Grundfos is a global leader in advanced pump solutions and a trendsetter in water technology. The Grundfos Group is represented by more than 80 companies in more than 55 countries.
C3 Consulting is a permanent partner in optimizing Grundfos’ global activities and we are on Grundfos’ Recommended Vendor List.
Since 2009, we’ve designed and implemented a wide range of tailored training programmes for Grundfos employees and managers in for instance Denmark, Hungary, the USA, China, and The Philippines:
- We’ve prepared managers and employees for relocations globally – to and from countries like the USA, China, The Philippines, Argentina, South Africa, Dubai, Serbia, Hungary, Switzerland, and Italy.
- We’ve trained a large number of management and employee groups around the global organization in cultural awareness and global mindset.
- We’ve run workshops in how to communicate and collaborate effectively with colleagues / business partners from specific countries – such as China, Hungary, Brazil, Mexico, the USA, and Denmark.
- We’ve trained and developed global teams – for instance, with a focus on strengthening collaboration and defining common values and goals.
- We’ve coached individual leaders, managers and project managers on various global or culture-related challenges.
- We’ve strengthened the global leadership competencies in management groups at different levels.
- We’ve contributed with ‘a global angle’ at internal strategy seminars.
The breadth and depth of our collaboration with Grundfos has made us very familiar with the organization’s values, culture, and specific challenges. This enables us to weave Grundfos’ corporate culture into our cultural training programmes, making the training extra relevant and useful to the participants.
See below what a number of Grundfos managers and employees have to say about C3’s training programmes:
- Video interview: Developing a global mindset
- Using GLOBAL STEPS to increase performance in global project management
- Danish culture and global mindset workshop for Grundfos IS Support & Operations Centre, Philippines
- Hungarian cultural awareness workshop
- Using C3’s cultural models
Se also our client case studies:
- A cross-cultural training programme spanning 5 months that C3 designed for 15 Danish and Chinese managers at Grundfos Business Development
- Four hours of Danish cultural training via online coaching for an international assignee relocating to Denmark
- Customer reflections: How much of a difference does intercultural coaching make in practice?
- Improving online global collaboration for Grundfos IS - User Experience Center
Developing a global mindset to increase performance
C3 is a permanent partner of Grundfos in strengthening the global mindset throughout the organization.
In the video below, Department Head Joachim Krogshave tells about how the collaboration creates value for Grundfos (click here, if you prefer to watch the video directly on Vimeo).
Using GLOBAL STEPS to increase performance in global project management
In Grundfos IS a group of project managers located across China, Hungary and Denmark all work with global project management. Typically, the project participants are from various national and cultural backgrounds.
In fall 2015, the group wanted to raise the awareness of cultural differences and learn how to deal with them constructively in order to increase project performance. They decided to use C3’s virtual learning concept GLOBAL STEPS as an internal programme.
GLOBAL STEPS is a facilitated learning programme where everything takes place online and at your own pace.
During the programme, the project managers got a common set of tools and a common language to deal with situations that involve cultural differences, strengthening their communication and collaboration with global colleagues and project stakeholders.
Participant feedback
Michael Bjerrum, Grundfos:
"I think the videos were very informative and supporting the models."
Henrik Hasselholt Jørgensen, Grundfos:
"I see the training as an enabler to focus on something I already knew, but maybe didn't focus enough on, and the training also provided some very useful tools, which I can use."
Gabor Pozderka, Grundfos:
"Focused, interesting video sessions, not too long to lose interest but not too short either to miss the point."
Carsten Clausen, Grundfos:
"The 4R model seems to be a very practical tool to use in everyday life."
Anette Mühlbrand, Grundfos:
"I got to understand that I can investigate cultural changes and make a plan for how to approach people from other cultures."
Danish culture and global mindset workshop for Grundfos IS Support & Operations Centre, Philippines
Grundfos IS Support & Operations Centre in Metro Manila employs app. 140 Philippine staff members, working with IT development, IT operations, and IT support. Most of the staff are managed by managers of Danish nationality, two of them located in the Philippines and the rest of them located in the Danish headquarters.
Being established quite recently, the Support & Operations Centre in winter 2016 wanted to focus on how to build a new company culture with the right mix of elements from Danish and Philippine work culture, and how to optimize communication and collaboration between Philippine employees and Danish managers.
Working closely with Grundfos IS, C3 designed an interactive half-day Danish culture and global mindset workshop, covering subjects like:
- How do we define culture?
- Cultural self-awareness: Learn about your own cultural baggage
- Key differences between Danish and Philippine culture
- Danish culture and society: Understand what drives your Danish managers
- Danish management and leadership style: What are your Danish managers' needs and expectations?
- Practical cultural models to enhance global communication and collaboration: The '4R model' and the 'Double Iceberg'
We conducted the workshop in January 2016 with app. 120 participants from Grundfos IS Support & Operations Centre.
To ensure energy and involvement among the participants, we included many exercises and discussions in smaller groups in the workshop design.
As an extra benefit, working in smaller groups enabled the 'spokesperson' for each group to present the group’s findings as "we have discussed" or "we suggest" instead of "I have been thinking" or "I suggest". For many people, speaking to a large audience as a 'group spokesperson' feels much safer than speaking on your own behalf. This is especially true in a cultural setting like the Philippine.
The result was a highly dynamic workshop with lots of input, discussions, and learnings. And lots of fun and laughing as well!
During the workshop, the participants experienced many Aha! Moments – like that the process of building up trust is quite different in Denmark and the Philippines, and that at meetings with Danish managers, silence is typically not seen as a good thing.
Participant feedback
"I liked the discussions and learning about the Danish culture and application to our work ethics. The workshop was a great experience and it went smoothly."
"It's really informative. I now have an idea on how to transact/deal with Danish counterparts. Good job! "
"The workshop was great. I have learned a lot with the speaker."
"Exciting activities and visual presentation :). It was exciting. Fun ^_^ "
"I liked how the trainer explains and discusses the topic and the cooperation of the group included in the workshop."
Hungarian cultural awareness workshop: The 3 hours were really well spent!
In June 2012, C3 Consulting’s Hungary country specialist Dániel Gergely Szabó conducted a half-day workshop for one of Grundfos’ departments in Denmark.
Participant feedback:
"It was a super program with many relevant and practical examples on what can go wrong and how to obtain the best results across the cultural differences. The lecturer had a wide knowledge on the subject and was good at making his points easily understood. I got a lot out of this morning, and many things fell into place in regard to the contact I have with our Hungarian colleagues. The course gets five out of five points!"
"I think it was a SUPER course! The 3 hours were really well spent!"
"He was really competent, and the mix between the theoretical knowledge on Hungarian culture and examples from our own Grundfos experiences with Hungarian culture was SUPER!"
"It was a really good course, it was both interesting and instructive."
"It gave some more understanding, and maybe also some answers to experiences we have already had. It also gave some knowledge and suggestions on what not to do / say."
"Great idea to involve the participants in the course. Committed lecturer."
"It was a really great course."
"I think it was good to get an explanation on the reasons for the Hungarians to react the way they do. We got some good tips on how to communicate in the best way possible."
"I think it was really good, it gave me many ‘aha’ experiences. I have worked together with people from Hungary before, but I have not been aware of their culture. Really good that the lecturer himself was Hungarian, which means that it wasn’t just words, but also ‘experienced on his own body’."
"Totally good and interesting course, I could understand from the other participants who are working with Hungarians that they really got a lot out of it."
"I think it was a really good arrangement and nice to get some understanding of a different and interesting culture, which is part of the Grundfos Group. And it definitely makes you aware that you should remember that not all people think ‘in Danish’. "
