Inspire Careers
Succeeding In South Africa South Africa is a middle-income country with well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors. Its stock exchange, JSE Limited, ranks among the top twenty in the world, and the country ranks 24th globally in terms of GDP. The capital city of Pretoria is both the financial and political centre of the country and is home to major multinational companies. Local Conduct Because South Africa has so many cultures, it’s difficult to impart advice on how to interact with South Africans; white Afrikaner, black African, Indian, Cape-Malay, and several other communities make up the country. To add to the complexity, there are also marked differences between rural and urban dwellers; those in rural areas are seen as outgoing yet conservative, while those in the cities are more flexible in thought but often more concerned with material wealth. In addition to the multiple cultures, there are also numerous languages spoken in the country. The government officially recognises 11 languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Shangaan, Sotho, Tsona, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu. However, business visitors need not worry because English is the language of commerce. The locals follow the European approach to personal space, meaning that people keep their distance when speaking. Unlike our culture, they do not appreciate touching and the like. If you like chatting, then this country is the ideal place to be; the locals love engaging in conversation about almost everything. Being an outdoor nation, they love sports and this is always a good place to start; the most popular sports are rugby, football, and cricket. Other good topics of conversation include food, South African culture, and international travel. Topics to
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avoid are comparing cities as people are very proud of their own cities and do not appreciate being compared. You should also not raise controversial subjects such as race relations or local politics. Business Conduct In general, the locals are direct and often loud communicators, but they are also very aware of what, how, and to whom something is being said. People will be conscious of what may or may not make someone uncomfortable. Their communication style depends on the level of the relationship; the closer people are, the more comfortable they’ll be with speaking openly and honestly. Although they do not require a history with people to do business with them, they have deeply routed business traditions that they strictly adhere to. This means that you should build a rapport and furnish your local counterparts with some background information about your company. Greetings There are several ways of greeting one another in this multicultural country. However, when dealing with foreigners, the default approach is a firm handshake. Some women may not shake hands and merely nod their head, so a simple nod back accompanied with a smile is enough. Business Cards
The ritual of exchanging business cards is normal and very casual. Much like our own culture, you should treat the card with respect and store it away properly rather than just leaving it on a table. It’s not necessary to translate the card because English is widely spoken and understood by the local businesspeople. Meetings Appointments should be made through the normal channels. It’s often difficult to schedule meetings from mid December to mid January or the two weeks surrounding Easter, as these are prime vacation times. Note that people are fairly relaxed and informal in the business environment; when meeting people it’s considered polite to engage in some personal dialogue based around one another’s health, family, leisure time, or sport. Getting straight to business and rushing through these social niceties marks you as ill-mannered and uninterested. After the ice breaker session, the meeting will move swiftly to the business at hand. You should come prepared and send an agenda ahead of time to give your counterparts an idea of what you want to address. However, note that agendas are not seen as rigid in South Africa; people will digress and come back to issues in a circular fashion. Remember to keep your presentation precise and support it with facts and figures. They believe in basing decisions