Collaboration in a multicultural team

“Three years ago, I began putting together the team in Macedonia. We intentionally hired people that truly form part of our team in the Netherlands. That’s why it’s important that we are located in the same time zone. To ensure that everyone can participate, all our meetings are in English. Language is not a problem, but sometimes we do have to deal with cultural differences. For example, in the Netherlands, we are very used to directly raising questions when something is not clear in the workplace. That used to make the remote team uncomfortable sometimes, but they have grown quite a bit in that respect.

Through collaboration, on-site training and occasional face-to-face meetings, we bridge these differences and learn from each other. Another cultural difference came up when we sent the remote team a thank you gift after a project delivery. In Macedonia, a bottle of wine turns out to be a more welcome gift than a bouquet of flowers.”

“In my opinion, diversity absolutely contributes to the success of a project. We can really learn a lot from each other’s culture. To illustrate that in a lighthearted manner, I gave a presentation to the whole team about the cultural differences. The Dutch are quicker to share their opinion, are very efficient and internationally minded. We (in Macedonia) are more creative and less individualistic. I’d be lying if I said these differences didn’t cause challenges every once in a while, but everyone eventually learns to adapt.

So far, I’ve been in the Netherlands twice and had the chance to join in some Dutch traditions. I thought the cheese festival in Alkmaar was fantastic. By meeting each other face to face, you learn to value each other more. I hope next year we are able to receive the Dutch team in Macedonia.”