Wipro Germany Office

Shiyu (Aimee) LiXin (Daphne) HouYafeng (Baron) HuYashi (Vanggie) Dai

Willkommen in Deutschland

Business Conditions

Germany 2014 (Current) 2019 (Projected)

Geo-political StabilityDeveloped and open market encouraged by the Government; Stable politics.

Continued open market and stable politics; Gradually shrinking workforce age.

Economics GDP: 3.62 Trillion 1-2% Growth

Unemployment Rate 5.5% (Heritage, 2014) 5%

Cost of Redundancy High; 3-6 months probationary period; Reasons must convince unions or labor court to dismiss an employee (The Workplace in Germany, 2014).

Social and Legal Environment

• Codetermination: in 1976 general law, worker representatives hold seats on the boards of all companies with over 500 employees (Page, 2011);

• A minimum of 20 working days of vacations annually; paid sick leave is six weeks with full salary, after insurance covers 70% of the salary to the employee (The Workplace in Germany, 2014).

• Maternity leave: 6 weeks leave prior + 8 weeks leave after with full salary; Up to 3 years unpaid leave to stay at home with the child.

Key Cultural Differences

Matching Quizz!Power Distance Communication Style Uncertainty Avoidance Belief System

Staffing

1. How to find the right people and avoid the high attrition happened in U.S.?

2. How to address Indian expatriates’ feeling when we hire more German employee?

1. Multiple staffing methods & higher standard in selection. 2. Include Indian expatriates in interviewer panel & consider Indian German applicants.

Third country

nationals: 10%-15%

Indian expatriates: 60% (80%

now)

Host country

nationals (German):

25% -30%

1. Online application

2. Case interview and reference check

3. Behavioral and situational panel interview.

4.Background check and offer extend

Selection Methods

Recruiting MethodsKSAs

Staffing Cont.

1. Job hunting website

2. Internal recommendation

3. Approach competitors

4. University and college recruitment

5. Magazine and professional society

6. Headhunt

Knowledge:

1. Business related knowledge.

2. Technical knowledge.

3. Fully fluent in Germany.

Skill:

1.Customer service skill.

2. Business culture sensitivity.

Ability:

1. Resilience.

2. Tolerance of ambiguity.

Performance Appraisal

Single Performance Appraisal• Basic money rewards for

good performers• Flexible prize packet based

on choice• Non 360 degree

performance appraisal system

• Utilize Behaviorally Anchored Rating scales (BARs)

Compensation• Headquarter paying for

expatriates • “At-the-market” strategy for

German employees for less tax

• Integrated with benefits and bonuses

• Performance-driven pay for sales and customer services

Motivation• Group and

Individual incentives

Training

Same basic training program• Development of CQ• Teamwork Training

Separate program

For German Employees

For Indian Employees

Trip to India

Mentorship

Social and family support

Pre-arrival

On-boarding

Post-arrival

Leadership Development

Premhi’s Leadership

Laws

Communication Skills

to resolve conflicts between cultures

Cross-Boundary Mobility

Job Rotation in other European Countries and

India

Give attention to both top executives as well as management level

Team Building/Communications

Face-to-face Team Building and Communications• Project-based: “Two in a Box”

program• In India: training at the Headquarter;

returning expatriates• Germany: language program;

volunteering programs

Virtual Team Building and Communications• Email, telephone, video-

conferencing• Team Effectiveness Assessments: i.e.

Belbin Group Role test• Web-conferencing

Challenges and Mitigation

•Attracting and selecting German employeesStaffing Global Branding

•Confusion about the performance management system

Performance Appraisal

Transparent management and frequent communications

•Lack of motivation to go abroad among Germany employees

Leadership Rotation Plan

Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards

•Traveling and training expenses between India and Germany

•Teambuilding takes time

Cost and Time

Consuming

Detailed budget planning and flexible with adjustment

Reference Birke, H. D. (2012, May). Trade Unions in Germany. Retrieved from: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung: library.fes.de/pdf-files/id-moe/09113-20120828.pdf Boxshall, R., Kupelian, B, & Lambe, C. (November, 2014). How much longer can the Eurozone rely on Germany for growth? Pwc. com. Retrieved from:

http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/issues/economy/global-economy-watch/assets/pdfs/global-economy-watch-november-2014.pdf.   Ebenezer, C. (2011). The Problem with “No Problem”. German-Indian Cooperation. Retrieved from:http

://www.germancentre.de/user/eesy.de/germancentre.de/gurgaon/dwn/GC_India_6_2011_GCDG.pdf Evans, P. P. (2011). Developing Global Leaders. In P. P. Evans, The Global challenge:  International human resource Management (pp. p. 301-343). Gallie, B. (2013). Money Motivated Employees: Does Money Motivate People. Retrieved from:

http://brandongaille.com/money-motivated-employees-does-money-motivate-people/ Heritage. (2014). 2014 Index of Economic Freedom. Heritage.org. Retrieved from: http://www.heritage.org/index/country/germany. Judith A. H. (2001). "Building trust and collaboration in a virtual team", Team Performance Management: An International Journal, Vol. 7 Iss 3/4 pp. 36 - 47. Kalvit, P. (2013). Indo-German Cultural Differences. Retrieved from: http://indo-german-work-culture-differences.blogspot.com/ Kaufmann, D. Kraay, A, Mastruzzi M. (2013). Worldwide Governance Indicators. Retrieved from: http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/index.aspx#home

. Kossek, E. (2014). Cultural Agility and cultural awareness. Lecture, Purdue University, Krannert School of Management, West Lafayette. Kossek, E. (2014). Global Performance Management. Lecture, Purdue University, Krannert School of Management, West Lafayette. Kreft, K. (2014). “Poverty in Germany hits new high”. World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved from: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/01/06/germ-j06.html. The Hofstede Center. (n.d.). Country Comparison, India and Germany. Retrieved from: http://geert-hofstede.com/india.html. Page, R. (2009, June). Co-determination in Germany-A Beginner's Guide. Retrieved from: www.boeckler.de: www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_arbp_033.pdf Walk, M., Schinnenburg, H., & Handy, F. (2013). What do talents want? German Journal of Research in Human Resource Management. 27 (3), 251-278.

Retrieved from: http://www.hampp-ejournals.de/hampp-verlag-services/get?file=/frei/ZfP_3_2013_Walk. Wikipedia. (2014). Germany. Wikipedia.org. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany. Zimmerman, L. (2013). “How Time Perspectives impact Planning Behaviors: A Comparison between German and Indian Managers”. Igsg.org. Retrieved from:

http://www.igsg.org/Seiten_ab-2013-10/Lena%20Zimmermann_report_dezember_2013.pdf.

Thank You!

Suppose you were a new German hire in Wipro, your supervisor comes from India, what would you do or say if you disagree with him or her? (Keep in

mind the cultural differences)