Page 24 - Nearshoring to Romania

Ø Romanian language is not needed, but following a course to at least a basic understanding is certainly
an advantage on the work-floor and for business.
Ø Let the manager move to Romania, not travel from/to the Netherlands.
Advantages: good communication with home office, tighter span of control, knows company
culture and expectations, reliable.
Disadvantages: stationed probably only for a few years, expat salary, communication with
Romanian employees, lacks local knowledge.

3.5.2 Organization
Romanian organization structures are far more hierarchical than Dutch ones. It is difficult for
Romanians to understand the “polder-culture” and it takes time to know the informal organization
structure that often exists along the formal one. On the other side, for Dutch managers it is often difficult
to get used to employees who do exactly what they say. This requires clearly formulating expectations,
deadlines and results and not expecting employees will read between the lines and draw their own
conclusions.
Dutch management style is open and informal. Romanian employees are not used to that and are usually
hesitant to go with problems to their boss. This also means that employees might decide to leave your
company for reasons that would have been relatively easy to solve had the manager known about them.
Key is finding an open and honest working relationship with your colleagues.
Make sure that your Romanian branch office has a clear position in your global organization and that the
Romanian organization itself has a clear hierarchical structure. Be directive in the management of (new)
employees. Don't assume they will probably find tasks to do by themselves. Targets and bonuses may
help in giving clear directions to your organization and get results.
These things being said, in general Romanian corporate life is not much different from Dutch corporate
life.

3.5.3 Involvement of employees from the home office
Apart from a possible Dutch manager (see above), more people from your home office will be involved
in your local branch. Think of people like from your global IT, HR, Legal, Accountancy, Finance
departments, but also Dutch employees who will work together with their new Romanian colleagues.
Ø Communication. Make sure the Romanian colleagues are visible in your global organization and not
seen as competition to the Dutch colleagues. Have all modern communication means in place.
Ø For colleagues who will work a lot together, it is worth investing in face-to-face meetings. Bringing
Dutch people to Romania normally works better (and is cheaper) than vice versa. Romanian hospitality
can take the Dutch employees by surprise. A visit of a few days can make cooperation afterwards much
more efficient (but make sure your organization doesn't become dependent on face-to-face contact
only).
Ø Make English the standard communication language in teams where both Romanians and Dutch
colleagues work together. This means that your internal support departments must be able and willing to
work in English.
Ø As a manager, invest time to get to know your people. Go out, organize a teambuilding event, etc.

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Nearshoring to Romania, NRCC 2013