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About Finland - The
People
Key Concepts Generally
speaking, Finland is a country where considerable weight is attached
to the spoken word — words are chosen carefully and for the
purpose of delivering a message. Indeed, there are very few other
culture-specific considerations that visitors need be aware of.
Finns place great value on words, which is reflected in the tendency
to say little and avoid ‘unnecessary’ small talk. As
the Chinese proverb puts it, “Your speech should be better
than silence, if not, be silent.”
Finnish customs and manners are clearly European, with only a few
national variations, and attitudes are liberal. There is very little
chance of a visitor committing fundamental social gaffes or breaches
of etiquette that would fatally damage relations between himself
and his hosts. Such breaches are viewed by Finns with equanimity
if committed by their own countrymen and with understanding or amusement
if committed by foreigners. Codes of behaviour are fairly relaxed,
and reputations — good or bad — are built up over time
as the result of personal actions rather than conforming to certain
norms or standards. It is difficult in Finland to make or break
a reputation on a single occasion.
Finns have a very strong sense of national identity. This is rooted
in the country’s history — particularly its honourable
wartime achievements and significant sporting merits — and
is today nurtured by pride in Finland’s high-tech expertise.
Although Finns are not generally well versed in the history of other
countries, they may well be disappointed if a visitor proves to
be unfamiliar with the turning points of Finnish history or the
sports careers of Finnish athletes. Visitors would be well advised
to know something about the achievements of Finnish rally drivers
and Formula 1 stars, and would be expected to know that football
players Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypiä are Finns. Culturally
oriented Finns will take it for granted that like-minded visitors
are familiar not only with Sibelius but with contemporary composers
and orchestra conductors. While Finns are aware that Nokia is often
mistakenly thought to be a Japanese company, this misconception
is viewed forgivingly but with pity.
English and Swedish are widely spoken in Finland and are very common
in the business world; some international Finnish companies even
use English as their house language. German is less common, although
many Finns in their 50s or older learned it as their first foreign
language at school. French, Spanish and Russian form a growing part
of the linguistic repertoire.
Finland is a nation with 1.5 million saunas — learning to
bathe in the sauna comes as naturally as learning to speak. The
real Finnish sauna has nothing in common with massage parlours and
their likes. Mixed bathing is rare – men and women usually
bathe separately. The sauna is also one of the few places where
Finns will forget about work and talk about something else.
Business Practice and Etiquette
- The standard office hours are 8.00am to 5.00pm. However, because
of Finland being two hours ahead of GMT many internationally active
executives work longer hours.
- Finnish business protocol and tradition demands punctuality
when attending meetings. It is also best practice to arrange appointments
several days in advance by telephone, e-mail or fax. SMS is emerging
as a new way to make appointments.
- Avoid making appointments from the second half of June until
mid August when most business people have their summer vacations.
- It is customary to always shake hands. When being introduced
or when meeting someone, as well as when leaving.
- Greetings are formal, with a firm handshake, direct eye contact
and smile. It is common practice to repeat your first and surname
while shaking hands. When greeting a married couple, the wife
should be greeted first.
- Business cards are welcomed in business culture and are generally
exchanged at the start of business meetings.
- Finns are very modest and generally downplay their own achievements.
They view being humble and modest as virtues.
- Finns tend to be transactional and do not need long-standing
personal relationships to conduct business. However they are interested
in long-term relationships. Relationship building often takes
place outside the office through entertaining guests in restaurants,
at home or in the sauna. Generally face-to-face contact is not
required and Finns are quite comfortable using e-mail to initiate
business.
- Finns place a great value on speaking plainly and openly. Expect
a bare minimum of small talk, if any, before getting into the
business discussion. What someone says is accepted at face value
and this is a culture where “a man’s word is his bond”
and will be treated as a written contract, so verbal commitments
are considered agreements.
- When making presentations to Finns avoid hype, exaggerated
claims, or bells and whistles. Finns seldom ask questions. The
presenter is expected to make his/her case with sufficient detail
so that there is no need for questions.
- There is no taboo on humour in business in Finland.
- It is considered rude to ask direct personal questions about
occupation, income and background.
- Finnish business dress code is generally conservative and the
norm for both men and women is to wear smart, well tailored attire
using darker colours. Many Finnish companies have now introduced
more “dressed down” attire but this generally relates
to the media and IT industries.
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