Successful cooperation with Indian partners and colleagues – How to write emails to Indians and arrange appointments

It all starts with the idea

Many German companies are now outsourcing capacities to India, particularly in the IT sector. Call centers can also be found on the subcontinent today. On paper, this is a good idea. There is a shortage of skilled workers in Germany, Indian programmers are well trained and cost less than a German specialist. In addition, everyone speaks English, so there is no language barrier. India therefore offers the best conditions for outsourcing a high-tech application to a low-wage country. Otherwise, this is more familiar from the production of consumer and industrial goods. In the meantime, “hot spots” have developed where many companies are concentrated, such as Bangalore. The necessary infrastructure is easy to create: Buildings, computers and electricity – you can hire people and get started. So what are the pitfalls that await companies from Germany willing to invest here?

Cooperation from a distance

As a rule, international teams are formed in which the members are based in Germany and India and are expected to work together across the distance. It is also possible for other nationalities in other countries to be involved. It is also possible to award contracts to Indian suppliers or subsidiaries to carry out work cost-effectively, which is then delivered to the German client. This is where the pitfalls lie, because in order to work well together, everyone involved must understand each other well. This has nothing to do with sympathy, but purely with communication. Issues that are clearly described on paper should not pose any problems, the Germans think. Especially in the technical field, where the German language leaves little room for interpretation, it should be possible to communicate directly and simply. Several pitfalls lurk here, the ideal state is a construct that has been intellectually devised, at best a goal. The way there is paved with pits and traps.

Material and personal reference – two worlds

The German culture is characterized by a reference to the matter. This means that for Germans, a matter can also be discussed without reference to a person. Tasks are completed even if you do not know or have not seen the other person. The focus is on the function. Trust is created by the fact that everyone involved reliably completes their tasks. India, on the other hand, defines its culture through a personal relationship. A thing or task is not seen in isolation; there is always a person behind it who carries it out. And you want to know this person, because how else can the necessary trust develop when working together? It is already clear here that it is important for successful collaboration that the team members get to know each other. A good opportunity for this is a kick-off event. However, this also means that someone has to travel, and traveling costs time and money. But that’s exactly what you want to save by working together virtually. Companies would do well to see these expenses as an investment rather than a cost. Otherwise, the collaboration may turn out to be rather one-sided and the intended results and/or savings may be, shall we say, suboptimal.

The sound makes the music – and how to behave in the process

When you face someone, you have three “ingredients” to get your message across. Firstly, there are the words themselves, which only account for around 7%. Secondly, you have the tone of voice, which makes up around 1/3 of it. Gestures and facial expressions account for the largest share of around 60%. For example, you can use the same words. If you shout them in the other person’s face with your hands on your hips in a threatening manner, they will have a completely different effect than if you say them gently and friendly with a smile. Everyone knows that. With virtual communication, you are reduced to 40 % of these possibilities on the phone, and only 7 % with e-mails. It’s easy to see here that there is a lot of scope for misunderstanding, because words alone can be interpreted in any way. And every culture does this through its “own cultural lens”. What is classified as an absolutely neutral and factual statement in Germany can cause confusion or irritation in India. Mutual understanding is therefore one of the basic prerequisites for efficient communication.

Indirect versus direct communication – stumbling blocks included

In international business, Germans generally stand out because of the way they communicate. We like to say exactly what we want to have when and how. We draw up a precise agenda, which is worked through point by point and, above all, starts on time to the minute. At the end of a meeting, minutes are written in which everything is recorded so that everyone is on the same page and can read again by when they have to have completed which task. That is efficient!

People in India who use indirect communication often perceive German communication as pushy, impolite and in some cases even as a personal attack. So if you are communicating with colleagues from India, you should always make sure to express yourself as politely and indirectly as possible. This is the custom in India and it is clear what Indians think of Germans in such cases and vice versa.

How do you communicate indirectly in emails? – Suggestions

If everything is good, everything is easy. But when is everything good? If, as a German, you are communicating with Indians who tend to formulate negative messages or demands in a rather coded way, you should avoid writing “I want the documents in my mailbox by 7 p.m. tonight. “. This Prussian way of expressing yourself will not make your foreign colleagues stand at attention, but will put them off. It is more clever to formulate your request in as friendly a way as possible and, if possible, even as a question: “In order to continue with the project, I would need the documents today if possible. Could you manage that?”

Another example is the direct addressing of deficits: “You forgot the sales figures in your report.” We are familiar with this form of expression in Germany. In a country with a high level of contextual understanding, i.e. indirect communication, this issue would be addressed differently, for example: “Thank you very much for your report. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the sales figures. Could you show me again where I can find them?” After all, you still want to work with your colleagues abroad tomorrow.

It is also advisable not to open the door directly. So rather not “Hello, I need the figures from last month until tonight.” It would be better to say: “Hello XXX, I hope your party last night (or whatever) was a complete success. The way I got to know India, there must have been a lot of delicious food and you know how much I like that. Now it’s back to the daily grind and I’ve been asked by my boss if I could quickly show him last month’s figures. It would be a great help if you could send them to me by this afternoon. Do you still need any input from me on this? Please also send my best regards to your colleagues. Best regards, YYYYY”

I know from experience that many Germans are now sick to their stomachs. But that is irrelevant. It’s not about evaluating what we Germans think is good and efficient. It’s about achieving a goal, namely getting what we need from our Indian colleagues. And you have touched on two other things: The relationship level, by addressing personal things and even praising them (the food). And you even built in a small time buffer (the numbers in the afternoon), which can sometimes be helpful, as we will see later.

Last but not least – there are situations in which you have your back to the wall. Your Indian colleagues will certainly be able to understand this. And then you can also be direct in emails, for example: “Unfortunately, time is very short, as all the next steps depend on your information. It is therefore crucial for the continued success of our project that you provide it to me today, otherwise our superiors could also have problems.” After all – in this version it is still pointed out that others would also suffer, and important people at that! That is unmistakable.

When the journey is the destination – detours included

The strategy of using direct communication to communicate in a completely transparent manner and also allowing open criticism works – in Germany.

The purpose of indirect communication, on the other hand, is primarily to maintain a relationship and create harmony. Since a “no” is a clear rejection and the other person might find it offensive, people in India often avoid using this little word, even if it creates clarity. Problems are even accepted rather than appearing impolite. What sometimes seems absurd to us Germans is a necessity for Indians. A refusal is formulated in a coded way and paraphrased with words such as “we will do our best” or “we will try”. And this is where interpretation comes into play! Germans generally take these messages literally and act accordingly. An Indian would certainly have noticed from the phrasing, facial expressions and tone of voice that the formulation was meant as a rejection. Nevertheless, the form would have been respected and everything would have been fine for the Indian. Both the German and the Indian are acting rationally from their point of view. This in particular is very difficult for Germans to understand. In Germany, a direct refusal is even a requirement of politeness, because you don’t waste time or resources on things that are not possible. In our eyes, this is efficient and therefore even polite. For the Indian, it is polite to just encode this rejection. Another Indian will draw the right conclusions from this, which a German, who takes what is said literally because it corresponds to his cultural standard, will not be able to do. In virtual communication, as already mentioned, there are even fewer options for decoding.

A comedy of errors?

If you add up all the possibilities of misunderstandings in the previous paragraphs, you come up with an impressive number. Furthermore, these are not isolated incidents. There is a good chance that one misunderstanding will lead to others until, in case of doubt, the collaboration breaks down completely. This possibility should not be underestimated because, unfortunately, it happens every day. The problem cannot simply be solved with good advice, it is a matter of reconciling different values. This only works if the necessary awareness on both sides. on both sides. After all, communication is not a one-way street. It is also essential that all parties get to know each other get to know each other personallyto establish a relationship at the beginning and build trust. I find it difficult to understand the very one-dimensional view of companies that invest in hardware without batting an eyelid but neglect human capital. It almost gives the impression that people should also function like machines.

Not all time is the same

The understanding of time is also fundamentally different between India and Germany. The first association here is punctuality, and that is also part of it. But beyond that, it is also about how cultures deal with the future, how tasks are completed or whether the focus is on the task or on other people. As always, this is about cultural tendencies, because not all members of a culture behave in the same way. Germans are generally said to be punctual, whereas in India this aspect has a more lax meaning. Nevertheless, there are punctual Indians, especially in business, and unpunctual Germans. It must be made clear right away that you have to face the challenge of making value-free judgments. This is not so easy when, as a German, you have been taught from childhood that punctuality and adherence to deadlines are very important values. If it is customary in a culture to meet 3 hours after the agreed appointment, a member of this culture will certainly not claim that you are unpunctual if you arrive 2 hours earlier. I certainly don’t need to explain what impression this would make in Germany. Everything is relative. If you meet unpunctual people in Germany, they are very quickly judged as unreliable and therefore negative.

Clash of cultures – How to arrange a meeting

As always, examples are the best way to explain such differences. In February this year, I met up with an old friend by chance. We exchanged addresses and agreed to meet in May. That was the first date that suited both parties. Both parties met at the agreed time.

About a week ago, my wife and I made arrangements to meet an Indian friend for the weekend. He had just returned from the US and we are both part of Internations, an association of expatriates around the world. The date was arranged via app as follows. Here are the excerpts from the SMS correspondence:

An impressive process. In the end, the meeting actually happened, and of course we had made him something to eat. Unfortunately, something with beef. We hadn’t taken into account that Hindus don’t eat this. He was Hindu and cows are sacred animals in Hinduism. We had simply saved a portion of our lunch, just as he had said.

Arrange appointments – how it works

Thankfully, this process is not so difficult in business – most of the time anyway. It is important that appointments are made and documented. To be on the safe side, you should follow up periodically, as something can always come up that you would otherwise only have found out about at the last minute. As a general rule, appointments should not be made too far in the future and you should remind people several times, especially when necessary. This also emphasizes the importance of the matter.

The communication of urgency works not least through the CEC method: Call-E-Mail-Call. Even if this seems annoying, in case of doubt this method works.

Projects and their restrictions

The different perception of time in project work becomes particularly clear. In India, deadlines tend to be goals that are to be achieved, if possible. In other words, deadlines are less binding than in Germany. Unfortunately, milestones and deadlines in projects are rarely negotiable. The globalized world is based on clocked processes that are tightly calculated, because time is money. This is also where the enormous challenge lies, because in many cases there are no time buffers that would be sensibly necessary. Particularly when it comes to relationships between clients and suppliers, suppliers are often given deadlines that leave no room for maneuver. The challenge for suppliers is to design the necessary processes in such a way that the requirements are met. The model is, of course, the processes described in the relevant management theory, which focus purely on the matter at hand and the optimal achievement of objectives. Cultural differences and their effects do not usually play a role here. Increased control of projects and processes is therefore necessary. But everyone also has other tasks to deal with, so that there is hardly any time available for this. A vicious circle that can lead to stress and loss of energy for everyone involved, especially for those who are caught in a “sandwich position”. These people receive pressure from above and a lack of understanding from below.

Working methods and their philosophies

Furthermore, the approach to tasks can be very different from a time perspective. In Germany, people are used to drawing up a detailed schedule with the aim of achieving the desired goal within the planned time. As a rule, emphasis is placed on working continuously and starting as early as possible in order to have a buffer for possible delays. In India, little often happens at first. But of course these people also have the goal in mind, whereupon they (have to) invest more work in the subsequent phases. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. In Germany, it is more likely that the goal will be achieved at the agreed time. In India, the flexibility is greater, so that changes in the framework conditions can be taken into account during the course of the project. So both systems have their merits. It becomes problematic when Germans judge progress on the basis of their own values. Misunderstandings and problems are preconfigured.

Conclusion

It is clear and confirmed by many of our clients: It can be very tedious for Germans to get along in or with India and it sometimes requires a considerable amount of flexibility. If the cooperation works well, be happy and stick to it. Sometimes it takes some time for the processes to settle in and for all the benefits of international cooperation to really come to fruition. Everyone wants to reap the benefits of this collaboration without having to put up with friction caused by cultural differences. This can work, but unfortunately it is sometimes an illusion. A rethink is difficult, especially when significant sums of money are involved. Anyone who finds themselves in such a situation should remember the insight of Warren Buffet, a not exactly unsuccessful man: “What the wise do at the beginning, the stupid do at the end.”