Supporting People takes relocation to another level

Hop on the Cross Culture Tour!

Supporting People was invited to conduct a cultural awareness workshop for 80 participants from 4 continents at Leo Pharma's International Clinical Operations Seminar. Leo Pharma was interested in addressing the issues associated with communication across cultures, and the aim was to introduce cultural awareness in a fun, dynamic way for a couple of hours.

The workshop was built around the Cross Culture Tour Game, a tool that Supporting People uses to increase cultural awareness. After a short introduction to the concept of culture in the modern day, the participants were divided in to groups of mixed nationality and had the opportunity to play the game.

"Thank you very much for the workshop. I enjoyed having the time set aside to think a little differently to how I usually conduct business." Participant, Leo Pharma, September 2011

During the game, many issues arose regarding the stereotypes that we hold and how dependent we are on these stereotypes to determine our own perceptions of the other and our behaviour. The participants were able to open up within this informal setting which led to many good discussions about their preconceptions of different cultures.

Danish Business Culture Course

Supporting People, in collaboration with Alfa Relocation, were asked to hold workshops on the subject of Danish Business Culture for expatriate employees at Maersk Drilling, with primary focus on newly arrived expatriates from a variety of countries. The aim of the workshops was to prepare Maersk Drilling foreign employees for working within a Danish company so that they could make the most of their job, career and expatriation.

"Good insight on how Danish people live their lives. The workshop created the right atmosphere for an open discussion on the Danish business culture. Very useful for anyone coming to Denmark, irrespective of age, nationality and professional background." Participant from Mærsk Drilling, April 2011

The workshops were interactive and employees were encouraged to openly discuss the issues that were introduced by Supporting People, as well as any relevant issues they had. Themes introduced in the workshops were typical Danish management style, working with Danish colleagues, Danish workplace hierarchy and its effect on work style, and the social aspect of work.

Attendees discussed issues actively with Supporting People, which lead to many eye-opening and inspiring conversations. They were particularly pleased with the tools they were given to navigate the intercultural management styles they would encounter.

Training at North Zealand Business Academy

The North Zealand Business Academy carries out a comprehensive middle management training course consisting of 12 modules spread over one year. To put a stronger focus on middle management intercultural skills, North Zealand Business Academy invited Supporting People to hold a full day's training in March 2011 with presentations and exercises. 

"With Mette Rønning Steffensen's very positive and practical approach to the concept of culture, the participants were inspired to better understand and actively work with cultural challenges in their work life."Dorthe Ingerslev, Training Consultant, March 2011

To make the theoretical presentations more lively and dynamic, Supporting People divided the 18 participants into three groups. Each group took turns to work with their own intercultural skills within three workshops, each with its own theme: Knowledge about culture, motivation for working in multicultural teams, and specific communicative behaviors. The tools were carefully selected for the occasion and emphasized a high degree of participant involvement. In one workshop, they played a specially chosen board game called the Cross-Culture Tour Game. In the second, they worked with questions and exercises drawn from Appreciative Inquiry, while the third took on a more visual approach communication skills with a range of images from Dialoogle Visual Talking.

The day was filled with discussion, reflection, and a healthy exchange of views and experiences. Participants expressed enthusiasm for the day and valued greatly the degree of active involvement.

Positive Energy in a Period of Change

Supporting People was contacted by LEO Pharma in early summer 2010 to work with the Clinical Operations department. The assistant group was going through a process of change and had new people, new tasks and an urgent need for a more independent way of working.

Our objective was to kick start this change process. We designed a day-long seminar to give the 6-man team a fast and relevant insight into the team’s personal and professional competencies. It was important that the seminar was a positive experience where the group felt that they were heard and could influence the process. They also needed to understand why the change process was important and where it could lead.

”Thank you for a great day. As manager, I thought you did a good job and it was easy to get behind what you were doing.” Kristine Törnqvist, Head of Section.

With a professional, appreciative and straight forward attitude to the team and the challenges facing them, the group took an immediate liking to the facilitator from Supporting People and became actively involved. The seminar was both constructive and fun leaving management and assistants with a positive insight into the competencies of the group and its future opportunities - and not least the next important step in the process.

Individual Career Support

Supporting People was contracted to assist a French national in her job applications. She had enjoyed a successful management level career in France and Belgium in the private health sector and was looking to further her career in the healthcare or pharmaceutical industry.

After four months in Denmark applying for a variety of jobs, she had still not met with any success. This was partly due to the tough economic climate in Denmark but also due to cultural differences in job application techniques.

“With Mette’s help, I found a job within a few months. Not just “a job” but my dream job in one of the well-known Danish companies.” Géraldine Rylander.

Supporting People worked to create an application that reflected her profile, skills and talents. We edited her CV and cover letter and aligned them with standard Danish application conventions so that they left a better impression. The new applications were received positively and she was invited for several interviews, one of them through Supporting People’s own network connections. Supporting People then helped her prepare for the interviews using role plays and interview preparation techniques.

The support paid off and a couple of months after Supporting People started working with the candidate, she received her first job offer in a leading pharmaceutical company, which she happily accepted.