Cross-cultural Training: Another Inconvenience or Time Well-spent?

There are common misconceptions of what cross-cultural training is and how necessary it is to the success of an assignment.  It's yet another of many intrusive obligations foisted upon assignees at a time when so much is changing in their lives.  And sometimes something has to give.  We can't blame people for not wanting to surrender a whole or half-day to this training when the precious time could be better spent elsewhere.

Just a Few of the Tasks that Must be Done Pre-assignment...

• Dealing with the bureaucracy of obtaining immigration paperwork. Finding and translating marriage and birth certificates.
• Breaking lease agreements on vehicles or selling car(s) and buying in the new location.
• Selling or renting their home.
• Ensuring medical records are transferred, required physicals are done, vaccinations given with enough lead time for them to be effective.
• Enrolling children in international schools.
• Preparing family animals for assignment.
• Transitioning home-country job responsibilities.

Though we recommend to the business that there be at least four-months lead time from approval to assignment start, the average was about two months. Many assignees also feel pressured to get into the assignment as soon as possible.

Reasons Why Assignees Skip Cross-cultural Training:

1. "I just don't have time right now, I'll do it later!"  True and later may not happen.  
2. "Isn't cross-cultural training common sense?"   Maybe and people selected for assignment are have ample amounts of intuition and adaptability to support them.
3. "Is it really that necessary?" Their manager in the host location doesn't understand or support the training.
4. "Just what could be learned in a 4-6 hour session?"  A valid point, the best way to learn is going to the host location and learning it on-the-job.

Persons who participate in the training usually offer glowing reviews. 

But this program, like others, needs to be carefully managed.  A badly-run orientation - or one that doesn't fit its audience - may do more harm than good if it, for example, focuses too much on stereotypes.  This is the only complaint that I ever received on the training - - - and it was only one family of hundreds.  

Three Quick Tips for Expatriate Program Managers

1. Offer cross-cultural training for the assignee as well as the accompanying family members.
2. Set-up a training session for yourself or for your department to see what is discussed.  It usually is preceded by a personality test which is then reviewed during the session.
3. Get buy-in for the program by providing information on the program to departments with high international traffic.
4. Follow up with assignees who were offered the program, but never scheduled the session.

Better three hours too soon, than one minute too late.

- William Shakespeare