Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Sweden 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 Sweden.

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

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Swedish 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 Swedish 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 Swedish

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 Swedish culture

• A Scandinavian kingdom
• A historical heritage heavily influenced by the nearby environment
• The Welfare State
• European challenges

3. Swedish values and behaviour patterns

• The family and equality
• Consensus and kindliness
• Self-control and mastering one's emotions
• "A healthy mind in a healthy body"
• An organised view of time
• The meanings attached to festivals, celebrations and collective enjoyment

4. Practical day-to-day information in Sweden

• 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 Sweden

1. The Swedish corporate world

• A harmonious nation
• High-performance working methods with a human touch
• The State’s role as a "safety net"

2. Effective communication with the Swedes

• The importance of networking
• Frankness and clarity during discussions
• Learning to speak Swedish: a sound investment
• The working language: the role of the interpreter

3. Working with Swedish teams

• Establishing your credibility: discipline, experience and commitment
• Building trust and confidence: a willingness to listen and collective decision-making
• Getting to know people, showing respect and giving praise where it's due
• Thinking and acting methodologically

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Swedes

• Clarity and conciseness
• Following proposals with action
• Efficiency through responsiveness
• 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