Top five insights about how we successfully work across countries and cultures

Having 13 offices in 9 countries meant that the European team of STI Freight Management comprises a lot of nationalities and cultures. Not only do we have employees that are Russian, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, British, Hungarian, Polish and French – there are many team members from other countries as well. Working for an international group offers many opportunities for each staff member to learn more about ways of working as well as cultures and use this knowledge to create a good team spirit and working atmosphere. Our open and transparent way of working enables and encourages everyone to share their expertise on all levels and by that help our business grow sustainably.

Following we would like to share how we embrace our differences and successfully cooperate on all levels within our group.

1. We embrace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

By being a diverse workplace, we embrace the differences and ensure that everyone is treated equitably to consider the individualistic needs. It is important that everyone can feel valued, whether in teams or organizations. This means we accept everyone for who they are and embrace diverse thinking.

"Working with colleagues of many countries has helped me a lot to understand different ways of thinking and working. From my point of view it is important that we are empathic and open towards everyone to understand the other persons boundaries and by that treat them the way they wish to be treated. By doing so we create an open and relaxed environment that is build on trust and respect."
Marion Ropertz, HR Manager STI Freight Management Europe

2. We nurture and build intercultural skills

When working with people from different cultures it is important to be open minded and make the effort to understand that colleagues from other countries might have a different way of communicating, verbal as well as non-verbally and have different values. At STI we respect each other and are interested in learning from each other no matter where we are located – by doing so we nurture and build our intercultural skills and create a good team environment.

"Even though we are a fairly big group with STI companies all over Europe, I still know most of the colleagues working for each entity. I like that as it enables us to work in a team and help each other to achieve our common goals. I like the teamwork amongst the entities very much.”
Tamas Kurucz, Operations Manager STI Hungary

3. We foster the feeling of belonging to a European organisation

It is important for us that our staff feels they belong to a European organisation. We aspire that our people say that they work for STI Freight Management in Europe rather than saying they work for STI in Poland or STI in France for example. By fostering the sense of belonging and being valued we create a good work environment for our staff to feel more satisfied with their jobs, and by that be more committed and motivated as they can identify themselves with the groups' strategy. We are one team and each employee is a valuable member of this group.

"I like working with so many nice colleagues from different departments and countries. We also have a great finance community and I like to be part of that. And the best thing is, that some colleagues have become friends." 
Maria Kalinowski, Controller STI Freight Management GmbH

4. We encourage interactions with others

Seeking interactions by developing internal events among international co-workers help to share knowledge and best practices across our entities. It supports our teams to also connect on a personal level rather than only dealing with each other for business reasons. In fact, the higher the interactions are, the greater is the ability to build trust and a shared vision to foster a global work orientation.

"I’ve met a lot of interesting persons, like my QA colleagues in particular. Building partnerships with many colleagues and partners is something very rewarding."
Lydia Hamadia, QA Manager STI France

5. We offer international career advancement

English is the global business language and nowadays it is required that we all speak or and least understand this language. To enable our employees to enhance their language skills we provide trainings and resources to learn English and by that giving them the possibility to communicate globally and work abroad. It goes beyond English classes though we in general foster our people’s personal development by investing into regular workshops and programmes to enable them to develop new skills and reach their personal and professional goals.

"I am truly happy and grateful for getting the confidence and the knowledge I have today. When I was only an intern, I often doubted myself and since I did not have any master’s degree I doubted that I would get anywhere in life. Thanks to STI, who always believed in me and gave me the confidence – I am now somewhere in my life I’d never dare to dream about before. Both physically and mentally!"
Sophia Somma, Customer Service Specialist STI-Scandinavia

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