TNT: Tri-National Training - Reference Example
Situation/Idea
Eurocopter is a Business Unit within the EADS Group with assembly lines in Germany, France and Spain as well as subsidiaries worldwide.
Eurocopter has traditionally developed from the European head offices of Germany and France and in the last years has integrated their third pillar in Spain, which opened a new plant and assembly line in Albacete, in the region of Castilla-La Mancha.
Since the beginning, the company has worked with intercultural teams, encouraging exchanges and long-term assignments abroad, which is also the case with Albacete. Employees work in international teams on site and remotely. In the case of Albacete, some teams showed a strong „tri-national“ composition (Spanish, German, and French team members).
Client: Eurocopter
Objective: Accompanying the integration of Eurocopter‘s third pillar in Spain by developing better understanding and communication amongst employees as well as tools and strategies for effective management of cultural differences between the Spanish, German and French teams
Timing: a half-day kick-off workshop followed by 4 two-day workshops in Albacete, Spain
Target Group: Employees from different business areas and hierarchical levels from the three locations of Albacete, Donauwörth and Marignane
Trainer: Gaëlle Piernikarch
Implementation
Through close work with the training manager, the liaison manager for Spain and the Spanish human resources department, the stress was made on teambuilding and communication, both aspects that were covered through teambuilding activities and active communication with the participants by means of official invitations, a common kick-off workshop, and pre-workshop questionnaires followed by telephone interviews when requested. The program started in Albacete with a common kick-off workshop on the first afternoon where members of the board were invited to deliver a speech emphasizing on the common goals and strategy of the company followed by an introduction to the training sessions. Members of the three nationalities were present at the event and started to share some important points. This was then followed by an activity to outline the importance of cultural differences in multinational organizations and the necessity to find common rules and ways of communication. In the two weeks after the kick-off, employees participated in the two-day intercultural workshops sharing and working on their cultural differences at work and in building relationships. The workshops all included a teambuilding activity on the first evening followed by dinner together at the hotel where the training took place.
Important aspects were addressed including communicating better together, verbally but also per email, understanding each other’s values and what they mean for work relationships, valuing different modes of thinking and solving problems, and learning to resolve conflicts more effectively. Participants showed great enthusiasm and motivation during the workshops. The training results were deeply appreciated by participants from all three nationalities and action plans were decided on to build on the workshop’s findings.
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TNT: Tri-National Training
Reference example - Teambuilding and effective management between Spanish, German and French teams.
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