Who Should Attend ?

Company managers and staff working and dealing with the Dutch

Benefits of Attendance

The aim of this seminar is to significantly improve the participants’ effectiveness in their professional relationships with the Dutch, enabling them to be operational right from the start.

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

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Fully understand Dutch context and culture
• Analyse possible situations in which misunderstandings may arise and identify ways of communicating
• Reduce stress and misunderstandings
• Decipher and understand Dutch decision-making and negotiation processes

Training Approach

Programme Outline

Module 1 : Understanding cultural differences

1. Intercultural awareness, the key to success in international business

• Taking stock of one's own cultural baggage
• The basics of effective intercultural management
• Identifying and going beyond cultural stereotypes

2. Key aspects of Dutch culture

• From the United Northern Provinces to the Kingdom of the Netherlands
• The nation's trading heritage
• From a seafaring nation to an international economy
• The challenges facing Dutch society in the 21st century

3. The impact of values and behaviour patterns on professional dealings and relationships

• The impact of Protestantism
• "Verdraagzaamheid": the philosophy of tolerance
• The family unit as a protective sphere
• Egalitarianism and sociability
• A highly organised view of time
• An ability to focus on the essentials and to see the bigger picture

4. The Dutch corporate world

• An informal but nevertheless decisive hierarchical structure
• Consensus-based decision-making
• Professional ethics
• The role of the state and the authorities
• Professional relationships

Module 2 : Succeeding in work with the Dutch

1. Effective communication with the Dutch

• Distance and formality
• Frankness and lucidity
• English used for business.  Learning Dutch is an added advantage

2. Adapting your working methods

• Promoting a friendly atmosphere
• Effective management: professionalism and personal commitment
• Conflict resolution: personal respect and a willingness to involve mediators
• Encouraging creative autonomy and cooperation
• Pitfalls to be avoided

3. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Dutch

• Getting the most from dialogue and contact.  Demonstrating your expertise
• Proposing, acting and reacting
• Paying careful attention to deadlines and presentation
• Understanding written contracts, their interpretation and implications
• Organising the post-negotiation phase

4. Final handy tips

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