IT programs are one of India’s top exports. This is another classic of economic history. Many companies in Germany (and elsewhere in the western world) have programming done in India. The Indians have long since recognized this market and created IT centers, e.g. Bangalore. The Germans get their programs more cheaply and the Indians have well-paid jobs by Indian standards. But unfortunately the calculation doesn’t always work out.
It is of course easy to convey that the differences between Germany and India are huge. Intercultural training in India is one of our most popular offers. But here are a few pointers to help you get started.
Language as a locational advantage
One locational advantage is that English is an official language in India. As a former British colony, Indians benefit from this heritage. The average German often assumes that every Indian speaks English. Not at all.
Babylonian conditions
First of all, it is important to note that India is not a homogeneous country. In fact, there are 21 official languages in India (2 less than in the EU), and not even half of Indians consider Hindi, the language most associated with India, to be their mother tongue. It is often the case that Indians from different regions have to communicate in English.
English as an official and foreign language
Well-educated Indians generally speak English, of course. But for the modern generation, English is just as much a foreign language as German, for example. English skills vary accordingly, even among IT experts.
Communication patterns
At the same time, Indians communicate indirectly, whereas Germans communicate very directly. This can take many forms, e.g:
- Saying “no” is rude in India, and of course you don’t want to be rude to your clients. So they disguise it in such a way that the Germans hardly have a chance of recognizing that something is not working.
- Criticism is often taken personally. While Germans are masters of criticizing a thing, in India factual criticism is often also directed at the person.
- Feedback, especially when it is negative, is generally not given. In Germany, it is expected.
- Virtual communication further abstracts the personal relationship. You can’t go to India and constantly look over the programmer’s shoulder. So the working relationship also remains abstract. We Germans can usually deal with this well. In India, on the other hand, it is important to build a relationship.
10 tips that help
- Taking nothing for granted
Make sure that orders have been understood correctly. Have them repeat once again what the order consists of. Pay attention to important details
- Strive for personal contact
Ha, ha, you may think in these times. It’s a bit awkward to meet up in India or Germany right now. No matter, the coronavirus pandemic will be over at some point. In the meantime, there’s nothing left but video conferences and phone calls. Make plenty of use of them. Remember: “Meet. If you can’t meet, call. If you can’t call, write an e-mail“. In exactly this order.
- Get feedback
Don’t rely on everything going well if nobody gets in touch. In Germany, feedback is the responsibility of the employee, in India it is the responsibility of the manager! The more often you get in touch (without getting on people’s nerves, of course), the better your chances of finding out whether everything is as it should be – or not. Garnish your inquiries with personal details (unusual in Germany, common in India), as this improves relations. Topics: Family, weather, sport, etc.
- Be alert – Part 1
If there are problems with the feedback and your business partners do not explicitly express a “no” or “can’t”, you should also take care of seemingly positive answers:
- “We will see how we can solve that”
- “We will do our best”
- “If possible, we will do it for sure”
- “No problem”
- “We will try”
The fatal thing is: all of this may well be true! But if it’s not a well-established partnership where the people involved know each other well, it’s better to ask more questions than fewer.
- Be alert – Part 2
If a “no” is not mentioned, it is expressed differently. Indications of this can be found in reactions such as:
- The interlocutor says nothing
- The conversation partner abruptly changes the subjectac
- He deflects: “Have you visited our new plant in Bangalore yet?”
- He shifts: “That is an interesting thought. We can discuss it later.”
- He points out: “Mr. Sharma of R&D is already working on that idea.”
In these cases, the contentious issue should be taken up again at the next suitable opportunity or questions should be asked straight away.
- Ask – openly
“The, the, the – who, how, what – why why why? -Those who don’t ask remain stupid. There are 1000 great things to see everywhere. Sometimes you have to ask to understand them.” The theme song from Sesame Street is also valid here in the adult world. Ask questions, but open questions. With closed questions, the answer will usually always be “yes”. That won’t get you anywhere.
- Criticism – not directly
If everything goes well, it’s good. But what if it doesn’t? What if someone makes a mistake? Germans are usually professionals at identifying the guilty parties and then telling them what they think. In India, this causes resentment and hinders the working relationship. If something doesn’t work out, you should follow these rules:
- Only ever express criticism in private
- Looking to the future instead of digging into the past
- Don’t choose harsh words: “There is room for improvement here in the future” sounds better than “You failed here, this must not happen again!” (After all, the Indian partner knows himself that he has done something badly)
- Conveying urgency
There is a different understanding of time between Germany and India. It is not uncommon for the urgency of tasks to be assessed differently. Communicate urgency through frequent communication. Example: Call, send an e-mail and call again to check whether the addressee has received the e-mail. Inquire frequently about the progress of your project.
- Ensure continuity (if possible)
Once you have found partners with whom you can work well, you should make every effort to continue working with them. It is not uncommon for programmers to be removed for other projects and replaced by new people with whom you have to start all over again. This is not good in Germany either, but can be even more disastrous here.
- Time as a success factor
If you take these tips to heart, you will realize that they take time. If, for whatever reason, you don’t have this time or don’t want to invest it, you should have your programming done in Germany. At German prices. It certainly happens that projects work right from the start. However, as you can see from our inquiries, this does not seem to be the rule. You should therefore weigh up the factors of time, quality and money. Also bear in mind that programming in Germany is no guarantee of quality just because it is more expensive and easier to communicate.
An investment that saves time and money
These tips can help for the time being. However, there is much more to say and understand in order to achieve a truly fruitful collaboration. After all, it is also important that your Indian partners understand you. One of our clients was very successful with the strategy of offering German employees intercultural training in India and Indian partners intercultural training in Germany – at least as long as both teams worked together (see tip 9).
Intercultural training in India is therefore a sensible investment that protects against false expectations and can save a lot of money and time in retrospect.
