Each time our CEO Kris is in the Philippines he runs a session for our new joiners (Cooee nooees) called ‘Australian culture and geography’ which he describes as ‘fun’ but also important as you step into a role managing international stakeholders.
‘I started this session because firstly, there is a lot of unpack with us Aussies – words we use, abbreviations and unique sayings but when you work in an offshore team extension model it’s also about helping understand the different work styles and therefore, expectations.
Kris recalls running similar sessions while at Deutsche Bank Manila. ‘That would have been back in 2008/09, the early days of offshoring and it’s no different now, if anything it’s a ‘must have’ as the world becomes more deeply connected.
The session begins with some basic geography (states, cities) and history followed by a ‘speak aussie’ game where the nooees have to guess what a certain ‘aussie’ word actually is. ‘This is the fun part’ he says. ‘Snags (sausages), bowlo (bowling club), Mozzie (Mosquito) are just a few of the examples he uses. He then switches to the topic of stakeholder management which Kris says, ‘is really the most vital part of the session’.
‘We work with SME’s of varying sizes but whether its our client base or you are with a huge multinational with thousands of staff, the success of the outsourcing model revolves around building trust and maintaining
that relationship and from 5000km away its vital we do that day in day out. This session is about helping our guys on that journey as they work alongside international businesses’.
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