Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Iran 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 Iran.

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

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Iranian 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 Iranian 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 Iran

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 Iranian culture

• The heritage of Persian and Zoroastrian culture
• A proud, thousand-year-old civilisation
• From the empire to the Islamic Republic
• A country of great geopolitical and economic importance

3. Iranian values and behaviour patterns

• Sharia and the day-to-day religious environment
• The closeness of family life
• "Don’t talk about your money, your social circle or your friends"
• Hospitality and courtesy
• Women in Iran: looking beyond the stereotypes
• A class-based society
• The importance of status and experience

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 Iran

1. The Iranian corporate world

• A pyramidal structure
• The role played by material and symbolic privileges
• An enterprising spirit and a work ethic
• The role of national and local authorities

2. Effective communication with the Iranian

• The vital role of greetings and politeness
• Understanding allegorical communication
• Introversion and subtlety
• The importance of networking and reputation

3. Working with Iranian teams

• Effective management: personal charisma, leadership and experience
• Building trust and confidence: discretion, prudence and formality
• Encouraging a collective spirit
• Dealing with touchy or sensitive people and avoiding clashes
• When presentation is as important as content

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Iranians

• Negotiation as a game and as a serious challenge
• Forging and developing relationships
• Protocol and courtesy
• Learning patience and perseverance

5. Final handy tips

• Caution, patience and humility
• Social standards, gifts, business cards, dress code
• Sensitive subjects: politics, history, religion