| Although
there is no substitute for face-to-face meetings,
an interface person will minimize your personal
involvement, while maximizing effectiveness of
your communication with Russians. You will spend
less time in crisis mode, as you will have
significantly fewer misunderstandings and
frustrations.
1.
Team Member
He
or she works as part of your team on such things
as developing strategy, providing necessary
contacts, and drafting and reviewing documents.
2.
Relationship Manager
He
establishes and maintains open lines of
communication with key people in Russia. When
talking to the Russians, he always makes it clear
that he works for you and talks on your behalf.
The consultant maintains contact with you and/or
your team to stay fully informed. He also
regularly talks with your Russian partners and
the appropriate Russian government people. He
creates an open, nonthreatening environment where
the Russian side is comfortable asking questions.
He explains your position and the context in
which you have to operate; he knows what
information you are likely to need and asks
questions on your behalf. After each exchange
with the Russian side he writes a report,
alerting you to new opportunities, to a possible
conflict or to an action that you need to take.
3.
Communications Consultant
He
prepares your correspondence to the Russian side
and makes sure that it meets the requirements of
your partners. If there is a need for a Russian
letter to come to the United States, the
consultant will help the Russians draft the
letter so that it says what the U.S. side needs
to see.
4.
Negotiator
He
often negotiates on your behalf. This may involve
something as simple as the minutes of the board
meeting, or as involved as a letter of intent,
parts of a joint venture agreement, or pricing
structure of your joint bid. You will rely on
your interface person to conduct back channel
negotiations.
5.
Facilitator
He
may facilitate your internal meetings to assist
your company in arriving at a unified position on
your Russian project. He also helps you take
advantage of opportunities to enhance your
network. When you travel to Russia, the interface
consultant will make sure that you are
comfortable, and that the trip is smooth and
productive.
6.
Project Manager
Small
businesses often cannot afford to dedicate a
manager to your Russian endeavor. The interface
person then fills in. In my experience, this
function often has to do with keeping people
informed of what others are doing, and making
sure that documents, such as a joint venture
agreement, go through your internal review
process in a timely manner.
7.
Translation and Interpretation Manager
He
will have all documents translated, and will hire
interpreters for face-to-face meetings.
Below
are qualities, skills, and background recommended
for a good interface person.
- Graduate
degree preferred (negotiation or
mediation training recommended)
- Bilingual
and bicultural
- Ability to
understand complex business issues
- Initiative
and creativity
- Patience
- Excellent
writing skills in both languages
- Excellent
communication skills
- Strong
analytical ability
- Ability to
work well as part of the team
- Ability and
willingness to serve as interpreter and
translator
The
most important qualities to look for are
integrity and judgment. Remember that you are
hiring a person to promote your agenda for you,
to speak for you, sometimes to think for you.
When interviewing, consider, “Do I feel
comfortable with this person? Can I trust them?
Can I trust their judgment?”
For
a small to medium-sized business, the function of
the interface person is best served by an outside
consultant as you might find it difficult to keep
your interface person busy full-time. Also, the
interface person usually talks to people at all
levels in your company—from a secretary to
vice president, and sometimes CEO. In my
experience, it is much easier to perform this
function when working outside the company
hierarchy. You will find much more freedom
in communicating with the interface person when
he is not in your direct employ. At times you
will want to find out your partner’s
reaction before putting a proposal on the table.
Besides, the back channel negotiation is much
easier when the interface person is not an
employee and therefore is not viewed as
representing an official position of your
company. Putting your interface person on
retainer will help keep costs down and ensure
that the person is available when you need him.
There
are two key things you need to do to ensure that
your interface person is effective. First, he has
to be fully informed of what’s going on with
and around your Russian endeavor. You need to
share your thought processes, not just decisions
and facts. He needs to know much more than what
he will end up transferring to the Russians.
Second, you should appropriately position this
person with your Russian counterparts: The
Russians need to understand that you fully trust
your interface person, that you designate him to
speak for you, and that if the Russians need to
communicate something to you, they need to get in
touch with your interface person.
Julia Karpeisky is a president of JMK
Contact, Inc., a firm offering a full
range of interface services to U.S. organizations
doing business in Russia and other former Soviet
republics. She can be contacted by email at
jmk_inc00@yahoo.com.
This
report is provided courtesy of the Business
Information Service for the Newly Independent
States (BISNIS)
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