Gift Giving Around the World

I found an article that offers lots of tips for international business gift giving. Much of what the author writes is applicable to recogniton awards for international employees as well. For example:

Why it’s a bad idea to give a clock in China
Why a pen is meaningful in Japan

The article talks about how to present, what to give and what not to give.

Check it out.

Then, if you are from any of the countries mentioned, let me know if you agree or disagree with the authors suggestions.

All the best,

Cindy

Global Collaboration

Every week I send out around 3000 weekly tips on employee recognition and related topics. 

Every week dozens of people respond with their comments and ideas. Often I incorporate these ideas into my programs and articles. Sometimes I add them to the reader’s stories section of the web site. Other times, like this, the ideas seem best suited for this blog.

Before we get to the idea, let me share with you the weekly tip that inspired Dave Densley of Media Perfection:

Weekly Tip – Global Team Building

As many of our organizations go global it gets more difficult to build cohesive, responsive teams. Difficult, but not impossible. Here are a few strategies that others have used:

• Schedule regular conference calls (audio is fine, video is better) for strategy sessions, best practices, brainstorming and even fun and games. Schedule them at different times of the day to share the inconvenience of disparate time zones.
• Set up a closed Intranet for your team. Include a place to post kudos, requests, and notes of appreciation. Think of it as a virtual bulletin board. Also include profiles of each member. You can post a brief bio, areas of expertise, hobbies, current projects, etc.
• Create an Instant Messenger group for your team. This way you will know when your colleagues around the world are online and available for a quick chat.There is no replacement for face time, but virtual time helps break down barriers.

Now onto Dave’s idea! He writes:

Hi Cindy,
My team has been working for several years trying to find the best technologies to help us connect regularly for conferencing.  Here are some of the best tools we’ve found.

BaseCamp
http://www.basecamphq.com/index
Project Management Collaboration Tool.  Simplicity.  It is a clean, simple easy to use product that is useful for all involved.

Ichat
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/ichat.html
Mac Video chat. Ease of use.  I’ve been involved in online conferencing over the last 5 years. Most have been a huge pain for both parties trying to use it.  Ichat just works and is not difficult to use or install.

Thanks Dave!