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Building Successful US-Indian Teams
Building Successful US-Indian Teams
Communicaid
Communicaid is a global culture and communication skills consultancy that assists the world’s leading organisations to mitigate the risks and maximise the opportunities of working in a
complex and ever-changing international environment. We work with international organisations such as Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc. to provide a complete suite of consultancy services
as well as targeted intercultural, language and communication skills training.
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Limited is an integrated global pharmaceutical company committed to providing affordable and innovative medicines for healthier lives. Headquartered in Hyderabad, India, Dr Reddy’s comprises over 16,500 staff across 25 international sites including India, USA, Mexico, UK and the Netherlands.
Employing over 23 different nationalities, Dr Reddy’s recognises that successful international working and cross-cultural team collaboration require its workforce to develop globalcompetence skills to be able to communicate effectively. The organisation is committed tocreating a work environment that encourages diverse perspectives and upholds the dignity of work and of individuals.
• Increaseself-awareness and understanding of the impact of culture on perceptions and assumptions
• Engendergreatercuriosity and awareness of colleagues’ cultural back grounds and customs
• Createabetter understanding of the cultural drivers influencing the attitudes and behaviours in the workplace of colleagues from India or the USA
• Developpracticalstrategies for US-Indian teams to collaborate more fruitfully together
• EnableIndianmanagers to motivate and engage more effectively with their US teams
With constant and growing interaction between Dr Reddy’s Indian headquarters and its important US operation DrReddy’s Laboratories, Inc. (USA), the organisation’s HR team identified the need to support its Indian expatriate population and developUS-Indian team collaboration.
Two key training and support initiatives were identified as part of this needs assessments.
Firstly, the need to providetargeted intercultural training for employees on assignment from the parent company in India to ensure a smoothtransition to living and working in the USA. With many Indian expatriates assuming senior managerial roles in the USA, it was important for Indian expatriates to understand how to engage with local US teams and demonstrate strongleadership from the outset.
Secondly, a personalisedintercultural programme was also required for US staffworking with Hyderabad and/or Indian expatriates in the USA. The objective of which was to help them to developstrategies and techniques to collaborate more effectively with their Indian colleagues.
Communicaid worked closely with the HR team tounderstand Dr Reddy’sorganisational culture and structure as well as the cultural challenges facing local andIndian employees working across US sites.
We designed an integrated three-part programme thatallowed employees the space in mono-cultural groups to reflect on their own and the other culture, to benchmark existing knowledge andassumptions and to discuss any intercultural challenges
and potential solutions. These country-focused sessions were followed by the opportunity for employees to come together with their colleagues from the other culture to shareexperiences and expectations and to work together to agree a common set ofcommunication methods.
It was essential that these training programmes wereengaging and fun and could be adapted to meet the requirements of all levels of employees, from production workers to senior managers.
Training was highly interactive focusing on discussion, relevant case studies and role plays.
To increase interest in both cultures, we also included an authentic lunch as part of the country focused programmes where delegates wereencouraged to sample typical food from the other culture and learn more about social etiquette.
Training ObjectivesThe core objectives of the training initiative were to:
Helping Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc. to Integrate US-Indian Teams
Training Approach
Communicaid designed the following two stage training solution for Dr Reddy’s employees.
Stage 1:
• InternationalAssigneesfrom India to the US
This one day WorkingSuccessfully in the USA training programme provides delegates with the necessary awareness, knowledge and skills to adapt quickly and smoothly to living and working in the US.
• USNationalsWorkingwith Indian Colleagues
This one day WorkingSuccessfully with IndianColleagues programmedevelops delegates’understanding of Indian business and social culture and how it impacts on working practices and communication styles.
Stage 2:
• US-IndianTeamworking
This one day workshop brings delegates from bothnationalities together andencourages them to share their experiences, assumptions and expectations of each other. The key focus is on higherlevel business practices and skills development such as cross-cultural management and negotiation.
In addition to these grouptraining programmes,Communicaid also provides one-to-one coaching to senior managers responsible formulticultural teams or HRprofessionals supporting Indian expatriates.
Communicaid has been working with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc. since 2009 to develop the international competence of its workforce across multiple sites in the USA.
To-date, hundreds of employees have benefited from learning more about the role culture plays in effective international relationships.
After attending these training programmes, delegates now demonstrate a greater understanding of their
international colleagues’ attitudes and expectations in the workplace coupled with practical strategies to work more successfully together.
Training has also helped to foster more positive relationships across cultures and improve the effectiveness of cross-cultural teams.
The training was an excellent experience. This opportunity allowed us to look at ourselves and reflect on what we are doing right and what we should change.
Toni CelesteManager Sales OperationsDr Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc.
Results
Our Solutions
Experience Innovation Impact
LONDON
Communicaid Mitre House
12-14 Mitre StreetLondon EC3A 5BU
United Kingdom
PARIS
Communicaid France4 rue d’AstorgParis 75008
France
BRUSSELS
Communicaid6th Floor
Rue Guimard/Guimardstraat, 91040 Brussels
Belgium
FRANKFURT
CommunicaidMainzer Landstraße, 27-31
60329 FrankfurtGermany
NEW YORK
CommunicaidRockefeller Center, 7th Floor
1230 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10020
U.S.A
T: +44 (0)20 3370 8500F: +44 (0)20 3370 8501E: [email protected]: www.communicaid.com
T: +33 (0)1 77 71 25 85F: +33 (0)1 77 71 25 86E: [email protected]: www.communicaid.fr
T: +32 (0)2 808 31 90F: +32 (0)2 808 31 91E: [email protected]: www.communicaid.be
T: +49 (0)69 274 015 259F: +49 (0)69 274 015 183E: [email protected]: www.communicaid.de
T: +1 212 618 6369F: +1 212 618 6309E: [email protected]: www.communicaid.com
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