How to Create a Good Relationship with Your Indian Vendor -

via CIO magazine: "India is a deeply traditional group-oriented society; tightly knit extended families place a premium on harmony. Survival depends on interdependency, on keeping each other happy. “Your first goal is to make sure nobody is upset by what you say,” says Storti. “If the group is not strong, if it is upset by confrontation, you are in trouble.”"

Americans are raised to speak their minds; candor and being plain-spoken are admired. The primary goal of communication typically is to convey information, and this is especially true in a business setting. The primary goal of communication for an Indian, on the other hand, is to protect and strengthen the relationship, and that trumps information exchange, says Storti. An Indian finds it very uncomfortable to say anything you don’t want to hear, anything that would cause you to lose face or anything that would disappoint you. This is not to say that Indians do not communicate difficult information; it’s just that they do it differently. Common cues that difficult information is being sent your way: Your question is mirrored back to you, a postponed answer is not followed through on, or something is conspicuously not said.

You say: “Will that new schedule work for you?”
Your Indian colleague repeats: “Will that work for you?” Translation: “No, it won’t, but I don’t want to upset you.”

You say: “Can you have that ready by the end of the day?”
She says: “I will do my best.” Translation: “I foresee problems delivering the project by then, but I believe that information will make you unhappy.” She assumes you got the message, and you just heard the words. End of the day comes and the project isn’t ready.

“There are many layers to ‘yes,’ ” says Bagla, a native of India. It can mean, “I understand what you said. It can be a simple acknowledgment that I heard you,” he says. You must get further confirmation. This is especially true if you are working by phone. Written clarification and confirmation is crucial.

Giving Clear Instructions

During a workshop for Indian employees of a leading American retailer, Storti posed the question: “When your American bosses tell you about coding they want you to do, and you don’t understand, what do you do?”
The group answered: “We talk amongst ourselves to see if anyone understands.”
Storti: “But what if nobody understands?”
Group: “We would just try something and hope it works.”

Asking Questions

make it easy for your Indian staff to ask you questions. For example, “We’ve covered a lot of territory. I myself didn’t understand it well; I would love it if you asked me questions.” Storti recommends a four-step process for bridging this communication gap: “1. give advice; 2. do it again; 3. wait for them to get comfortable; 4. praise, praise, praise.”

Bagla recommends softening criticism by stating it as a question or speaking about it privately.

Work Propensity - Task vs. Relationship

In India, a contract is but a small part of the business partnership. The relationship and trust are seen as much more important, says Bagla. Your Indian partners may be so focused on strengthening that relationship, including doing unbilled extra work, that they miss the fine print of the contract.

Time Orientation

Americans should also pay special attention to issues of time. “Generally, in the West if we say we’ll be there at 10:00, we mean 10:00. In India, if you are there at 10:25, it’s not the end of the world,” says Bagla. This more elastic view of time sometimes extends to project delivery dates. Bagla recommends being very specific about dates, and getting confirmation that those dates are understood in the same way. In India, “the end of January” could mean anywhere from Jan. 20 to Feb. 3, he points out.

Power Distance - Egalitarianism vs. Hierarchy

Storti says that traditional Indian culture encourages employees to follow instructions to the letter, and discourages deviating from scripts. Despite their talent and competency, they may feel it “not their place” to generate solutions of their own. They are not likely to say, “These instructions are not working for this project,” although younger Indians may, in a very polite way, question what they think is bad advice. [e]ncourage your Indian staff to speak up, and give positive feedback when they do it, using clear, specific examples.