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Cross cultural issues/Doing Business in Poland

Why culture matters in international business. How to do business with Poland - Your expectations, Polish reality

By Barry Tomalin and Anna Maria McKeever

Barry Tomalin, Director of Cultural Training, International House, former Marketing Manager BBC English, BBC World Service, Anna Maria McKeever, Director of the British Polish Business Club and a Polish Consultant at the Department of Culture and Communication Training for Business, International House, explain how to
build a good business relationship if you are doing business in Poland

Just before they assassinated you the popular mafia cliché used to be ‘Nothing personal, strictly business'. In fact, in overseas business it's often the other way round. If you don't take care of the personal relationship, you lose the business and if you fail to establish a good personal relationship you fail to create the business in the first place. The first you know about it is when you learn the business has gone elsewhere, to a competitor who has!

That's what happened in a well-known Argentine telecoms project where the company went for a higher priced, lower specification option precisely because they felt they would have a better service relationship with the supplier. Why? Because the supplier in question had spent three weeks in the country getting to know how the different telephone exchanges worked and getting to know the people who would use the equipment they wanted to install.

In Poland a university IT contract went to a supplier who spent time in the university in question, getting to know the technicians, in addition to the contractors, so that the people on the ground felt confident that when they had problems they could call up and receive friendly, knowledgeable help. They liked the fact that they received greetings on their name days and that the supplier had an interest in understanding and enjoying Polish culture

It's true: we all prefer to work with people we know and trust, but building that trust is particularly important in Poland, where relationships really matter. Liz was shocked at her first meeting with a Polish firm in Lodz. ‘I couldn't believe that they were so cold and indifferent,' she complained. ‘I thought that they had no interest at all in what I had to offer. I was so put off I never wanted to go back there.'

During the second meeting, on the following day, everything had changed. The company was much more friendly, and the relationship was established. They'd met her, got to know her a little, had some time to reflect and decided that they liked her.

This is so different from the British style, which tends to be friendly but detached. Poles often walk out of a meeting with British business people thinking that they have established a good relationship when, in fact, their British hosts were just being polite. The British value professionalism, as do the Poles, but focus first and foremost on completing the task in hand.
However, evidence collected by the EU ELAN study of languages in business published in 2007 estimated that 11% of over 900,000 SME's surveyed claimed they had lost business through lack of language and cultural skills.

There is also evidence that continental companies prefer to do business with other continental companies in English because they find the British hard to understand.

According a survey by CILT (The National Languages Strategy) proper investment in language learning and cultural understanding could improve British GDP by £9 billion a year. The private sector is responsible for 65% of GDP and provides 70% of the jobs. SMEs constitute 99% of firms and employ 60% of the workforce, and, since 1994, Poland has been the leading Central European economy for inward investment (led by Germany and the US). So if you are doing business with Poland, what do you need to do to build a good business relationship?

Firstly, you need to understand Polish business expectations and to fit in with them as far as you can. What are they?

1 SHOW INTEREST IN POLAND

This might sound obvious, but Poles are a particularly patriotic and proud people and have a fascinating history and culture. The people you deal with will know about their towns and history and will appreciate the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with you. At the same time it is really important to recognise that the country is largely Roman Catholic. Pope John Paul II was Polish and is still immensely respected in Poland. So try to avoid the swearing and no anti-religious jokes, please!

A practical outcome of this is that although many Poles speak excellent English, they will appreciate it if you take the trouble to have your sales and promotional material translated into Polish.

2 FAMILIES AND FAMILY LOYALTIES MATTER

Poland is ultimately a relationship-based society, and the most important thing to Poles is the relationship with and loyalty to the family. At work they therefore enjoy being part of a ‘family atmosphere'. Their concept of loyalty is organic (loyal to the people and institution with which they work), rather than mechanical (loyalty simply to next month's salary). Anything you can do to enhance that sense of ‘family' loyalty will improve your business. The problem is, of course, that this takes up management time, and British business is often reluctant to put the time into building relationships, to its ultimate business cost. You go into Polish business looking for long term, stable and profitable relationships, rather than short term gains.

With this goes a long-standing tradition of generosity and hospitality. Be prepared to be entertained and looked after and, above all, make sure that you reciprocate when your turn comes.

3 RESPECT

Like much of Central and Eastern Europe, Poland still employs a degree of formality and respect when dealing with older or senior people which is at odds with the casual British ‘first name' business culture. Using ‘Mr' or ‘Mrs' and, above all, titles: ‘Doctor', ‘Professor', etc. matters, particularly with older Poles. Indeed, your business card should show any titles and qualifications you have. Poles take these things seriously. The ‘university of life' qualification doesn't quite do the job!

Similarly, British business people often feel uncomfortable when dealing formally with business contacts. Poles feel comfortable with surnames and titles and can be perfectly cordial and friendly while using them. They will show when they are ready to initiate a ‘first name' relationship.

4 PRIDE

Like many Central and Eastern European countries, Poland has been through a lot and Poles are proud of their courage and their stoicism in the face of adversity and the sacrifices they have made. If they feel at all looked down upon, taken for granted or taken advantage of, they can become very stubborn, obstinate and very direct about telling you what they think. For foreigners used to Polish courtesy, formality and even gallantry, this can come as quite a shock.

The downside of this is that Poles can come across as ‘know it alls', complaining (particularly overseas) about a lack of standards and lack of efficiency which they do not actually possess in their own country.

5 PRIDE IN WORKMANSHIP

One of the things which has made the Polish Diaspora renowned in Western Europe and the US and Canada is their commitment to professionalism and hard work. The ‘Polish plumber' is seen to be technically expert, an excellent handyman (usually a man) and a hard worker, committed to getting the job done.

This may seem like a stereotype, and the most pro-active members of a population are traditionally those who go abroad to work. You should look at the comments above as generalisations rather than cast in stone and be prepared to consider the character of the individuals with whom you deal.

6 REGIONALISM AND BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

Poland business is also quite regional, far more so than in the UK, and when you are dealing with Wroclaw, Krakow or Poznan, the regional style may, therefore, be somewhat different from dealing with Warsaw.

So too may be the people you meet. Broadly speaking, you will come across three kinds of Pole. One is the more traditional ‘old guard;' of senior managers who gained their management experience under the Communist regime prior to 1989 and whose management style may be characterised by excessive caution, a reluctance to take the initiative and a reliance on formality and respect to bolster their position and authority.

At the other extreme are the expat Poles who have gained their business experience abroad and who will be much more open to Western European and US business styles, which is often the way they themselves have been trained.

In between, are the post-1989 generation of Polish managers, many of whom have started up their own businesses and who are much more used to western European styles of business but may lack the business, language and cultural skills of their former expat contemporaries.

Understand who you are dealing with, in addition to their strengths and challenges, will substantially improve your business negotiating ability.

BUSINESS ETIQUETTE

Apart from understanding and adapting to Polish expectations, there are a few business quirks which surprise foreign business executives. The advice we always give to British executives visiting Poland is ‘Have a good breakfast and if your blood sugar tends to drop around lunchtime, carry a snack'. Why? Because the Poles tend to have a ‘second breakfast' around eleven o' clock and not to eat again until about five o'clock in the afternoon. If you have raced out of your hotel thinking: ‘OK, as long as I get a coffee or two I can hold out until lunchtime', you may have a long day ahead of you!

Polish bosses tend to be quite protective of female employees but may not hesitate to tell what you may consider to be sexist jokes in downtime.

Finally, the style of business is fairly conservative. Poles are not ostentatious, on the whole. Business dress is conservative, voices are kept calm and reasonably quiet, and it is considered bad form to show off or boast - very much like the UK.
And be careful about dropping litter. It is viewed in a very poor light.

Observing these guidelines and finding out a little about Polish history and cultural background will start your business off. Subsequent articles will look at business communication styles and contacts, Polish management styles and the decision making processes and how to negotiate in Poland and with Poles.

However, one final observation will convince British pet lovers of their natural affinity with Poland. According to the European Statistics Bureau (Eurostat), Poland is Europe's largest dog-owning population! Now that's something we bet you didn't know!