Who Should Attend ?

Employees preparing for an assignment in Syria 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 Syria.
At the end of this training, participants will have acquired insights and techniques to:

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Understand Syrian 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 Syrian 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 Syria

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 Syrian culture

• A nation at the very heart of the Middle East
• Islam and Christianity
• Arab heritage and civilisation
• A high level of political control

3. Syrian values and behaviour patterns

• Strong family roots
• Respect for religious practices
• The importance of a good public image
• Hospitality and tolerance
• Pride and a sense of honour
• Expressiveness and sociability
• Attitudes to status and qualifications
• The flexibility and demands of time

4. Practical day to day information

• 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 Syria

1. The Syrian corporate world

• A paternalistic organisational structure
• Efficiency and approachability in the business world
• A hierarchical but relaxed working environment
• The influence of politics on the country’s economic life

2. Effective communication with the Syrians

• Tone and expressiveness
• Tactile and non-verbal communication
• The importance of networking
• The working language, the role of the interpreter

3. Working with Syrian teams

• Effective management: experience, leadership and determination
• Getting the most from others and helping them to give their best
• Building trust and confidence: encouraging a friendly working environment
• An open mind, responsiveness and flexibility

4. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Syrians

• Giving relationships that personal touch
• Credibility and frankness
• Courtesy, diplomacy and firmness
• Entering into commitments and giving your word

5. Final handy tips

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