Making Marks - Trust in Business - Company Profile

Training & Development, July, 2001 by Sabrina E. Hicks

How to ease your way working in Germany.

Ironing. No one likes it. Uschi Plotz and Anne Koark aren't exceptions. But after receiving a 6:30 p.m. call from a client in desperate need of help to iron 500 just-arrived, wrinkled t-shirts for a trade fair the next day, Plotz, Koark, and their staff of 15 women completed the job in no time flat--even though it isn't part of their usual service. Such flexibility is nor typical of the German business environment. You see, Plotz and Koark run Trust in Business, a setvice firm in Hallbergmoos, Germany. The mission of TiB is to help foreign companies set up German subsidiaries as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Plotz, a German, and Koark, a British citizen living in Germany for the past 15 years, founded TiB in June 1999, www.trustib.com and they've astonished the German business world with their quick success. TiB has won awards, most recently the Breakeven Award 2000 from the German magazine Breakeven, which celebrates women who start up a business without many advantages. www.breakeven.de Plotz and Koark have been asked to appear on business television programs such as "Mutmacher"("Courage Makers") and "Existenz- Wege zum Erfolg" ("Existence: Ways to Success"). The two women have a knack for helping non-Germans come to grips with working and living in Germany, so who better to answer this question: What steps should non-German businesspeople take to make their transition as smooth as possible?

Step 1: Know the quirks.

"We give a full intercultural training course [to clients] on the personal idiosyncrasies because that's what hits them first, and that's what distracts them from work," says Koark. Things you should know to survive the daily German work environment:

* Germans have a habit of constantly shaking your hand.

* They are formal in their speech, preferring to call co-workers by their surnames. It can take years for German co-workers to refer to each other by their first names, if ever.

* They use the formal you when talking with co-workers.

* German's formal speech sometimes leads others to perceive them as standoffish.

* Birthdays are celebrated at the office with sparkling wine, nor cake.

Step 2: Know the language.

"Managing the German language, which you need to understand to negotiate," says Koark, "is the number 1 issue you should concern yourself with before leaving your home country." Her advice? Nehmen Sie eine Klasse (take a class). Language classes, such as those offered by the Goethe Institut, not only review the language, but they also introduce the culture and customs. Once in Germany, however, you'll find that many Germans speak English and love to practice on you. Of course, that can become tiresome if you'd hoped to perfect your German.

Step 3: Know what's required.

There's nothing that can totally prepare you for living and working in a foreign country, but Koark advises you to call your local German consulate and the consulate in the town you plan to live in to get what she calls "way of life" information. "It's imperative that you contact the local German embassy and the Bavarian State Ministry because they can provide information that will save you shocks," she says.

The hassle associated with relocation is one such shock. TiB offers a relocation service to help clients jump beaucratic hurdles, especially if your German language skills aren't great. Koark provides the following advice:

Know what's required of you. When attempting to obtain your resident and work permits, you need to know when, where, and in what order to turn in the permits and other requirements. Koark notes that "civil servants [who] deal with paperwork for foreigners sometimes overstep the limits of the requirements." At a minimum, the consulate suggests you provide these documents:

* proof of means of subsistence

* your contract with your employer

* a valid passport

* two passport photos

* two application forms.

You may need to provide additional documentation depending on your situation. Finding out the required information up front enables you to identify unnecessary requests and saves a lot of time and aggravation.

Get documents stamped. Koark says that she can't overstate the importance of getting the required stamp when applying for your permits.

"Stamping pieces of paper is a very important part of the German culture," says Koark. "If there's no stamp on a piece of paper, it's not an interesting piece of paper. The stamp signifies 'officialdom' to Germans."

Be prepared to answer questions from landlords about your lifestyle. Landlords are entitled to ask personal questions because disturbance laws are strict. German authorities are so concerned with minimalizing disturbances that until recently, it was illegal to shower after 10 p.m. A landlord can ask how many people will live with you, what kind of hobbies you have, and how many visitors you expect. To ensure against disturbances, landlords try to rent to people they believe will live harmoniously together in the same building.