Innovative ideas and products often begin in domestic places:  Laura Ashley’s attic flat, Apple in a garage, Harry Potter in a café. Whether myth or reality, there is some truth in our case at Argonaut. The idea of Argonaut came in a kitchen. In fact it was the kitchen of a renovated 17th century house in the middle of London.

Your business location is likely to be an office space in a city or a plant at the edge of an urban area, not a domestic setting. So how to offer a global welcome mat where you are? At Argonaut, we’ve been receiving guests of all cultures for many years and learned a few tricks for making international visitors welcome.

Welcome to the Argonaut offices

The old kitchen in the basement of the house is now the heart of the Argonaut offices with a front room where our daily work in cross cultural consultancy takes place, and a larger, adjoining room with chairs and sofas for client conversations and meetings.  As this is an old London house, there are several levels, and meeting rooms continue on the first and second floors.  Fireplaces were the providers of warmth in the centuries past and remain in working condition for added character and warmth.

Our offices have a history.  The houses on Kensington Square were built and inhabited at the time that King William III and Queen Mary II moved to Kensington Palace (across the street in Kensington Gardens) in 1689.  People who attended or served the court stayed in the Kensington Square houses.

Our current visitors represent a cross-section of a global society– an impressive cohort of diverse professions and cultures: HR managers, cross-cultural consultants and coaches, CEOs, international marketing professors, authors, editors, trainers, directors from many European, Asian, North and South American and African countries. These are clients and colleagues who have a shared commitment to the development of cross-cultural competence at every organizational level: individual, team, corporate.

As our offices are in an old house, what special characteristics make it a ‘come to’ place for clients and colleagues?

Top six ways to make your international visitors feel welcome

A location that’s easy to find

• Central location, convenient to public transportation and nearby landmarks
• Provide maps, local transport information, instructions for what to tell a taxi driver in harder-to-find locations
• List of local shops and services needed by visitors such as places of worship and places to buy local transport tickets, food, gifts, local and international food.
• Suggestions for local sights which take no longer than 1, 2, 3 hours

Reception and Greetings

• Reception staff informed about the name and cultural background of visitors in advance
• Introductions and tours with information about roles and seniority of people in the organisation
• Wifi information

Facilities

• Kitchens with clear signage or personal instructions about who can use it and how things work
• Accessible toilets and signs about how to use the items there, if there are any unusual aspects

Ambience

• A variety of spaces for meetings with differing levels of formality
• Conversational spaces with soft furniture, separate spaces for private talks, meeting rooms for formal discussions

Items to engage visitors in ‘small talk’

• Paintings, decorative items, interesting artefacts with an international theme or personal story, ideally with a connection to your current guest
• Personal items including family pictures, cards, books, team photos.

A cross-cultural approach

• Being sensitive to differing food requirements, both cultural and individual:, for example vegetarian diets; establishing the most appropriate time to meet during Ramadan or any religious holiday requirements or requests.
• Being aware of seating arrangements: who should have the most ‘prominent’ position if that is a consideration? Getting the right level of formality.
• Finding the right balance between small talk and getting down to business. Personal backgrounds and office history are openers for our client conversations. We move quickly or more slowly to the substance of the meeting depending on the questions and conversation that follow.
• Flexibility:  professional hospitality means listening and watching for a visitor’s body language as well verbal language. Is he/she comfortable sitting, standing, with a table, without? With doors open, shut?

What has worked for you, and what would you add to this list?

“We’re starting to build the third-generation model for Argonaut” says Richard. “This time we have new enablers which were not present at previous milestones in the company’s history. We have cloud computing, big data, a highly networked community of experts and new possibilities in mobile delivery. We will build a unified model where the different arms of our business are seamlessly integrated, to the advantage of our customers and end-users. I am particularly excited by this opportunity to align tightly with the great organisations in our reseller network.”

Andey Jichev comments: “I’m delighted to announce Richard’s appointment, on behalf of the board. He brings experience from tech, content, marketing and competence development, each part being important in reaching our customers and ensuring their success. Richard will be leading a growth hack for our company and building on the talent we already have in the team. The Argonaut mission remains unchanged. We’ll ensure a constantly improving customer experience throughout this change process.” We welcome any customer, learner and members of our extended community to contact Richard or any member of the Argonaut team to share ideas or get involved.

Argonaut: What’s the secret of your expertise about China?
Alex Ma: Chinese culture is a fantastic subject to learn about, with the magic of five thousand years history and different behaviours from south to north. Even when I was a little boy I was very interested in reading books about Chinese history and learned from Chinese custom. I like to observe social behaviours and traditions, then trace back to the origin in history. My experiences of helping multinational companies bridge the culture gap here is also good for me to form my own understanding about Chinese culture. I think Chinese culture has a strong ability to assimilate new ideas and cultural influences. A good way to understand Chinese culture is to read more Chinese history and link what you read with what is happening now in China.

A: If you only had two minutes before a meeting to give cultural advice, what would your key point be?
AM: Remember this, we all live on the same planet, and we are closer than we think. For Chinese people, respect, modesty and care of others is much more important than knowing about lots of cultural forms. I don’t expect you to act or think like Chinese, neither do Chinese people expect that of you, so just be yourself. If you have a good attitude, you will find life easier here than anywhere else.

A: How can foreigners use their Chinese friends and contacts as cultural guides?
AM: Chinese people are basically friendly. When you get to know Chinese people, they will take you to eat Chinese food, spend Chinese holidays, or take you to Chinese culture events. This will really help you understand the culture – to see what they do and why they do it. Another good way is to plan a trip with your Chinese friend to some places inside China, other than big cities like Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen. If you and your Chinese friend are very close, you can learn a lot about China by spending a holiday or festival time with his family.

A: What’s the best way to learn about the real modern China?
AM: In big cities like Shanghai, Beijing or Shenzhen you can always find signs of a modern China, but if you want to know more about real China and Chinese people, you can go to the middle or western regions. It is better to stay in a small town or village, live with the citizens or farmers, and observe their daily life for real comparison with the big cities. If you don’t have an opportunity to go to China, you can find a Chinese pen friend, and learn from him/her about what’s happening inside China.. Because of media blackouts, the news about China is often propaganda or distortion, so it’s better to learn from people you can trust.

A: What classic mistake have you seen many times on either side when Chinese people deal with foreigners?
AM: When Chinese deal with foreigners, they sometimes show too much hospitality. Although from good will, it can make foreigners feel uncomfortable. Because foreigners don’t know the importance of face-saving in Chinese culture, they will complain about their discomfort and make their Chinese host lose face. This is a classic mistake which always causes embarrassment and misunderstanding in China.

A: What new issues do you think Argonaut should cover in future updates?
AM: I think descriptions of food, clothes, living and traveling in different cultures as well as different education traditions and political attitudes would be very meaningful. The idea of holding a vote for people from different cultural backgrounds about their degree of satisfaction in life can also help us to know more about how people think about their life in different cultures.

A: What do you do when you are not writing for Argonaut?
AM: I am now working in a bank and write in my spare time for Argonaut. I also like to listen to music, read books and hang out with friends. When I have holidays I like to travel globally, to experience different countries and different cultures, meet with the people and live a different life style for a while.

A: Where can we find you online?
AM: I have a Chinese blog, where I mainly write and criticize about things happening here in China, sometimes I also write in English. You can also find me in Facebook under the name Alex Ma. Because of the current Facebook blockade from the Chinese government it’s hard for me to check Facebook regularly, but Facebook is still a main way for me to contact my foreign friends.