Expatriate Training & Relocation

In this Shrinking World,

The Only Distance Still Remaining

Is The Distance

Between Cultures  

Did you notice? In the domestic and especially, international business worlds, Time, Speed, and Distance have nearly disappeared.  

You can point to technology and say "better, faster, cheaper."  You can say we are moving from the "workplace to the workspace." All true -- but, here is a reality: In todays international business environment, it is still in-person, "feet on the ground" management and company representation that must be in place for successful international endeavors.

BUSINESS TIGHT? CUT SOMEWHERE ELSE!

EXPAT CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING IS CRITICAL

FOR THE AMERICAN: If you travel frequently to other countries to assist in negotiations or decision making or you are considering expanding your business into a new country, your cultural competency can make the difference between success or failure -- or worse, mediocrity.

NO SURPRISE: American Execs -- and their families -- assigned to out of US locations are often expected to just "deal with" the cultural challenges.  Often, they fail and return early and/or quit the company, and not rarely, even divorce as a result of their experience.  

NOTE TO HR:  A recent Society of Human Management (SHRM) report validates costs associated with Expat failure are enormous -- and not all costs are monetary.  Depending on the difficulties, your company may never recover. Nearly 90% of those failing cited inability to adapt to the host country as the singular reason for the failure. 

THE BAD NEWS: Americans are still new to this Cultural "Thing" -- actually, not a surprise.  This is simply a result of our unique geographical, historical, and cultural background.  We generally do not have a cross cultural environment in the US. Moreover, most Americans are fine with that -- hardly 28% of Americans today even have a passport--and that figure is up 10% in last 6 years!  However, when you are assigned to an out-of-US location, you are expected to "meet and exceed all standards," etc., as if you grew up in the new culture!  SO....why take the time and money to training you/your family on regional, historical, social, economic, cultural and criminal components of your new home?

THE GOOD NEWS: We can help. We prepare American personnel, Execs and their families for their assignments -- and we don't stop at cultural training.  We include virtually everything -- including criminal or terrorist threat in the region and, we train you on how to minimize the threats of working in a high threat environment.  With our help, you can do this.    

"I was offered a position in Jordan or Colombia.  With all the Terrorism in the Middle East,

I decided to choose Bogota." 

Former Chief of Operations

FYI: Business Travel is the world's most dangerous travel -- and Bogota, Colombia is still the most dangerous place for business travel.  And, when accompanied by your family members, everything takes on added significance.  That is, unless you are trained.  That's where we come in.

Our Expatriate training combines important regional, historical, religious, cultural components, as well as criminal threat in the new location.  Our training programs are custom designed for family preparation as well as the support headquarters and grounded in practical application.

For instance, do you have kidnap and extortion insurance?  What plans are in place for emergency egress out of the country?  Do you have a anti-carjacking plan for your family?  Anti-Kidnapping procedures? How about Express Kidnappings?  

We have been preparing Americans to work within other cultures for nearly 20 years and we have been preparing internationals to relocate to the US for nearly the same amount of time.  Trust us with your Expatriate training and you won't have to think about these complicated issues anymore -- we have done that for you.

RELAX: Enjoy your new assignment -- with this knowledge and preparation, you are ready to engage.