Organization: Global Biotech Firm

Training Goal: To build a base so the US team can be successful.

Trainees: Members of the US Team succeed by improving their communication skills

Business Challenge:  With less than 10 employees in the U.S., members of the organization often felt like the stepchild to their European colleagues. While the team expressed communication challenges with the home office, the U.S. team had its own internal communication challenges based on basic behavioral styles and culture. Most of the team is from North America. However, a couple of team members are from the Netherlands- a country that has a very different communication style than its North American colleagues. The difference in styles was creating morale problems.

Solution: The program was designed to teach team members about their own communication preferences and styles, how to recognize other people’s styles, and provide strategies to improve communication with the various styles

From the Team Lead: “After the training, I left the session with lots of positive energy that we had succeeded in the goal. The training really brought the team together. It’s been amazing. Every participant feels that way. They’ve been going out together after work. Since the training, one of the scientists was able to have a difficult conversation with her manager that she would not have had prior to the training. She told her manager that she didn’t feel recognized. That took a lot of courage for her to do that, The manager shared she had no idea that the employee felt slighted and that it was not her intention at all. The conversation has strengthened their relationship.