By Stefanie Carano
Staff Reporter - Tech Center News

Going to a place with a vastly different social culture to conduct business can be a daunting experience, no matter how traveled you are.

And no matter how worldly and open-minded, you may struggle to communicate with people who live and work in a world of different mannerisms and social norms, not to mention a different language.

"If you're working globally, people don't often value the importance of becoming aware of other cultures," said Tom Hanson, vice president of sales for Global LT. He added that those who under¬stand the other culture they're dealing with will be "more productive and you'll minimize conflict in whatever you're trying to do."

Global LT is an International company based in Troy that helps people who spend significant time living or visiting another country adjust comfortably to cultural and language differences and to be accepted by the foreign culture.

Services include interpreters, video voice-over, culture training and expatriate support services for businesses and families. Expatriate is a term that refers to those who live abroad. For instance, Americans who move to Turkey or Thailand for their careers.

Projects can be as simple as etiquette for e-mailing to an office outside the U.S.

One of the company's celebrated projects was a collaboration between General Motors and Disney to record a project for an Epcot Center exhibit on fuel cell technology

Global LT says there are ways to find a common ground and the company specializes in helping people do that, whether they're an American traveling to China on business or a Japanese businessman coming to the U.S. for the same reason.

Global LT also helps non-natives find a place to live here and abroad. Major clients have included GM, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, Delphi, Visteon, Lear and American Axle, among others.

"We help people become acclimated to the community in a variety of ways," Hanson said. "We also help companies by providing or preparing their employees for relocation abroad,”

One thing that is becoming more prevalent, he said, is repatriation, as expatriates are often returning to the United States.

"In finishing their assignment abroad, there's culture shock that happens, when they become re-acclimated to their home country," he said. "Someone described it as having a heart attack where you experience it and you want to talk about it, and there's initial sympathy or interest but, eventually, you're .kind of on your own. People come back from their experiences and want to share that but there are not always people who can associate with that. What we do is help people acclimate to their own country through a repatriation process."

Global LT's expatriate support services involve helping find families a good place to relocate anywhere in the world.

"The community that we show them really depends a lot on where the school is located, the age of the children, the budget and the housing that will be appropriate for them," Hanson said. "Some people are very particular, they would like a home that has 'x' amount of bedrooms, the sun coming in from the south, so this really drives where we're going to show people. Anywhere from Birmingham to Macomb Township to Bloomfield, I would even say Novi, Farmington Hills, Royal Oak are some of the ones that I would say are at the top of the list"

Relocating families are also helped in adjusting to the local culture, including U.S. and Midwest regional culture.

"We give them a community orientation to, help them know where the things that they're used to getting at home are available here as well," Hanson said.

He said culture training can be particularly important for the spouses who are often in an unstructured environment compared with the company employee and their children.

"The employee can go to work and possibly speak their own language, see the same faces and they're in a structured environment," he said "The children go to school as well and they become more able to acclimate to the new city. The spouse, in many cases, is not able to work and they're at home by themselves. So we really focus on that a lot"
 
Each member of the family is helped acclimate to the location, he said. An example Hanson mentioned was helping families associated with the Fiat move to Southeast Michigan.

"We also, for many companies, communicate with non-English speaking audiences, by translating Web sites or helping them with the global launch of a training program."

Global LT began as a translation company 30 years ago as Global Language and Training, and has grown into a language and cultural services company under the title of Global LT.

 "Thirty years ago, we were kind of ahead of the curve,” said Suzanne Smulsky, vice-president of marketing. "Now we have an extensive track record and a relationship well-poised for this global mindset."

Global LT has U.S. Sales offices in Boston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh and San Jose, and international offices in Hong Kong, Frankfurt, London and Shanghai
“We operate in over 60 countries, 600 locations worldwide, pretty much in every continent except Antarctica,” he said.

About Global LT

Global LT has been serving companies around the world since 1979.  Located in Troy with representatives throughout the U.S. and in major cities around the world, Global LT provides Language Training, Culture Training, Translation Solutions, and Expatriate Destination Services.  Global LT is a member of the Michigan Minority Business Development Council (MMBDC), The Association of Language Companies (ALCUS), American Translators Association (ATA), and the Michigan Translators/Interpreters Network (MiTiN).  Visit Global LT at www.Global-LT.com for more information or call us at 888.645.5881.