Global secondments and the added value to any professional services team
Working in a global business can not only be a real eye-opener, it can also be so much more effective
if you have people in your team who’ve worked in other jurisdictions. Kennedys Law has a scheme called Kennedys Collaborate offering staff a two-week secondment working from another overseas office.
Chris Pullen,
Head of Business Development (EMEA],
Kennedys Law [London, UK]
Working in a global business can be a real eye-opener if you’ve not done so before. It’s a great learning experience on several levels. On a pragmatic level, just becoming aware of time zones, national holidays and religious festivals is useful.
If you’re genuinely global and stretch across EMEA, the USA, and APAC, you soon realise there is rarely a ‘good’ time to get everyone on a call. Someone will either be at the very start or the very end of the day, so the only thing you can do is to move the timing of the call around to try and share the pain.
But aside from the logistics of time zones – and some of the operational barriers that creates – one of the most important learnings is appreciating, understanding and adapting to other cultures and business practices and how they impact your work and relationships.
Without meaning to, it’s very easy to apply the culture of the ‘head office’ on everyone. If you’re a large UK or US firm for example, the working style and business culture may be subconsciously imposed upon other international offices which might not be optimal and can create misunderstanding and sometimes friction.
That’s why it’s incredibly valuable if you have people in your team that have worked in other geographies and can bring that sensitivity and experience of other cultures and business styles to your global team.
Several organisations do offer short secondments for exactly those reasons. Kennedys, where I work, is one such business. I thought it would be interesting to share some of the observations and insights members of our global business development team have gleaned from spending time working in other offices.
Formalised secondment programmes
We have a firm-wide programme which we call Kennedys Collaborate. It’s a two-week opportunity to work from another overseas office. The objective is that those who take part will gain insights into international markets, foster stronger relationships with colleagues and clients worldwide, and contribute to the firm’s global growth and innovation.
Each year, there is a four-week window during which we accept applications from both legal and business services employees who meet the eligibility criteria. I was fortunate enough to be on the selection committee which reviewed all the applications and had the difficult job of selecting 10 people from across the firm.
It was fascinating to see the applications and the supporting business case. If your firm has such a programme or would even consider secondments, I would highly recommend that you apply if circumstances allow.
Different business cultures
In recent years, several of my colleagues in BD have either taken part in the programme, or we’ve created separate secondment opportunities for them. I thought I would share some of their observations on learning from and adapting to different business cultures.
Let me start the global tour in Spain, where my colleague Lisa Weiner is based. She has an interesting perspective having been brought up in and worked in the USA before moving to Spain and joining Kennedys.
“With globalisation, many traditional business practices in Spain have adapted to international standards. There are, however, several traditional underlying dynamics that continue to play a significant role in how things are done. In Spain, the business culture tends to be more relationship-driven than in other cultures, especially the US. It is less transactional.”
“Building trust and personal rapport often takes precedence over quick deals, making the process perhaps a bit lengthier to start. Face-to-face meetings hold significant weight. The pace may seem slower and more deliberate to outsiders, but it makes for strong, long-lasting relationships. These types of relationships are essential to long-term success in the Spanish market.”
“It’s very easy to apply the culture of the ‘head office’ on everyone. If you’re a large UK or US firm for example, the working style and business culture may be subconsciously imposed upon all the other offices globally which might not be optimal and create misunderstanding and sometimes friction.”
Business culture and the impact upon client relationships
The cultural differences in building relationships that Lisa highlights is an important one. In certain parts of the world, clients are often seen as colleagues or even friends, not simply business contacts, and those relationships often last a long time.
Of course, we’re generalising here but Lisa’s experiences in Spain certainly applies to other parts of the world. Investing time in building relationships is good business practice, irrespective of geography or culture. However, there is no doubt it can take a lot longer to build trust and underpin long term relationships in certain parts of the world.
In a previous law firm I was asked to head up the Middle East initiative in conjunction with partners from the UK, US and Egypt. One thing I quickly learned was the importance of face-to-face meetings in the region as opposed to phone calls or emails.
That immediately created something of a disconnect with the US side of the business that wanted progress yesterday, not tomorrow. It was also not just one face-to-face but probably several before you could get to a point where a relationship had been built and work might result. The process can easily take several months.
Internal relationships and different working practices
We’ve outlined some of the different considerations of business culture when it comes to client relationships. However, as you build and navigate internal relationships in your own organisation, understanding how different cultures work is undoubtedly helpful. Sometimes it’s just a different way of doing things.
One of our practices leads, Lisa Dutton, spent time on secondment in our New York office and I asked her if she noticed any differences in how partners approach business development.
“I found the US partners’ approach to BD a little different in that partners set the agendas and drive meetings, whereas in the UK we in BD tend to assume this role. I found the US partners took a more direct approach with a clear idea of what they’re looking to achieve and how they would like BD to deliver it. In contrast in the UK the culture is more consultative and slightly less hierarchical in that sense, with BD helping to shape strategy.”
I would add the general business culture in the US is still one of longer hours with an expectation that you are ‘available’ out of hours. I would regularly log on in the evenings and at weekends just to check there was nothing urgent to deal with.
Another of our team, Harry Courtney, spent time in our Melbourne office and I asked him for his thoughts:
“It was a fantastic opportunity to experience first-hand how business culture can differ across regions. While the work itself I was doing was familiar, the approach felt noticeably different. The Melbourne office had a relaxed and friendly atmosphere but still very focused and productive. I was able to see how early and collaboratively the team approached different projects. It was refreshing to see a slightly different, more agile and people-driven way of working. In Australia, interactions felt very informal and approachable, which helped create a warm, working environment.”
Smaller teams – broader experience
Quite often, going to another office means you’re joining either a larger or smaller team. If you’re used to working in a ‘specialist team’ it can be quite an experience turning your hand to a variety of different tasks, simply because there are fewer local resources available. Becoming a ‘jack of all trades’ is something Tash Carmichael experienced when working with our Australian team:
“One thing that really stood out to me during my secondment was how the BD&M team in Australia operates. It’s a smaller team across APAC in comparison to the UK, so I had exposure to working across events, awards submissions, thought leadership, and campaign work. It was a great way to learn and get broad experience across all our BD offering.”
When you are working globally, the added value of having team members who’ve operated in other jurisdictions is undeniable. Better connectivity, better communication and better understanding of different business and local culture means marketing or BD initiatives can be tailored and adapted to fit regions or local jurisdictions. That may take a little more time at the outset but the results are usually so much better.