LTS training and consulting

Working effectively

across cultures

LTS training and consulting5 Belvedere, Lansdown Road, Bath BA1 5ED, UK

Tel +44 1225 448148E-mail: courses@lts-training.com

Internet: www.lts-training.com

LTS training and consulting

More than 30 years of experience

For more than 30 years, we have

been helping our clients improve their

skills and performance for

communicating internationally and

working effectively across cultures.

We are based in Bath, in the west of

England, where we run courses

throughout the year. We also run

many of our courses at clients'

locations worldwide.

LTS training and consulting provides training in intercultural awareness, international

communication skills and intercultural trainer training to corporate clients, NGOs and public

sector organisations throughout Europe and further afield.

locations worldwide.

LTS training and consulting intercultural programmes are always developed in close

co-operation with the client and tailored to the client‘s specific needs and objectives.

Training and consulting programmes include topics such as:

• Working effectively across cultures

• Working in international teams

• Working with specific cultures

• Communicating internationally

• Relocating sucessfully

• Assessing international management competencies

• Trainer training I - Developing intercultural training skills

• Trainer training II - Designing and delivering intercultural training

LTS training and consulting

About LTSLTS training and consulting was founded in 1980 to

develop and deliver top quality English language and

communication skills training to business and

professional clients. As a natural development of its

language training business, LTS began working in the

field of intercultural training and consulting services

about 20 years ago. In that time, LTS has established

itself as a market leader in needs assessment,

development of training materials and delivery of tailor-

made programmes to clients in many professional

sectors.

Intercultural trainer trainingLTS is also a leader in the intercultural trainer

training field, offering one of the few certificated

training courses in Europe for trainers who wish to training courses in Europe for trainers who wish to

develop their skills for delivering intercultural

training. Since 2005, over 250 people have

attended the five-day course, Developing

intercultural training skills, in Bath or abroad. The

course has been approved for Grundtvig grant

funding by the EU Lifelong Learning Programme. In

2009, we launched a follow-up course, Designing

and delivering intercultural training, which is also

approved for Grundtvig funding.

LTS trainersLTS trainers have run numerous intercultural

training courses throughout Europe, as well

as in the US and Asia. The LTS team of

intercultural trainers have all lived and worked

in a number of countries, and are particularly

skilled at working with people whose native

language is not English. We are also

dedicated to helping clients deal positively

with the challenges of working internationally

and working in international teams.

LTS training and consulting

Some recent intercultural projects

• A series of one-day workshops for Essex County Council on ‘Cultural Awareness’ for managers of care homes and social workers. The workshop contents have also been developed into an online course for those who could not attend the face-to-face training.

• A two day workshop run in German on Working effectively with the Chinese for Lonza, Switzerland.

• Regular workshops on Working effectively across cultures for Hoffman-La Roche in Switzerland.

• Regular workshops for ABB Switzerland on Intercultural communication with Indian business partners and Negotiating Internationally.

• Intercultural workshops on Teambuilding across cultures for international managers of Isagro,Italy, in collaboration with Servizi Estero, Italy.

• Workshops on Working effectively across cultures for groups of international consultants from Holcim Group Commercial Services, Switzerland.

• Presentations at all staff events of the UK and Swiss German parts of AXA Technology Services about Working effectively with British/Swiss partners. Similar event for the UK subsidiary of Rohde & Schwarz about Working with German colleagues.

• Workshops on Working effectively with Indian colleagues for AXA UK, who were in the process of offshoring work to their offices in Bangalore and Pune.

• Special invitation to LTS director, Adrian Pilbeam, to deliver workshops on How cultural diversity influences customers’ expectations at the annual conference of WACRA (World Airline Customer Relations Association) in San Francisco.

• A global project with the SkyTeam airline alliance (Air France, Delta, Alitalia, Czech Airlines, Korean Air, Aeromexico, KLM, Continental and North West Airlines) to deliver workshops on Working effectively in global teams to managers from the airlines involved in alliance working groups. Workshops delivered in France, Italy, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the US, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. The project also included a trainer training programme for SkyTeam facilitators.

• Culture specific and teambuilding workshops for British and Korean soft-ware engineers working together on a development project at Picochip, UK

• Two-day workshop for managers of NN Europe (from Italy, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands) on Working effectively across cultures.

• Cross-cultural Teamworking – US and UK, for GlaxoSmithKline in the US and the UK.

• Training seminars on Working effectively with Irish colleagues for managers from a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson in Florida, USA.

• 30 seminars on Cross-cultural effectiveness for international teams of software engineers from Lucent Technologies in the UK, France, Germany, Ireland, India and China.

• Cross-cultural training sessions for employees and family members relocating to the UK, the US, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and China. Clients include MNBA, Rohm & Haas, Johnson & Johnson, Giesecke & Devrient, Enterprise Ireland and HSH Nordbank.

LTS training and consulting

Working effectively across cultures

Working with colleagues and clients from other countries is rarely as straightforward as

working in your domestic market. Misunderstandings can occur due to language problems;

distance can breed distrust; perceptions can be taken as facts; and cultural differences can

affect the way decisions are taken, meetings are run, tasks are delegated, and how

deadlines are met. Spending one or two days learning how to deal with some of these

challenges and to develop an awareness of how different people think and behave can

greatly improve your effectiveness when working with people from other cultures.

Working effectively across cultures is a highly interactive workshop, typically run over one

or two days for groups of 12–15 participants. It is intended for people who work with

colleagues and clients from other countries, either as part of a multicultural workforce or

when dealing with the international aspects of business.

OBJECTIVES

• to raise awareness about the key factors involved in intercultural and international• to raise awareness about the key factors involved in intercultural and international

communication

• to acquire skills and strategies for successful co-operation, partnership and teamwork

across national and cultural boundaries

• to develop tactics and strategies for effective use of English (either as a native or a

foreign language) in international communication

• to provide information about specific cultures that participants deal with regularly

BENEFITS

• become aware of the importance of culture as a factor in doing business with people from

other cultures

• learn about key cultural concepts, such as attitudes to time, authority and information,

and how they can help you to predict and interpret different attitudes and behaviour

• learn how to adjust your own working style and behaviour

• acquire practical skills and strategies for maximising the effectiveness of your

communication across cultures

LTS training and consulting

Working in international teams

More and more people now work in international teams, often with very little face-to-face

contact. Questions which our clients often ask include:

• How can we make sure this international team achieves its targets?

• What is the best way to manage and motivate people from different countries?

• How can we build a really international team?

• How can we work together most effectively when we live and work in different

countries and different time zones?

Successful, high-performing international teams do not just happen. Working with people

from other countries, often using different languages and working across different time

zones, is a complex and often frustrating business - and these complexities need to be

tackled right from the start. Usually run as a workshop over one or two days, Working in

international teams uses a dynamic, interactive approach to help international teams

understand and maximise the unique potential of cultural diversity. understand and maximise the unique potential of cultural diversity.

OBJECTIVES

• to examine the dynamics of international teams and team roles

• to explore the key dimensions that impact on all international team behaviour

• to introduce the concept of team charters and protocols

• to provide tips and practical advice on effective leadership, communication and

relationship building in an international team context

BENEFITS

• appreciate the positive potential of cultural diversity

• develop an understanding of different cultural mindsets

• learn how to manage and work successfully in a high-performing international team

• learn how to get the most out of individual team members

• develop a toolkit for understanding and managing intercultural conflict

LTS training and consulting

Working with specific cultures

Have you ever had to work with people from a specific culture and not really known what to

expect? Have you ever felt frustrated by the way people from other cultures do business?

Have you ever been puzzled by their behaviour in meetings, by their style of

communication or by their approach to decision making?

Working with people from another culture requires many things - tolerance, flexibility, an

open mind. But above all, it requires a real knowledge of that culture, an appreciation of its

core values and how they differ from your own, and an understanding of how those values

impact on daily business practices. You will then be able to build on both your own

strengths and the strengths of your foreign counterpart(s) in order to maximise co-operation

and achieve outstanding results.

Working with specific cultures is a workshop usually run over one or two days, and goes far

beyond the usual ‘dos and don'ts’ that can be found in many books. It provides not only

practical up-to-date information on the target culture, but also allows participants to develop

awareness of a specific business and social style and how to adapt their own approach to awareness of a specific business and social style and how to adapt their own approach to

maximise performance in this environment.

OBJECTIVES

• to find out more about the way of doing business and building relationships in a specific

target culture

• to develop awareness of the strengths of your own style of working and that of

your counterpart(s)

• to develop strategies for combining these strengths in order to maximise performance

• to provide practical, up-to-date information on the target culture - facts, values, attitudes

and customs

BENEFITS

• demonstrate understanding of the target culture to your counterparts

• achieve superior results by maximising the strengths of both parties

• reduce the risk of misunderstanding and failure

• acquire new skills for working effectively with members of the target culture

LTS training and consulting

Communicating Internationally

Many people take part in meetings and negotiations with people from other countries. They

also need to give presentations to an international audience and write reports for an

international readership. How often have you asked yourself any of the following questions?

• What can I do to get my message across effectively?

• Why don’t some people seem to understand what I’m saying?

• Why do I feel this isn’t going as well as it should?

• How am I going to get all these people to agree on anything?

• How should I interpret what they're saying?

You’re excellent at what you do in your own cultural context. Perhaps you are a skilled

negotiator, a highly accomplished presenter or an effective participant in meetings. And now

you have to work internationally, where things are quite different. These workshops, usually

run over two or three days, will help you build on your existing communication skills and

enable you to perform much more effectively in international situations. Topics include

Leading and participating in international meetings, Making presentations to international Leading and participating in international meetings, Making presentations to international

audiences, Negotiating internationally and Writing effective reports.

OBJECTIVES

• to examine key factors for successful international communication

• to explore the key dimensions of culture that influence expectations and behaviours inpresentations, meetings and negotiations

• to develop strategies for modifying language use and to provide models, tips and practical advice for maximising communicative effectiveness

• to practise these core communication skills and receive detailed feedback onperformance from the facilitator and other workshop participants

BENEFITS

• understand how cultural values and perceptions influence the success of international communication

• learn how to anticipate expectations, interpret behaviour and achieve maximum impact

• develop and build on key communication skills in international meetings, presentations,negotiations and report writing

• appreciate the power of language in an international context

LTS training and consulting

Relocating successfully

Though large scale expatriation may be a thing of the past, companies continue to send key

personnel on assignments abroad. This may be a senior appointment or part of a person’s

career development. In most cases, the family goes too.

It is well documented that up to a third of expatriate assignments fail, or suffer from

underperformance, resulting in either early return or poor performance for the period abroad.

Sometimes this may be due to the wrong choice of person or assignment. More often it is a

result of poor preparation of the assignee and their family, both in terms of practical information

about the country they are going to and lack of knowledge and understanding of the host

culture.

LTS cultural training sessions for relocation are tailored to the specific situation of each

assignee and their family. Usually run over one or two days, with pre-session preparation and

post-course follow up, they give the assignees and their family members a full introduction to

living and working in the host country.

OBJECTIVES

• to learn more about the host country - its society, its institutions and the habits and customs of daily life

• to have a better understanding of the host country’s culture and cultural values, and how these influence behaviour in both social and professional situations

• to examine the similarities and differences between the host country’s culture and your own

• to develop awareness and skills which will help you to develop effective social and working relationships with colleagues and friends in the host country

BENEFITS

• settle in more quickly and with greater assurance

• reduce the risk of simple misunderstandings due to language or behaviour

• acquire a better understanding of how to work more effectively with host country colleagues

• gain a better understanding of both practical matters and people’s customs, habits and behaviour

• show your local colleagues that you are well informed about their country and customs

• concentrate more quickly and fully on the new job

LTS training and consulting

Assessing international management competencies

On what basis are people selected and prepared for international assignments? How do

you identify people who are more likely to succeed in a particular foreign posting? How

can you assess the strengths and weaknesses of different candidates for international

assignments? Are some people more suitable for certain parts of the world than others?

How do you decide on appropriate training and development to prepare candidates for

future international management positions?

The answer to many of these questions can be provided by the International Management

Assessment (IMA). The IMA is an assessment and development tool designed to assist

organisations in the identification and preparation of candidates for international

assignments. It can be used at an early stage in a person’s career to identify the potential

for an international role, thus helping to create a talent pool of future international

managers. Or it can be used as a diagnostic tool to assist in the preparation of people for

specific assignments. It takes one complete day, consisting of simulations, role plays,

case studies, in-basket exercises, group discussions and an in-depth structured interview. case studies, in-basket exercises, group discussions and an in-depth structured interview.

After careful analysis by the IMA consultants, detailed confidential feedback is given both

to the individual participants and to the organisation’s international mobility manager or HR

management. The IMA can be run in English and French.

OBJECTIVES

• to identify styles of working, approaches to team work and problem solving and general attitudes in relation to different cultures around the world

• to evaluate aptitudes, strengths and weaknesses for international assignments

• to assess suitability for assignments to specific countries

• to highlight areas for future training and development

BENEFITS

• assists in the identification of potential and future international managers

• helps in managing the career development of those identified as future international managers

• aids in the selection or confirmation of candidates for specific overseas assignments

• acts as a diagnostic tool to define areas for future training and development

LTS training and consulting

Trainer training

The intercultural training field is growing quickly, but there are few practical training

courses available for trainers who would like to develop their skills in this area.

Some years ago, LTS was asked by several large corporate clients, such as Air France

and Audi, to design and deliver intercultural trainer training courses for some of their

internal trainers. Drawing on this experience, in 2005 we launched a five-day course,

Developing intercultural training skills. The course, which leads to the LTS Certificate in

Intercultural Training Skills, runs five times a year at our training centre in Bath. It is

designed for experienced trainers from fields such as business language training ,

coaching or management training, who wish to learn more about the theory and practice

of intercultural training, both to integrate intercultural activities into their current areas of

training and also to be able to offer different kinds of intercultural training courses

themselves.

In 2009, at the request of many participants who had followed our original five-day

course, we launched a follow-up course, Designing and delivering intercultural training .

This is an advanced workshop for experienced intercultural trainers. The aim is to give This is an advanced workshop for experienced intercultural trainers. The aim is to give

participants more hands-on practice and guidance in designing courses for a range of

different intercultural needs, and also extensive practice in using and exploiting a wide

range of training tools and materials. There is also a strong focus on assessing

intercultural competence using various tools and questionnaires.

Both courses are eligible for grant funding from the EU Lifelong Learning Programme

under Grundtvig. More than 45 sessions have been run, with over 400 participants. The

courses or tailored versions of them can also be run on request at locations worldwide.

OBJECTIVESBy the end of the training, participants will:

• have a good understanding of the key conceptual frameworks of the intercultural field

• know how to incorporate intercultural elements into their own areas of training

• be able to design different types of intercultural training courses

• be comfortable using different training techniques, activities and materials for intercultural training

For more information and dates, please see: www.lts-training.com/ICTTcourse.htm

LTS training and consulting

Locations - Duration - Fees

Intercultural training programmes can be run at the LTS training centre in Bath, at

clients‘ locations or any other venue worldwide. Though training courses are normally

run in English, they can also be run in different languages on request. When training

programmes take place in Bath, we can make all necessary arrangements regarding

accommodation, airport pick-ups, etc. Accommodation options range from LTS

executive host families to hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses.

The length of our intercultural programmes depends on the topic as well as the client‘s

needs. Most range from one to three days.

Apart from our trainer training courses, which are at fixed dates with a set fee, our

intercultural training sessions are designed specially for each client. Fees are usually

based on a trainer rate per day plus expenses. Contact us for a quotation.

LTS training centre in Bath

Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one

of Britain‘s most attractive cities, famous for its

Roman Baths, its medieval abbey and its 18th

century Georgian architecture. Bath is 180 km

west of London, with excellent transport links.

London Heathrow Airport takes 2 hours by train,

coach or taxi and it takes just 40 minutes by taxi

from Bristol Airport, with direct flights from many

European cities or connections via Amsterdam,

Brussels and Paris.

If you would like more information or wish to make a course booking, contact us at:

LTS training and consulting5 Belvedere, Lansdown Road, Bath BA1 5ED, UK

Tel +44 1225 448148 E-mail: courses@lts-training.com

Internet: www.lts-training.com