Step 1: E-learning

Exploring your preferences and cultural gaps

• Clarify your context and expectations
• Become aware of cultural filters
• Discover your cultural profile

Step 2: On-site or remote training

Decoding Saudi culture

• Cross-cultural perceptions of Saudi Arabia
• Historical, religious, political and social reference points
• The central place of Islam and the holy sites
• Recent transformations: economic and social opening

Understanding Saudi values and norms

• Core pillars: honor, respect, loyalty, hospitality (karam)
• The decisive role of family, community and networks (tribal and social)
• A strong emphasis on authority, hierarchy and status
• Relationship to time: flexibility vs Western urgency, priority given to the relationship and context rather than the transaction

Working with / Managing Saudi colleagues

• Indirect communication and the role of informal exchanges
• Building relationships: trust, a long-term approach, the importance of personal connections (wasta)
• Gender-related specificities and evolving professional roles: identifying the real decision-maker

Adapting working methods

• Understanding decision-making processes: pace, hierarchical validation, the role of informal channels, managing priorities and shifting decisions
• Adapting to local practices: meetings, negotiation
• Communication and implicit codes: preventing cultural misunderstandings, reading body language
• Managing disagreements: interpreting an implicit refusal, rephrasing without confrontation, following up tactfully
• Finding the right stance: assertiveness, respect, patience

Remote follow-up session 2 to 3 months after the training, for intra-company courses.