While the pre-departure and immediate post-arrival stage of an international assignment are taken up with numerous practical, logistical, and emotional concerns, such as organising the move, finding a house and schools, once the boxes are unpacked and the international assignee starts work, everyday life in the new environment becomes real. Expatriate families have to try to adapt usual routines to new realities without the usual support networks and familiar structures to fall back on. The newness and strangeness of one’s surroundings can be overwhelming, plunging new arrivals into culture shock—that post-honeymoon phase in which the differences between the home and host culture are so stark that they seem insurmountable.
Cultural awareness training prior to departure or on immediate arrival in the new country is invaluable in providing essential information and strategies for living and working in another country. However, challenges that were not discussed during the initial training can occur several months into an assignment and it can also be useful to share specific incidents or experiences with a trainer who has been through a similar transition.
To support new expatriates in this crucial phase of the overseas assignment, Communicaid’s Settling In training allows assignees and their families to discuss any worries, frustrations and concerns with an empathetic and experienced cross-cultural training professional, and to work on practical ways of overcoming the discomfort of culture shock to make the assignment an enriching personal and professional experience.
Benefits
Communicaid’s Settling In Training will provide you with:
- An understanding of culture shock and its manifestations
- A forum to share your impressions and frustrations with a cross-cultural training professional
who has deep understanding of your experiences
- The opportunity to develop practical strategies to overcome culture shock
- An opportunity to discuss any individual concerns regarding Settling in Who should attend
Settling In training will be of benefit to you if you:
- Have recently been relocated and are experiencing difficulties in adapting to your new
professional, social, cultural environment
- Did not receive any pre-departure cultural awareness training
Course content
All our Settling In courses are designed to meet the specific needs of our clients depending on their personal/organisational requirements and existing skills set. Settling In Training typically includes:
- Culture shock and how to manage its impact
- Strategies for coping with difficult situations
- Effective communication skills
- Relationship building
- Practical tips and guidelines Approach
Settling In Training is available seven days a week, 365 days a year, either at one of our training centres in London, Paris, Frankfurt and New York or at your offices in any location worldwide. We offer a flexible format to suit your schedule and can deliver the training by telephone or face-to-face.
Your trainer will provide a balance of structured input and discussion of case studies and scenarios relevant to your own particular context and you will have the opportunity to raise any issues of concern.
The most appropriate training format, content and approach for your Settling in Training will be discussed during your diagnostic consultancy.
Settling In course trainer
Your trainer will be assigned to you following the results of your diagnostic consultancy according to your objectives and areas of focus. Detailed below is a sample profile of a member of our Cultural Awareness Training team.
AMB
AMB combines her own first-hand experience of living and working in numerous different cultures with academic studies and extensive work experience in the field of cultural awareness. She has personally relocated across cultures several times since childhood and has an empathetic appreciation for those living and working across cultures.
German by birth, AMB completed her secondary education in London and Brussels, and then returned to the UK to undertake her first degree. After graduating, she worked at the European Commission in Brussels, then spent seven years in Washington, DC, editing the European Commission’s EUROPE magazine. On her return to the UK, AMB worked as a freelance consultant, maintaining her links with the European Commission providing liaison, translation and cultural awareness services. She focused on cultural differences between France, Germany, the UK and US in both business and social contexts. More recently, AMB worked as European Officer for Brighton and Hove City Council for two years, before returning to full-time education to pursue her Masters. She graduated from the University of Luton at the end of 2003 completing her dissertation on the role of culture in international mergers.
AMB has delivered a substantial amount of cultural awareness training since joining Communicaid at the beginning of 2004 working with a number of key clients including Gillette, Adidas, Colt and GSK. She has recently relocated to Lille and delivers training in both the UK and France. |
Cross-cultural
Training
+44 (0)20 3370 8580 
