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InterNations Corporate Culture

Top 5 Reasons for Every Company to Invest in a Team Trip

9 May 2022 · by Margit Grobbel

The Wednesday before last, the InterNations Team stepped off a coach at Munich’s Central Bus Station, slightly bleary-eared, but happy.

They’d just returned from a three-day company retreat in the Austrian Alps.

A corporate retreat? Isn’t that an unnecessary luxury at best? And even more so in times of uncertainty?

For the first time since before the pandemic, the InterNations Team went on a trip together.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many companies to watch their budgets. Moreover, with the war in Ukraine disrupting supply chains and increasing inflation, the next crisis may be looming on the horizon. And that would mean yet another reason for businesses to tighten their belts.

The last thing any company needs right now, you might think, is a corporate retreat. It costs quite a bit of money to send your employees on a trip. Not to mention the loss of productivity during the event.

Obviously, a corporate team-building trip is a considerable investment in terms of time and money. But, if done right, it will be worth it in the long run.

Read on for some reasons why every company should send their team on a corporate retreat. Especially now.

[Read more…] about Top 5 Reasons for Every Company to Invest in a Team Trip

Filed Under: InterNations Corporate Culture, Perks of the Job Tagged With: benefits, team events, team spirit, team-building activities

Fun@Work: How InterNations Team Members Unwind and Socialize

4 April 2022 · by Margit Grobbel

Getting to relax and to enjoy yourself at the office is not the same as “all play and no work”. Having fun is said to lower stress levels, to help build a socially connected learning environment, and to increase productivity by an average 12%. Let’s all remember this figure in case someone tries to object to Friday Happy Hour!  

But whatever the benefits for the company’s bottom line might be, truth is that we sometimes just need a break. Find out how some of our team members brighten the mood during their working days, both remote and in person.

[Read more…] about Fun@Work: How InterNations Team Members Unwind and Socialize

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, InterNations Corporate Culture Tagged With: fun at work, office environment, team spirit

How to Succeed at Crucial Conversations in 3 Steps

24 March 2022 · by Margit Grobbel

Nobody really likes those high-stakes conversations where both opinions and feelings run strong. But we can’t avoid them forever. InterNations team member Margit shares what she’s recently learned about crucial conversations thanks to our personal development measures. And why handling them with care is especially important in remote-work settings, international teams, and lateral leadership positions. 

[Read more…] about How to Succeed at Crucial Conversations in 3 Steps

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, InterNations Corporate Culture Tagged With: learning and development

Why I Moved 9,100 Km to Become a Better Business Leader

18 February 2022 · by InterNations_CC

In this guest post, InterNations Founder Malte explains why he decided to rejoin the expat community, moving to Cape Town in autumn 2021, and what he’s learned so far. He discusses his experience with relocating and settling in, especially with making new contacts abroad.

InterNations Founder Malte moved from Munich to Cape Town in late 2021.

Taking a Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes

Moving to South Africa not only meant putting my walking shoes back on. It also means putting myself into our members’ shoes.

After founding InterNations in 2007, I settled down in Munich. In the following 14 years, we grew the business into the world’s largest network for expats and global minds. But despite our success, it makes a huge difference if you’re running an expat community as a German local — or if you’re gaining more experience on the ground.

Relocating to Cape Town wasn’t just the ultimate exercise in customer-centric thinking. I also had other, personal reasons for taking this step. In my earlier career as an international TV reporter, I’d often lived abroad. After more than a decade in Germany, I found myself missing expat life.

It’s also an adventure to explore another culture and a whole new country as a family. Our horizons have expanded vastly since we came to Cape Town. Living abroad changes your perspective, sometimes radically so. I wouldn’t want my kids to miss out on this amazing opportunity.

For Malte, Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities he’s ever been to.

South Africa: The Perfect Expat Destination for My Family

We specifically chose South Africa for various reasons. I wanted to keep working remotely with the InterNations Team. Most of our team members still live in Germany. To keep the time difference to a minimum, this left me with all of Europe and Africa to choose from.

But I had already lived in several European countries and traveled to many more. So, I was looking for a very different kind of expat experience.

I’d been to South Africa before, most memorably to visit our local InterNations Communities back in 2016. Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen: great location, high quality of life, perfect climate. Making the decision to live here for a while couldn’t have been any easier.

Like for so many expats, the visa issue was the biggest challenge for Malte and his family.

The Road to Relocation, with a Few Bumps along the Way

We managed most of the relocation process on our own. Looking back, I’m not sure if this was the right way to go.

Sorting out our visas was the biggest challenge, even without a language barrier to worry about. If we ever move outside the EU again, I’ll definitely consider getting help with visa applications. If you can afford it, just let the professionals take care of it. It will save you a lot of hassle.

Other parts of relocating went really smoothly in comparison, especially finding accommodation for our family. Of course, this depends a lot on the local housing market. In Munich, the housing search can be a bit of a nightmare, and we’d been rather worried.

Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to find decent accommodation at reasonable prices in Cape Town. Many people let apartments or entire houses as vacation homes. Since tourism has been affected by COVID-19, they’ve been switching to long-term rentals. So, the relative ease of finding housing was a pleasant surprise.

First-hand advice from other expats is the best kind of preparation for your move.

Preparing for the Move in Theory and in Practice  

While you’re preparing for your move, reading up on your destination helps you gain insights into its history and culture. Personally, I really enjoy biographies, memoirs, and books about politics.

Nelson Mandela’s The Long Walk to Freedom was obviously a must-read. I also recommend Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah. In his account of growing up as a child from a (then illegal) interracial relationship, Noah — a TV host and comedian — presents a very serious topic with a funny touch.

In more practical terms, asking other expats for advice is the best kind of support you can get. Luckily, a good friend of mine moved from Germany to Cape Town about ten years ago. She knows the area very well. It’s been an invaluable help to get first-hand information about the best neighborhoods, the right schools, and potential safety issues.

Cape Town has a bit of a reputation for being unsafe. I must admit I was a little concerned, after living in Munich — one of Germany’s safest cities — for so long. As newcomers, we needed to adjust our routines, which took some getting used to. Knowing which neighborhoods to avoid, remembering not to go for a walk after dark, and so on.

­But all in all, settling down in South Africa has been easy. So far, nothing has put a damper on my general satisfaction and my optimism about life in Cape Town. 

Making new friends abroad is essential — but it’s not always easy.

How to Win Friends and Influence People — Abroad

Relocating to another country always comes with various challenges, not just with regard to paperwork. Making new friends is probably the biggest. Whenever you move, you need to rebuild your personal and professional support network from scratch.

Fortunately, I’ve already met plenty of new people in Cape Town. I’ve obviously attended several events hosted by the local InterNations Community. Being a father helps too. You’ll automatically meet lots of other parents at your kids’ school or on playdates.

It also helps that I’ve been a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) for years. It’s an international peer-to-peer network that is organized in local chapters. It has provided me with easy networking opportunities in Cape Town. At local events for entrepreneurs, we can share experiences, discuss challenges, and mentor each other.

Most EO members are South Africans, while the contacts we’ve made through our children’s school are mainly other German expats. Through InterNations, I’ve encountered people from all walks of life, with a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities. I would describe my social circle as a great mixture of private and business contacts, of expats and local residents.

Generally speaking, the best thing you can do to make new friends abroad is to be both proactive and persistent. None of the people here have been waiting for you to show up. They’re all leading rich and busy lives. It’s up to you to make the first move and then keep things going.

Reliving the experience of organizing an international move and settling down abroad reminded me of what our members are experiencing every day. It’s really true that you can’t understand someone until you’ve walked at least a mile in their shoes.


Image credit: Getty Images / InterNations / iStockphoto

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, InterNations Corporate Culture Tagged With: Cape Town (South Africa), customer centricity, expat life, founder's diary: cape town, leadership, moving abroad, relocating

Mental Health and Remote Work: Yay or Nay?

15 October 2021 · by Margit Grobbel

How does remote work affect our emotional well-being and mental health? You might get very different answers, depending on whom you ask. Working remotely does wonders for the mood of some employees. Others consider it one more stressor in their life.

To describe its potential impact on mental health, we’ve come up with two scenarios. The stories describe the same day in the life of two remote employees who work for the same company. The first is thriving, but her colleague experiences firsthand why remote work is bad for her mental health.

Happy smiles or grin and bear it? How does working from home impact our mood?
[Read more…] about Mental Health and Remote Work: Yay or Nay?

Filed Under: InterNations Corporate Culture, Remote First Tagged With: mental health, remote work, working from home

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