Welcome to the adventure of Cultural OnBoarding in Serbia.

A first-aid kit for individuals moving into Serbian cultural context.

Why cultural diversity and COB?

Cultural diversity is crucial in today’s global marketplace, as companies interact with different cultures and clients.
The payoffs touch every area of the business by potentially resulting in:

increased
creativity

increased
productivity

broader
perspective

better
communication

intercultural
understanding

improved problem
solving

What is culture?

“SOFTWARE OF THE MIND”
“MENTAL PROGRAMMING”

“The collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others.”
Geert Hofdstede

“Culture is considered as something which is comprised of norms and values and governs human behavior to a particular direction, which is learned, does not change easily, which is characteristic of a particular group and which is transmitted over time from one generation to another.”
ShaidulKazi

What is COB?

The aim of this program is to enable expats in Serbia to cope with stress triggered by changing the cultural landscape as well as to help them thrive in this unique life transition. By completing this program, the participants will be able to recognize when cultural shock starts affecting their professional and personal performances and learn how to deal with it.

Program

What does the program consist of?

Cultural OnBoarding program consists of 4 structured 1-1 meetings with a dedicated cultural agent accompanied by expert-designed materials. The program is boosted with a 5th interest-specific meeting.

The following content represents the standard structure of the program, but it is also highly customizable to each participant through their work with the cultural agent.

1. INTRODUCTORY MEETING

GOAL OF THE MEETING

  • Getting to know your cultural agent and your inner cultural dimensions
  • “Peeling” the layers of Serbian culture
  • Completing the personal cultural test

CONTENT AND TECHNIQUES USED

Personal test Hofdstede Institute
Country comparison tool
Layers of Serbian culture – customs, heroes and symbols

2. INTRODUCTION INTO SERBIAN HISTORY AND CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING TECHNIQUES

GOAL OF THE MEETING

  • Learning about the interdependence of historical events and circumstances and cultural dimensions in the society today
  • Acquiring practical bicultural competence and understanding the behaviors and rules present in the society

CONTENT AND TECHNIQUES USED

History matrix (until WWII)
Training techniques for bicultural competence (Cultural sensitization, simulations)

3. DEEPENING BICULTURAL COMPETENCE

GOAL OF THE MEETING

  • Gaining practical historical knowledge in wider regional context
  • Deepening practical bicultural competence and understanding the behaviors and rules present in the society

CONTENT AND TECHNIQUES USED

History matrix (WWII-1990)
Training techniques for bicultural competence (Critical incident, cultural assimilator)

4. BECOMING A BICULTURAL PRO

GOAL OF THE MEETING

  • Tackling complex matters that are connected to the recent history and are important for understanding people today
  • Recapping all the materials or practical questions that emerged in the meantime and analyzing them with the help of intercultural training tools at hand

CONTENT AND TECHNIQUES USED

History matrix (1990-present day) and how history relates with present life situations and conversations
Cultural dimensions, training techniques and layers of culture – newly emerging examples

5. PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES

GOAL OF THE MEETING

  • Final get together of the agent and the client to sum up, reflect, support and check for any ongoing needs or support
  • Go into some interesting real life situations together and reflect on it later, or show some practical hobby, interest group, etc.

CONTENT AND TECHNIQUES USED

Training techniques Experiential learning and Information giving, tailor made for the specific participant according to their interest

Cultural Diversity Workshops

Cultural Diversity Workshops are created for multicultural teams and companies who want to benefit from the cross-cultural training adjusted for group work. The program consists of:

3 consequential workshops

Duration of each app. 3h

In-house or in our space

Based on max 10 participants per group

2 moderators

Hand-outs

Ongoing support from the team and moderators between the workshops

Individual goals of each workshop:

1st Workshop: Self-reflection and trust in multicultural work environment
2nd Workshop: Understanding challenges and values of multicultural work environment
3rd Workshop: Effective communication in multicultural workplace

About us

Testimonials

Contact

If you want to find out more about the details of the program, tailor made possibilities or prices, send us your message and our team will get back to you shortly.