German Speaking Trainer

On-Boarding / Intercultural Training: “Living and Working in Poland”

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Scenario

The training participant was a German manager in Poland. The customer worked for a German car manufacturer and was transferred to the Polish location at the beginning of the year.

Clients Challenge

The German participant has already worked on several international projects and also participated in a training course on intercultural awareness as part of a corparate personnel development program. Our onboarding training aimed to prepare him specifically for employment in Poland.

Our Way

The training lasted one day and included the following topics: 1) Understanding Poland and the Poles 2) Polish business culture and Polish work practices: etiquette and hot spots from a German perspective. 3) Corporate culture: effective business communication, effective business communication (in writing and on the phone), Polish reality of life. 4) Effective team communication: direct and indirect communication patterns. 5) Leadership in Poland: leadership styles, setting goals and planning, team management and building cooperation within the Polish team.

The session was led by Magdalena Kishizawa, who delivered several intercultural awareness trainings for the managers from different cultures. Magdalena has 20 years experience in working globally and has worked with participants from more than 20 different cultures. She lived and worked in Germany, Irland, United Kingdom and Portugal and is very closely connected with Japanese culture via her family links. She studied at the University of Heidelberg in Germany (Diplom-Psychology), Catholic University of Lublin in Poland (Education Science) and School of Management of University of Bradford (Master of Business Administration). She works in English, German and Polish.

Training Program for Managers: Developing a Safety Culture in Teams

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Scenario

The client was a German construction company that specialized in the construction of scaffolding and work at heights. The customer wants to develop a culture of proactive safety and regularly conducts health and safety training but also workshops for employees to increase awareness of their own safety, to minimize risky behaviour and to encourage collaboration.

Clients Challenge

The client wanted to develop a culture of safety awareness by improving the leadership skills of site managers, forepersons and constructions project managers. At the end of the training managers developed an understanding how to effectively lead a team and how to promote a safety culture in teams. The development program was designed for employees of the construction project management team in the Netherlands and (due to the multiculturalism of company) was carried out in English, German and Polish.

Our Way

The management program was created in discussions with the participants and their superiors and was also based on the experience of the trainer in employee workshops on the safety culture.

The first stage took place in German. The participant was the site manager. It was a one-day training session with the topic: Leading employees in such a way that they take safety in the workplace into account. The following was discussed: role and expectations of employees, management cycle – individual phases with a focus on performance evaluation and security offences, praise and criticism.

The second phase of the program was a two-day training session with forepersons and project managers in English. The following topics were discussed in the training: the role of the foreman, the expectations of the managers regarding the employees, the management cycle: individual steps with a focus on performance evaluation and occupational safety, motivating discussions with the employees – criticism and above all praise, regular employee interviews (on safety-relevant topics Construction sites: e.g. JSA, discussing dangerous situations, promoting proactive behaviour, discussing suggestions for improvement), dealing with difficult employees and managing conflict situations.

The third stage consisted of one training day, where the experiences were gathered, and specific problems and situations of the participants discussed in everyday life. The program ended with individual mentoring sessions in which each participant had the opportunity to discuss personal challenges in team management.

The training program was designed and delivered by Magdalena Kishizawa. She has 20 years of experience in training managers at different levels (from team leaders to group management). She holds a Master Degree in Psychology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. She also studied Educational Science at the Catholic University in Lubin, Poland, and Business Administration at the School of Management at the University of Bradford, UK. She works with the languages English, German and Polish. Ms Kishizawa brings teams together with her dynamic, optimistic and empathetic approach, creates a safe space for exchange and supports the participants as they try out new methods and overcome challenges.

Introduction of a new Performance Management System (Manufacturing)

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Scenario

Our client was a manufacturer of materials handling equipment with subsidiaries in Europe, Northern America and Asia. The company employs 30000 employees worldwide and in Poland around 100 sales employees.

Client Challenge:

In the European part of the organisation, the customer introduced a new performance management tool, which should also be used in all subsidiaries. Before reconstruction of the Human Resource department on the European level, each subsidiary had a local Performance Management system. Therefore our goal was to introduce new company-wide Performance Management system, create a shared understanding for purpose, content and procedure of the performance management and the manager’s role and to prepare participants for the Employee Dialogue and gain more confidence during Employee Dialogue.

Our way:

After an introduction of the Performance System to regional HR Partners, we run one days training for all local managers. The training concentrated on showing the advantages of Performance Management for all employees. It was particularly important as the managers had to recognise the necessity for global Performance System. After the discussion about the disadvantages and advantages of global appraisal system, we concentrated on practising the employee’s reviews. We refreshed such theoretical background as SMART goal setting, types of questions, the structure of employee dialogue, coaching matrix (e.g. when and how to develop employees), formulating behaviour-based feedback. We finished the training with role plays.

The training was delivered by Magdalena Kishizawa. She has 20 years of experience in training managers at different levels (from team leaders to group management) and with the implementation of competence models in the companies. She holds a Master Degree in Psychology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. She also studied Educational Science at the Catholic University in Lubin, Poland, and Business Administration at the School of Management at the University of Bradford, UK. She works with the languages English, German and Polish. Ms Kishizawa brings teams together with her dynamic, optimistic and empathetic approach, creates a safe space for exchange and supports the participants as they try out new methods and overcome challenges.