A stable and prosperous nation
• The challenges of European integration

3. Slovene values and behaviour patterns

• A progressive and egalitarian society
• The tradition of hospitality
• The family: a social bedrock
• Honour and identity
• An organized approach to time
• Socialization through sport and entertainment

4. Practical day-to-day information in Slovenia

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

Module 2 : Successful professionnal integration in Slovenia

1. The Slovene corporate world

• An employee-friendly company structure
• A focus on productivity and performance
• The marketplace, employment and staff turnover
• The role of national and local authorities

2. Effective communication with the Slovenes

• An explicit communication style
• Deciphering non-verbal communication
• The importance of networking
• The advantage of learning Slovenian for business

3. Working with Slovene teams

• Building trust to gain respect 
• Dealing with touchy or sensitive people
• An emphasis on cooperation and a willingness to listen
• Encouraging feedback

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Slovenes

• Reliability, precision and efficiency
• Initiating a mutually beneficial relationship
• Giving relationships that personal touch
• 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