BMW / Mini /Rolls Royce

The brief

International assignments can be one of the most rewarding and life-changing experiences in an employee’s career.

The background

Globalisation and the increasing accessibility of information makes it highly attractive for professionals to pursue better career prospects and salaries abroad fulfilling their passion of experiencing new cultures and languages or seeking better quality of life.

The programme

But, working abroad is not for everyone. Venturing out of your comfort zone can be extremely challenging: mentally, physically and even spiritually. International assignments are expensive for the employer and a surprisingly high number 40% of them fail. There are various reasons for this:

• Culture shock

• Failure of the employee to perform in their new post

• Dissatisfaction with the assignment itself

• The spouse’s/family’s inability to adjust to the local culture and environment “Happy children & spouse – Happy house”

From October 2016 to Jan 2020 Marina Ibrahim was the Lead Intercultural Consultant, Coach & Trainer for the German-British Partner Support Coaching Programme for executives and spouses of the BMW Group BMW/Mini/Rolls Royce. She has successfully delivered over 100 International Partner Support Programmes for the BMW Group BMW/Mini/Rolls Royce supporting spouses/partners in

• Helping them smoothing their transition from Germany into their new home in various places in England by finding purpose and motivation, re-organising their lives, building new routines, socialising and establishing new relations and friendships, overcoming language barriers, securing new roles in the UK, taking up study-courses, starting-up their own business.

• Learning strategies to tackle language and cultural barriers as well as overcoming culture shock not only for themselves, but also that of their family members

• Feedback was constantly very good and highly valued by the beneficiaries of this programme. 

The outcome

None of the assignment failed, the programme was 90 to 100% valued by all participants and highly recommended to anyone who is faced with an international assignment.

The feedback

“Marina was an absolute pleasure to work with, she has helped me with my move from SA to the UK, every step of the way. I must say her guidance and understanding of relating to different cultures is outstanding. She was extremely supportive and patient with me. Having support with cultural change makes things so much easier to absorb. She has many techniques and informative ways that helps put things at ease. Thank you Marina for all your support and guidance.” Denese Nadasan, Commercial Finance Specialist BMW