Germany – Spain intercultural communicationNuclear industry
Improve understanding and communication between Germans and Spaniards.
I was glad to have had this cultural training before starting my work with the Spanish team.I was able to understand certain behaviour and habits that are diametrically opposed to the German way of work. – Manfred E. – Engineer
Context
Our client, a Franco-German company based in Erlangen, is involved in international projects. In 2011, the German group was designated as leader in a 2-year project in Spain to improve the electrical and I & C systems in nuclear power plants.
The German company then decided to invest in intercultural training upstream of the work, to improve working conditions for its nine engineers and project managers and the Spanish teams.
solution
• Interview between the project managers, engineers and the expert determine their missions and their knowledge of Spain
• Cultural Profiling: a tool used before training to help team members to become aware of their preferences and cultural orientations compared to those of the Spaniards
• A two-day program on Spanish society, the values and behavior to adopt in the workplace and the opposing communication modes between the two cultures
• A German engineer came talk about his experience and his work in Spain for 5 years in the energy sector
At stake for
the company
• Project management and opening sites that include German and Spanish engineers and technicians
• Communication and coordination of multicultural teams
• Timeliness
Benefits
• Proper management of project roll-out and opening sites carried out by German and Spanish teams
• A good level of understanding and consideration of the communication needs of Spaniards by the German team