Cheryl Obal & Associates

17/07/2023

Check out our latest article on Medium.com!

Serial expats are always looking for the next big opportunity.

28/06/2023

It's another fun-filled day in design and creation! 👩‍💻

I am so grateful that modern tech tools allow me to create entire programs for companies from the comfort of my home office. 🙏

👩‍🏫 I design the materials, film, edit, and upload directly to the companies' systems.
👉🏻All slides and videos have the companies' branding.
👉🏻All programs are tailored to specific learning needs.
👉🏻All videos are in format with fun quizzes, handouts, and additional resources.

💼Need a customized virtual training program for your company? Get in touch!

👉🏻Multiple topics are available in professional , competence, intercultural , , and . Additional topics available upon request.
🕥Turnaround time: approximately 2 days per module, all included.

Which type of work are you grateful to be able to do from home? 🏠

12/05/2023

It was a pleasure speaking on a panel of experts at the European Relocation Association's annual international conference, April 25-28 in Dublin, Ireland!

Topic: "Multicultural Teams, Mergers and Acquisitions & the Importance of Intercultural Skills."

Key points I spoke about:

1. Culture is an often-overlooked but essential factor for success in international mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, and new market entries.

2. Cultural differences can be multifaceted: country culture, organizational culture, personal culture, etc.

3. A concerted effort must be undertaken to identify a shared set of core values between the two companies involved, and to make plans to manifest those values, with buy-in from both entities involved.

4. Reseach has proven that when differences in company culture are ignored and not dealt with early on, the merger/venture has a high chance for profit loss or total failure. For info on the statistics, read the book "Rule Makers, Rule Breakers" by Michele Gelfand.

5. There are many assessment tools for cultural values, team building, and corporate culture differences, as well as training techniques, methodologies and programs that I use for companies in mergers & acquisitions, new market entry, and joint ventures or projects (contact me for more details).

29/03/2023

Truly inspiring!

23/02/2023

Cari amici e conoscenti in Italia!

Se hai mai desiderato sapere cos'è la comunicazione interculturale, puoi unirti al mio prossimo corso online. Ci sono ancora alcuni posti disponibili e sarebbe un piacere averti nel gruppo. Il workshop sarà in lingua inglese, ecco le informazioni:

Giorni e orari: sabato mattina dalle 9:00-10:30 in diretta online su Zoom.
Date: dal 25 febbraio al 25 marzo (5 incontri)

Cosa imparerai?

1. Aumenta la tua comprensione su come la cultura modella il pensiero, la comunicazione e il comportamento
2. Sviluppa strategie per adattare la tua comunicazione e il tuo comportamento quando le situazioni lo richiedono
3. Avere la possibilità di esplorare i metodi di risoluzione dei conflitti e migliorare le tue interazioni sul lavoro
4. Ottieni strumenti e tecniche per lavorare in modo più efficace con culture diverse
5. Costruisci fiducia per lavorare e prosperare in un ambiente multiculturale

Dai un'occhiata al link per maggiori informazioni e per iscriverti!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intercultural-communication-skills-workshop-tickets-532258107327

09/02/2023

Growing trends to look out for in adult learning and coporate training:

According to the HBR article "Where Companies Go Wrong With Learning and Development:"
✅ 75% of 1,500 managers surveyed from across 50 organizations were unsatisfied with their company’s Learning & Development (L&D) function
✅ 70% of employees report that they don’t have mastery of the skills needed to do their jobs
✅ Only 12% of employees apply new skills learned in L&D programs to their jobs

Also, the article states that lean learning is about:
1⃣ Learning the core of what you need to learn
2⃣ Applying it to real-world situations immediately
3⃣ Receiving immediate feedback and refining your understanding
4⃣ Repeating the cycle

That article was from 2019, microlearning was already in full swing, and it was already obvious that this was going to become the new norm.

Why?

"By studying material in short sessions over a continuous period - a.k.a. microlearning - we retain 80% of what we learn after 60 days."

Personally, I am a big fan of microlearning, and I have been using the model for the last 3 years myself, in building e-learning courses for companies and individuals.

By learning in bite-sized pieces, you can fully concentrate on it, and it fits well into the lives of busy professionals.

Not convinced? Some more research for you:
🟢 Microlearning creates 50% more engagement
🟢 Microlearning is nearly 20% more effective than traditional training.
🟢 Microlearning is the future of workplace success and engagement.
-(Scoop Business, NZ)

In a more recent report, Digital Learning Trends Report 2023 by Thinkific:
The two most cited benefits of short-form learning are:
41% said "Discovering new topics"
26% said it's "easier to absorb short-form content"

Is your company’s L&D program in line with the current learning trends?

08/02/2023

A quick lesson on the UK, in case anyone was wondering. 🇬🇧

No wonder people get confused!

08/02/2023

Grazie mille a Radio Canale Italia per avermi invitata a fare un’intervista oggi su e parlare della mia attività di formazione e consulenza interculturale che faccio per diverse aziende in giro per il mondo.

07/02/2023

Call for presenters!

The Cross-Cultural Trainers Network needs YOU! 🫵

📢 Have some knowledge you want to share?
📢 Want to practice delivering training on a certain topic?
📢 Have a new lesson plan that you want to pilot on a group and get feedback?
📢 Have a special service you want to promote? (YES—self-promotion is allowed in the Cross-Cultural Trainers Network!)

Please sign up to the Network and then drop me a message inside the chat with your topic and some possible time slots/days! https://cross-cultural-trainers-network.mn.co/share/sPGFSJVsZdmqipn4?utm_source=manual

06/02/2023

𝐃𝐨𝐧❜𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰❜𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬-𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤:
𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬-𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟕, 𝟐:𝟎𝟎-𝟑:𝟎𝟎 𝐂𝐄𝐓 (𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞)

Did you know that there are so many free resources and tools out there in the intercultural training world, which we can utilize to supplement and enhance our training?

In this session I will share my favorite free online tools, then open up the floor for others to share theirs.

How do I sign up? First join the Network, then sign up for the event!
https://cross-cultural-trainers-network.mn.co/share/sPGFSJVsZdmqipn4?utm_source=manual
Hint: Don't forget to click on "Add to Calendar"

(There will be another session about the paid online resources, for example the cultual assessment tools like ICS, IDI, GlobeSmart, etc. This one will cover only free resources.)

Looking forward to seeing you there!

06/02/2023

Announcing my next round of live online courses and workshops on Zoom, open to all!

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀:
✅ Presentation Skills for Success - starts Feb. 20 for 4 weeks:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/529500449097

✅ Business Writing Skills - starts Feb 22 for 4 weeks:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/529633557227

✅ Intercultural Communication Skills - starts Feb 25 for 4 weeks:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/532258107327

𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀:
✅ Professional Work Opportunities in Saudi Arabia - Feb. 21 only
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/529665713407

✅ Business and Investment Opportunities in Saudi Arabia - Feb. 25 only
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/529690607867

✅ Professional Networking: The Secret to Building Your Career - March 2 only
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/529259538527

Workshops in Lingua Italiana (Workshops conducted in Italian):
✅ Le Opportunità di Investimento e Business in Arabia Saudita - Feb. 28
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/529710266667

Click on the links to sign up! See you there!

Non perdere l'occasione di investire in Arabia Saudita, un posto in rapido sviluppo che ha una cultura accogliente e clima imprenditoriale!

05/02/2023

Hiring staff from other countries?
Moving people from one country to another? ✈️

It can be extremely expensive to outsource cross-cultural relocation training, so I provide Train-the-Trainer programs for HR professionals across the world.

I also help HR departments at companies to set up cross-cultural training programs and orientations for staff arriving from abroad.

The program can be conducted fully virtually, but I can also travel to any geographic area.🌏

If you would like to set up an appointment to discuss it, drop me a DM. 📧