Cross Cultural Training FAQ

"It is essential for people in business to understand cultural differences." -The Financial TimesWhat is Cross Cultural Training?

Understanding and appreciating intercultural differences ultimately promotes clearer communication, breaks down barriers, builds trust, strengthens relationships, opens horizons, and yields tangible results in terms of your business success. The ultimate goal is to maximize your success in business to business, sales, negotiations, HR, partnerships, and effective global communication. Cultural awareness training will impact your staff's motivation, leadership style, efficiency, task delegation, project management, and decision making.

Twenty-first century advances in technology and communications are changing the world order with lightning-swift speed, putting people all over the globe in touch as never before. You are challenged to continually understand and develop new cross cultural skill sets to have an advantage over your competition. Ultimately, in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, cross-cultural training is an investment that will pay long-term dividends.

Who provides the training?

Our highly qualified trainers are selected based on their cross cultural training experience, proficiency, and professional/academic credentials and rank among the best in the industry. We work with you to determine the right facilitator/s for your needs. Typically, trainings are led by our world class certified intercultural specialists. The trainer ensures understanding and skill development while grounding the information with practical examples. In evaluations, the high quality of our trainer’s experience is what the participants remarked upon the most.

What is taught in the training?

Our courses are tailored to meet the demands of today's progressive business personnel who operate on a global scale. You may seek to establish trade links with a specific country, go there on business, or relocate there for an international assignment. Targeting a specific country, Translation by Design provides:

  • an informative, country/region-specific geographic, cultural, and behavioral briefing;
  • a critical analysis of relationships that enhance profit and reduce the risks involved in doing business overseas;
  • skill development necessary to comprehend and empathize with the culture;
  • skill development to effectively communicate in business and social settings;
  • cultural awareness competency development in understanding stereotypes and biases in your working with the culture;
  • appreciation for deep-seated reasons for certain cultural phenomena, including etiquette and protocol;
  • key behaviors that facilitate teamwork and effective management in the target country.

How long is a typical training?

Programs are usually one to two days and are always adapted to the client's need. We also provide for other preferences, ranging from a half day executive briefing to a longer term series of short one to two hour modules spread out over several weeks. Obviously, the longer the opportunity to focus on building cross cultural awareness skills, the better the understanding and result.

How is the training customized?

Translation by Design does not use “packaged” cross cultural training courses; rather, each course we offer is tailored to meet the individual needs of your company based on size and complexity. To serve you best, our team of intercultural experts aligns best practices in the field with a customized curriculum, instruction, and assessment plan. Quality is a major benchmark for our training, achieved through careful, competent work, as well as time-tested quality control systems.

For each project, we follow proven procedures and clearly defined quality parameters. After delivering the finished product, we monitor our customers’ satisfaction and implement changes to further improve the process. Sequentially, we follow a four-step quality process before delivering all approved training by:

  • analyzing your request and focusing in on your core needs;
  • collaborating with you in suggesting other areas of training that may be beneficial to you;
  • submitting an initial course outline to you for your feedback and approval;
  • making modifications, building consensus, and finalizing the training plans.