As the World Cup kicks off the summer, it also brings out patriotism across the globe. After all, victory at the international level defines the competitiveness of a national sports team. The same rule applies to organizations. In an increasingly globalized business environment, a company’s capacity for global expansion and its performance in local markets define its competitive advantage.

Speaking of entrance into a foreign country, cultural immersion is always the top concern. As an international professional who has spent five years in the U.S., I learned from personal experience what it takes to overcome the cultural barriers.

Growing up in the most globalized city in China where English was taught at the earliest age across the nation, I did not anticipate much challenge living abroad. After all, if I had been a big fan of McDonald’s growing up, had been up-to-date with American TV shows, songs and movies, and most importantly, had proved my 'language skills' through the toughest language test in my world – TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), what obstacles should I expect?

With that naïve mindset, my first reality shock occurred right after boarding my first international flight, when I could barely understand the safety instructions in English and realized I would be doomed in case of emergency. The anxiety continued after I landed, when I was starved at the airport because I could hardly make myself understood or understand the cashier at McDonald’s (which is also why I still feel proud now every time I order at McDonald’s). To date, I can still remember my first summer class, where I had problem following any group discussions. What about my impeccable TOEFL score? If only my classmates talked like the recorded conversations in TOEFL tests. Besides language barriers, it turned out that the TV shows, songs, and movies imported into China were tailored to the interests of the local audience, whereas there were tons of American culture icons I was unaware of. Life in the U.S. was nothing like I expected.

Now that I have overcome the initial frustrations and have managed to live a life and start a career abroad, the number one lesson I learned is that when it comes to cultural immersion, it is wiser to learn than unlearn. Coming into a new culture with pre-existing biases always costs additional time and efforts because we need to un-bias the false impressions before getting to know the truth. To me, there are still a lot of things I do not know about American culture. But once I learned not to view my overseas experience through colored lenses, I started to appreciate the novelties and challenges I encountered each and every day.

Likewise, the key to an organization’s sustainable global presence is true cultural awareness through humble learning. Having a history of partnership with global distributors in over 56 countries, Hogan demonstrates true cultural awareness by adopting a learner’s mindset. Not only do we build trusting relationships with local distributors who are familiar with our assessment tools and experienced with the local business environment, but also we invite translators who are fluent in English and the target language, have a psychological background (e.g., experience working with personality characteristics and measurement), and are well acquainted with both American culture and the target culture to translate our assessments and reports based on both literal meanings and cultural adaptations. Most importantly, Hogan develops global and local norms and regularly updates those based on industry standards to ensure accurate interpretation of our assessment results in each cultural context. Through these evidence-based solutions, we are able to learn the cultural nuances and be mindful of those differences when working with international or multi-national clients.

With the emergence of a borderless economic world, organizations face the new challenge of going global or going home. Those that are willing to invest in continuous learning will be better prepared to truly understand the local market and win the global competition.

Hosted by Compass Consulting, one of Hogan’s network of partners and distributors, the two-day Spanish-language certification workshop will take place from Tuesday, May 20, through Wednesday, May 21, 2014, at the Kovens Convention Center in Miami. Participants will learn to use three Hogan inventories:

• The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), which evaluates personality characteristics that people need to ensure job fit and a successful career path.
• The Hogan Development Survey (HDS), which identifies interpersonal behaviors that can impede career success.
• The Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI), which assesses business drivers and core values to determine a person's individual fit within a corporate culture.

Workshop participants will conduct detailed interpretation and analysis of assessment results and give comprehensive feedback on the HPI, HDS and MVPI inventories in group and individual settings. They will also learn best practices concerning assessment use and interpretation.

Participants attending both days and successfully completing the workshop will be certified to use the Hogan inventories. Additionally for HR professionals, the program has been approved for 13 (general) credit hours toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute. The workshop has also been approved by the International Coach Federation for 13 Continuing Coaching Education units.

For more information, download the workshop brochure, or to register, contact Compass Consulting at contacto@compasslatam.com. There is a 10 percent discount for those registering two or more participants.

India is mysterious, intriguing and vast. So it is no surprise that countless talent management firms have gotten lost navigating the folds of this complex and ever changing market. Thus it is with great delight the Hogan Global Alliances Network can say we have Sierra Alta at helm of the region’s distribution channels. With managing partners Dr. Pradnya Parasher and Rahul Baswani bringing a combined 60 years of psychology and business expertise, we are overwhelmed by their team’s ability to consistently grow and expand the Hogan brand throughout the Asian subcontinent since 2010.

Like many of our distribution partners, one of the keys to their achievement is conducting regular certification workshops, consistently targeting the same major Indian and Sri Lankan cities on an annual cycle. “Keeping a consistent rotation of workshops provides us with a perfectly soft but proactive way to market Hogan Assessments as well as Sierra Alta’s breadth of talent management capabilities,” notes Rahul. “We are able to build on these training opportunities with additional educational services, such as our regularly scheduled Hogan Graduate Club meetings, and Best Practice sharing events.”

Another, lesser known secret to Sierra Alta’s continuously rising success is leveraging Hogan’s global network of multinational consulting partners. “We take pride in partnering with organizations such as Right Management and Aon Hewitt,” says Dr. Parasher. By supporting the Indian business units of these well established players in the market to deliver quality consulting around the Hogan instruments and reports, Sierra Alta has developed invaluable partnerships which they can call upon when their own clients require support on projects that go far beyond their current capacity. “We never have to worry about responding to our clients’ ever growing needs,” she adds.

“But this wouldn’t be possible without the experiences that so many other distributors around the world are willing to generously share; Mobley Group Pacific in Greater China, A&D Resources in Denmark, and Peter Berry Consultancy in Australia, just to name a few,” Rahul explains. “The Global Alliances Network is a great family and we look forward to partnering with each and every one of them on international projects.”

With this positive attitude and willingness to collaborate across boundaries, Sierra Alta in India is a perfect embodiment of what we like to call a ‘Truly Global Hogan.’

Hogan announced a strategic partnership with THUOPER S.A.S (Tools for Human and Organizational Performance), a provider of assessment and consulting solutions in Colombia and Peru, to support the global reach of its clients. Thuoper joins an industry-leading network of international partners operating in more than 56 countries across six continents.

"Thuoper plans to use Hogan to enhance performance and add value to organizations," said Liliana Lopez, President at Thuoper. "Having Hogan’s portfolio of assessments will be a significant improvement for customers in our market."

Founded in 1999, Thuoper has headquarters in Bogota, as well as offices in Medellin and Lima, and employs 19 individuals. They have been using Hogan assessments since 2012.

"Hogan is rapidly becoming one of the top recognized brands across all of Latin America, thanks to the hard work & efforts of our in-country distributors," said Dustin Hunter, consultant on the global alliances team at Hogan. "We are very excited to include Thuoper as a business partner to meet rising demand for talent management services. Our partnership is particularly timely as many multi-national corporations are funneling out of traditional South American markets (for political and economic reasons) for more favorable business conditions in Colombia. These same MNC’s are now heavily investing resources and relying on best-in-class human capital initiatives to ensure the right people are in leadership positions. Thuoper’s strategic market position and geographic dispersion will allow them to capitalize on the region’s explosive growth and we are privileged to count them as our new partner."

"ETC Consult is delighted to be part of Hogan's distributor network and looking forward to promoting Hogan's products to our existing and potential clients across all sectors of the Irish economy," said Patrick Shortt, CEO at ETC Consult.

ETC Consult was established in 1983 as the psychometrics division of Owl Recruitment Limited. Since then, the firm has established itself as one of the leading providers of psychological assessments, pre-employment screening, training, and career guidance to both parts of Ireland.

"Hogan is well regarded as a global leader in assessments, and a large part of that success depends on our worldwide network of partners," said Ryan Ross, vice president of global alliances at Hogan. "With ETC Consult at the helm of Ireland's psychometric market, Hogan Assessments is excited by the enormous potential of this new found partnership."

Welcome ETC Consult!