Cultural awareness is no longer an optional skill but an essential competency for all international assignments. A lack of cultural awareness, at both professional and social levels, can lead to major miscommunication and potentially to rejection by the host-culture colleagues, clients and social acquaintances.

To interact successfully, assignees and their families working internationally must be able to understand and adapt to the host country way of doing things. This includes ways of interacting and communicating, different approaches to managing different attitudes towards authority and teamwork.

The understanding and awareness of how culture can impact business and relationships has enormous benefits for both the company and the individuals.

Cultural training is much more than knowing the geography and history of the newly adopted country or memorising a few dos and don’ts. At its core, cultural awareness training should provide you with a solid foundation upon which to build and understand the new experiences and interactions. It places each new discovery in its appropriate place, ultimately helping your assignee to maximise on the new business and social relationships.

In general, any company and their international assignee and family will benefit from cross-culture training. It probably is even more important to have cross-cultural training for an employee on a short-term assignment.

A short-term assignment is usually based on a certain projects and tasks to be completed within a limited time. Therefore it is imperative that your employee is able to work in conjunction with the host country colleagues or clients in the most productive host culture way. Cross-culture training increases the effectiveness of the assignee, thus saving time and resources.

It increases the cultural flexibility in outlook, attitude and behaviour, which results in more effective communications and understanding. It teaches the recognition and response to cultural differences and problem solving skills. The professionalism and reputation of a company is enhanced by the employees’ cultural awareness skills.

Training will help to positively leverage all team members’ strengths appropriately and efficiently. It manifests the employee attitude and behaviour to better align and represent the company in the international arena.

Returning can often be more challenging than embarking on an overseas assignment, as expectations of a return to the pre-assignment life are sometimes not fulfilled. The international experience will have changed the out-look of your assignee and family and the new job will undoubtedly be different from the one left behind.

In fact, most likely will your assignee experience all the same symptoms felt when first departing on the international assignment – but in reverse. Repatriation training will help your employee re-adjust more successfully both on a personal and professional level. For various reasons some repatriations fail within the first two years after returning to the home country, this can partially be avoided by providing repatriation training.

Even the most prepared assignee and family will experience a period of adjustment.

To attend cross-cultural training prior to departure (pre-move) provides your assignees and families with the basic tools to hit the ground running. It also assists with the practical preparations, pre-empts and prevents potential cultural pitfalls. Pre-departure training provides immediate strategies for dealing with culture shock and encourages enthusiasm for the impending move.

It is beneficial to continue the cross-cultural training post arrival. It provides seamless practical help, advice and orientation when in the host country. Factual experiences are shared, discussed and additional approaches explored. It offers context to cultural encounters and builds confidence for further acclimatisation.

The positive impact on any assignment is often determined by the family’s ability to adjust to the host country culture. A variety of programmes are available, some are geared specifically to business issues, others or aimed towards the daily interactions on a social basis.

Accompanying partners often need additional support during the international assignment. The struggle to manage feelings of isolation and loneliness due to disability of cultural adjustment can have a major impact on the overall success of the employee and the assignment.

Cross-cultural training is available in various formats. They can be conducted in group sessions, one-on-one or via e-learning. For the more budget driven decision on cross-cultural training the e-learning is a good option. E-learning does however not replace the advantages of having face-to-face training and personal interactions with a skilled and experienced cross-culture expert.

It is best to involve a reliable and reputable relocation company who provides cross-cultural training, either in-house or outsourced. Relocation companies will qualify the respective cross-cultural trainer and through a thorough needs analysis identify the area of focus for a tailored programme.