Making Marks - Trust in Business - Company Profile

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

TiB employees talk salary with clients after the way-of-life discussion. If you're offered a position based on a gross salary, Koark advises that you determine the net salary before signing an employment contract.

According to the German consulate office in Boston, Germany's wage and income tax can vary from 19 to 56 percent (depending on the salary), and a social security tax of 12 to 13 percent is added on top of that. Koark suggests that you calculate your net salary and contact the consulate in the town you plan to live in to learn about the cost of living there.

As a commercial company, TiB can't offer tax or legal advice. For that, you'll need to hire a tax adviser or lawyer. Koark does suggest you get clarification from the appropriate professionals if the following topics are crucial to your business in Germany:

* company taxes

* intellectual property issues

* trademark or patent coverage

* business or product liability insurance

* stock options as part of your employment contract.

Step 5: Know office procedures.

Regarding daily work routines, Koark notes, "People are used to dropping their pens at the end of the day." At 5 p.m., most employees leave, though it varies depending on the industry. Offices that deal with American counterparts tend to have more flexible work hours.

Another characteristic of the German work environment is how German employees respond to project status requests. Unlike American workers, who tend to spell out the evolution of a project when asked for a status report, Germans are apt to give a short reply beginning with, "The status is.... " But that also varies, says Koark, depending on how much the company is involved in international business.

Plotz and Koark spent many years working for companies in startup situations. They've seen firsthand the hardships people face setting up in a country where they're unfamiliar with the language and business and social customs.

Plotz and Koark offer this bit of final advice: Oktoberfest isn't in October. Get there by the middle of September or you'll miss out on all of the fun.