MIND the cultural gap

Thanks to my diplomatic experience, I’ve had the chance to work with

Cross-Cultural teams on many different projects, yet in the past year

and a half alone at Kaltura, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate

with APAC, EMEA, DACH, ANZ, and AMER regions, including —

Taiwan, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, to name a few.

Although some projects and events’ requirements were quite similar,

each region and team brought to the table completely different work

ethics, cultural behaviors, and unique perspectives and expectations.

Each and every project required a different set of tools and soft skills

from my team to be able to execute it successfully.

Here are 3 rules of thumb I’ve learned:

● Know Your Audience — it doesn’t end in learning their

timezone, current weather, and traditions. It requires deeper
research. Learn what they find offensive, rude, and respectful,
 and learn which efforts will be celebrated and invaluable to
them.

For example; Indian culture values harmony and unity. It

is known for its diversity, hospitality, greeting, ethics,
belongingness, and unity. In India, the concept of time
and punctuality is flexible.

In Japan, on the contrary, being on time equals being late,

they arrive at a meeting 10 or 15 minutes before the
scheduled time. Japan is considered one, if not the most
punctual in the world. Politeness and sensitivity are
at the center of Japanese business etiquette and are closely
connected to respect. Japan has a reputation for being a
hard-working country, with a strict work ethic and loyal
employees. They take every detail of their job seriously and
with full responsibility. These basic work attitudes are
expected to be shown by foreign vendors, too.
● Be the Karma Chameleon (but don't come and go)— after
studying your audience, make sure to select the right team for
the task. For example, for team India — appoint an open-
hearted person that can handle a dynamic and fast-paced
environment, while for Japan, choose a polite customer-
facing pro that is rather anal with an extreme obsession with
details, and strict with prescheduled deadlines and tasks.
Also, don’t forget to adjust your project’s timeline according
to each reserved holiday.
 ● Localize, Localize, Localize — and I don’t mean just
playbooks, guides, trainings, and the platform or content
itself. Learn what is important to the client ahead of time by
scoping, having discovery calls, and managing expectations at
the beginning of the joint projects before the onboarding
starts.

It might seem redundant at first, but being able to adjust ourselves to

the little cultural nuances and learn how to support and adapt to their

uniquenesses, and their etiquette don’ts — might result in either losing

an account or winning their trust for good.