Kazan, Russia, 2018
Many decades ago in New Zealand, a full team of people sang a beautiful welcome song to me in Maori. I had just arrived at my client’s headquarters and I felt surprised, moved, privileged and… embarrassed.
Why? Because it had just dawned on me that I didn’t even know how to say ‘thank you’ in Maori. In fact, I hadn’t researched much about the culture at all.
Everyone was very gracious of course, I don’t think they expected anything of me but I felt rude and lazy and I vowed never to be in that position again.
Over the last 30 years, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to work abroad many times. I have coaching clients that I coach online from different countries but I also occasionally go physically to other countries with my consulting hat on.
Whether it’s a short one-day trip to deliver a keynote in a Europe city trip or three weeks delivering marketing training in Russia, I’ve been privileged enough to learn a huge amount both culturally and practically.
As well as being a business coach I am a marketing consultant in the cultural sector and my public speaking, training and research work has taken me to many parts of the world including the Caribbean, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Eastern Europe. It’s always exciting to work in another country, meeting inspiring new people, seeing new sights and as always figuring out what will best support my clients in reaching their goals.
Cultures and contexts vary enormously of course but I find there are often similar hopes and challenges. Sometimes it’s challenging, for example being seen as the foreign person who arrives with new ideas and techniques or on longer trips I really miss my husband but I still love it all.
Warsaw, Poland, 2016
7 Things I’ve learned from Working Abroad
If you’re dreaming of sharing your skills and services further afield, it may seem far-off like it once did for me but it’s totally possible you could find yourself attracting contracts abroad. Here are a few quick practical tips to get you ready and many of them apply to work inside the UK too:
1. Charge appropriate Fees – make sure you quote for the extra work it will take: researching, preparing, packing, travel time. Some work trips are relatively routine but others can take weeks to prepare. Also something I don’t charge for but is still important to factor in is the time and energy you will spend doing things like having dinner with clients, meeting local dignitaries or the media.
2. Ask for relevant Expenses – you’ll also need to remember to quote for (or get covered), flights, local travel, accommodation, subsistence, visa, jabs and clothing for different climates.
3. Get help with Logistics – this depends on what type of work you do but where possible ask your client to handle the logistics like flights, local travel, materials (even down to little things such as having post-it notes to hand which you don’t necessarily want to carry with you). It’s usually a lot faster and easier for it to be organized locally especially if it needs to be done in a language you don’t speak.
4. Plan the right Clothing – I forked out a small fortune on clothing suitable for the minus 28 degrees I experienced in Siberia, (sidenote: it’s tickly and amazing to feel your nose hairs begin to freeze but less fun when your fingers sting after you take your gloves off to take a selfie!) On the opposite side I needed to invest in some thin, smart-casual clothes for my working trips to Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean: my existing warm-weather clothes were beach holiday garments – unsuitable for a professional environment!
5. Have a Core Checklist – my core checklist used to be ‘PMT’ (..easy to remember!) which stood for the bare essentials to check whenever leaving home or hotel: ‘passport, money, tickets’. I’ve since updated it to ‘PMTT’ which allows for ‘Tech’ such as mobile and chargers. I have on occasion left behind and never recovered, treasured accessories in hotel rooms, (including a lovely ruby ring gifted by my mother…she forgave me eventually) but at least I always know I’ve got the critical stuff.
6. Learn the Language – be prepared to at least be able to say the basic stuff like, ‘Hello’, ‘Thank you’ and ‘Goodbye’: a simple courtesy that is appreciated even if your accent and pronunciation is terrible. Russian was the hardest to learn but I managed a few words!
7. Plan for Fun & Well-Being – if you can, plan to allow some time off work to look around. I never used to do this as I was so super-focused on serving the client but eventually realised it’s mad not to. I always make time now to look around instead of staying stuck in a hotel room. Another aspect of this is to plan enough time to rest and recover. Resting after a long and gruelling flight from the UK to Australia was essential for example.
I am of course wondering what Brexit (or whatever happens next) will add to or take away from this list so I’m going to add an extra bonus tip here:
8. Sign up to Get Ready for Brexit to get quick regular updates on how possible changes may affect your journey. I’m scheduled to travel twice before the end of this year so I’ll be watching developments keenly, (and just for the record I’m a staunch Remainer).
Do you currently travel abroad for work? What would you add to this list?
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