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First or external meetings

Seating: The person with the most seniority sits at the head or center of the table, depending on how the table is shaped. The seat to this person's right is reserved for the next most important person.

Protocol: When entering a meeting attended by many people, a Saudi will greet each person individually and shake hands. Those who are already seated should stand up before shaking hands.

Same rank or higher: Upper-level Saudi executives usually do not attend meetings unless there are counterparts of the same rank, or higher, also in attendance. It is crucial that foreign companies send representatives at the appropriate level of status. Foreign counterparts should not expect to be able to deal with the Saudi decision makers if they, themselves, are not at the same rank or level.

Typically, the most senior person directs the meeting. If the president is an older person, and more of a figurehead, he will be present. However, in this case, the vice president will direct the meeting.

Welcome & indication of topics: The meeting will often begin with some small talk. The senior person typically welcomes everyone in attendance and mentions what will be discussed. However, this may be a general indication rather than a specific agenda. Often the topics covered will be decided during the meeting, and the scope can get quite wide. Discussion may stray toward subjects that are not business related.

Interaction: Discussion is welcome, but lower-level employees are not likely to disagree with managers or older employees in the meeting. It is more appropriate to argue or disagree with a peer, but respect must be shown, and it is important that foreign businesspeople are careful not to appear rude.

Interruptions: Note that Saudis often accept phone calls or other visitors during a meeting. These interruptions should not be seen as a sign of disrespect. Saudis conduct business with a more relaxed view of schedules than is the case in many other cultures, and therefore meetings may take longer than expected. These days, however, many larger organizations are adopting a closed-door meeting style that is only interrupted for very important issues.

Schedules: Meetings should be scheduled so they do not conflict with prayer breaks (at daybreak, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and evening), but if they do, the host or other meeting attendees may have to leave the meeting for 15 or 20 minutes.

After the meeting

It is important to follow up the meetings with both e-mails and phone calls and hold people to their commitments. Persistence is key, as it is very common for Saudi counterparts, out of politeness, to make commitments they may not keep; or there may be differences in assumption about the timing of follow through.

Internal meetings

Internal meetings tend to be much less formal than external meetings in Saudi Arabia. They can sometimes become general talk sessions without addressing any of the agenda items. Even if an agenda is distributed before the meeting, attendees may not bring it to the meeting. Those who wish to impose more structure should bring copies of the agenda to hand out at the meeting and appoint a note-taker to record decisions and action steps.



Diversity factors

Meetings in government institutions and local companies may move more slowly and take longer than those in multinational companies. In addition, employees in multinational companies are generally more likely to follow through on commitments by the established deadline. In government entities and local companies, it may be necessary to follow up with more diligence in the form of persistent phone calls or face-to-face meetings.

*Prayer times:If there are observant Muslims in your team, irrespective of where you live, avoid holding meetings during the Friday congregation prayer time (typically, between noon and 3:00 pm), as Muslims are obligated to attend this prayer every week. There are Muslim employees who have to make the hard choice between worship and attending an important meeting during that time.


Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1034


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