Ведение бизнеса в Нидерландах

1)Doing Business in Netherlands

This country-specific section gives a comprehensive description of Dutch business culture which will help you to interact more effectively with your Dutch clients and colleagues. Although each sub-section on the right focuses on one particular area of business culture in Netherlands, it is recommended that all of the sections are studied in the order they are shown.

When you have completed the Dutch business culture profile, you may feel you need to learn more about some of the other business cultures you deal with - if so go back to the Countries Home Page and pick another country to study.

2)Background To Business in Netherlands

Netherlands:

The Netherlands has weathered the economic storms which started in 2008 better than many countries and certainly better than their southern European neighbours.  This is, probably, in no small part thanks to their commercial history and famed adaptability.

The Netherlands has long been one of the world's great trading nations and at the beginning of the 21st century this position shows no sign of being eroded — in fact about 50% of all trucks in Europe are Dutch and Rotterdam remains Germany's main port of entry. This historical internationalism, epitomised by the early predominance of the Dutch East India Company, accounts in no small measure for the large number of MNCs (Unilever, Shell, Philips etc.) to be found in a country with such a relatively small population of 16.6million.

Therefore, the Netherlands with few natural resources (other than natural gas and some coal) is a value-add economy, which takes in goods and re-exports them at a profit. It could be said that the Dutch have been making something from nothing for many centuries and nowhere can this ingenuity be better seen than in the approach to flood defence and land reclamation.

These historical factors have greatly influenced Dutch mentality and produced a society that is on the one hand progressive and modern and on the other hand staunchly conservative in thinking. Change will be implemented when it is necessary and when it has been proved to be necessary — however unless the case is well made, extensively discussed and openly agreed upon, any change could have a disastrous result. (Act in haste and your feet might get wet!)

 

3)Dutch Business Structures

Netherlands:

A deep-rooted system of industrial democracy has been developed in the Netherlands and has been in existence for more than thirty years. The key institution in this system is the Works Council which has elected members, rights of discussion, recommendation, and crucially, access to information.

Although the Works Council meets in private, the meetings are always followed up with a meeting with senior management. Industrial relations have been historically good with emphasis placed on co-operation and conciliation, resulting in low levels of days lost through industrial action.

Larger companies in the Netherlands (NV or NaamlozeVennootsschap) have a supervisory board, in addition to a management board and managing director. This supervisory board is made up of members who are not employed by the company and whose job it is to oversee the direction of the company, appoint the management board and finalise the annual accounts. The Supervisory board seems to have many of the powers that might be vested in shareholders in some other countries, which possibly safeguards senior management from excessive shareholder interference. (For example, questions of merger and take-over are determined by the Supervisory board and not by shareholders.)

4)Dutch Management Style

Netherlands:

It has been said that the Netherlands is the only country in which the manager is not the boss and this apparent egalitarian approach fits very well with Dutch company structures which have traditionally been amongst the flattest in Europe. The idea of imposing a policy from afar with little or no consultation is not one that sits easily with Dutch thinking.

Therefore, the manager in the Netherlands will rarely take an authoritarian approach to the team, preferring to be seen as the colleague who has most influence rather than as the ultimate arbiter on all decisions. This does not mean that the boss is powerless or that the bosses thoughts hold no sway. It is more that the influence and control are subtler than in some other countries. It may even appear to those from more heirarchical cultures that the boss is shown very little respect.

Communication is expected to be fairly open and transparent. Any unwillingness to share with colleagues could be seen as devious and underhand - charges to be avoided at all cost in the Netherlands. A boss expects input from all team members and must show equal respect for all ideas.

5)Dutch Meetings

Netherlands:

Outsiders can often find meetings in the Netherlands somewhat frustrating and certainly lengthy. Meetings in the Netherlands are forums for debating issues in a full and frank manner where everybody is expected to contribute and everybody expects to be listened to. The purpose of the meeting is to move towards a commonly agreed approach which can then be implemented. However, reaching this common viewpoint can be a time-consuming business, needing a great deal of input from a number of differing sources.

The positive aspect of this consensual approach to meetings is that, at the end, real buy-in has been achieved and therefore implementation can be really swift.

The Dutch can have some antipathy towards those that they feel arrive at the meeting having lobbied prior to the meeting in order to reach a group position to expound in the meeting. This pre-meeting lobbying, endemic in many cultures, can be seen as devious and underhand and lead to accusations of 'hidden agendas' and inflexibility.

Despite the often free-wheeling nature of discussions in Dutch meetings, protocols are often observed with agendas generally produced and respected and each person waiting for their turn to speak rather than interrupting whoever has the floor.

6)Dutch Teams

Netherlands:

Business relationships in the Netherlands are informal with first name terms being generally used. Everybody in the team has seemingly similar status and to pretend to be somebody special will result in problems with other members of the team.

When success is achieved, it is important that the success is attributed to the team rather than assumed by any of the individuals within the team.

It is important to be seen by others in the team as professional and diligent - and an important element of this is to be thought of as someone who will honour commitments of whatever nature or size.

7)Dutch Communication Styles

Netherlands:

Respect is shown through speaking one's mind and being direct. Little respect is given to those who appear devious or underhand in what they are saying. This directness of approach can sometimes be misconstrued as aggression or even rudeness - but is, rather, a useful tool for enabling the meeting to reach an agreed solution.

Paradoxically, due to the consensual nature of decision making in the Netherlands it can be sometimes difficult to get a straight 'yes' or 'no'. This seeming unwillingness is more a sign of no decision having been yet reached than any subtle politicking.

It is important to appear unpretentious. Whatever you are, do not think of yourself as something special. Therefore self-promotion of the type that might be found in the USA is seen as being distasteful and will probably be thought of as arrogant.

Although humour is often used in business situations, it is not all-pervasive and discussions are often very serious with irony or sarcasm being interpreted as lack of commitment.

Remember that even though the Dutch speak very good English, much humour is culturally-based and unintelligible to other cultures.

8)Women in Business in Netherlands

Netherlands:

Even though the Netherlands, quite rightly, has the reputation of being a highly liberal society, a surprisingly low percentage of women appear to be active in business. Many women leave work when they have children and do not return later.

It is not as common in the Netherlands to see women in senior management positions as in many other European countries. This does not mean, however, that going to work in the Netherlands presents any particularly great challenges for a woman.

9)Dutch Dress Code

Netherlands:

Dress is somewhat informal in comparison with countries such as the UK or Japan. To some extent, dress code is determined by industrial sector.

The more conservative areas such as banking tend to veer towards suit and tie whilst the newer industries take a more casual approach.  Even the sectors with a more casual approach would, however, remain fairly smart.

As with the USA it is always a good idea to check before travelling.As the Netherlands suffers from a fairly heavy average rainfall figure, umbrellas and raincoats are often necessary.

10)Successful Entertaining in Netherlands

Netherlands:

Business breakfasts are not very common in the Netherlands, so you are much more likely to be invited to a lunch or dinner.  Most business entertaining is done in restaurants and it is relatively unlikely that you would be invited to somebody's home unless you know them very well.

Who pays? T his can be somewhat complicated but basically,the Dutch will make it clear that you are their guest if they intend to pay the bill - otherwise expect to "go Dutch" and pay your fair share. People tend not to be embarrassed at splitting a bill.

Punctuality is important in the Netherlands so try to arrive on time. It is acceptable to discuss business matters during mealtimes and as at all other times to be open and frank about your own views — this approach gains you respect.

Dutch table etiquette is relatively formal. Everything seems to be eaten with a knife and fork and the eating utensils are used in the European fashion rather than in the North American way. This means that both knife and fork are used throughout the meal.

Although all bills will contain a service charge, it is customary to leave an additional tip of between 5% - 10%