A Short Beginners Guide to Thailand Business Culture. For anyone who has worked in or are planning on working with Thai companies or people.
Table of Contents
- Basics – There are two types of Business Cultures in Thailand
- How to Behave in Meetings with Thai Companies
- Conclusion
Basics – There are two types of Business Cultures in Thailand
The Traditional Thai Business Culture
Thailand history goes back a long time, for more on that I would suggest you read up the brief on Wikipedia about Thailand. Prehistory started over 11,000 years ago. The region has been the home of many well known civilisations, including the Khmear Empire, as well as Mons, Malays, and of course the Thai people.
A Traditional Thai business culture is one that practices a lot of the older aged signs of respect, harmony, corporation.
When working with the Traditional Thai companies you will know it straight away. Some tell tail singes are:
- They invite a lot of people into the meeting
- They line up people on thier side in a line to compliment your line also.
- There is strict hirechy being followed
- There is respect and careful attention paid to people of high rank.
- You will get a meeting if everyone on this side has already agreed to meet with you.
Having a meeting like this can be daunting. But it’s also a very good sign. It means that the group, has already reviewed your product and service, and are now willing to invest their time to hear from you directly. Having senior people in the meeting also means that the discussion about your company has already reached their ears and they are willing to listen to you directly.
The Modern Thai Business Culture
Thailand has been a melting pot for global trade since global trade became a thing, thousands of years ago.
At its peak, the Ancient City of Ayutthaya, the capital of Thailand and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the largest city in the world, by population size. This according to George Modelski Professor Emeritus of political science in the University of Washington.
The City has settlements from most large Asian, Middle eastern, and European countries. The most famous of these were the Portuguese, Japanese, Indian, and Chinese groups. The Ayutthaya kingdom integrated a lot of these cultures goods and services into it own culture. Much of which can be found in the foods that are still consumed today, a lot of them being made originally by other countries, such as Portuguese deserts, Chinese Dumplings, Indian spices and curries and more.
Modern Thailand has a mindset of adopting all that is best form other cultures also. When you meet these types of companies you will quickly be able to recognise them from their:
- Drive for innovation
- Their advanced use of English
- Their skilled analytics and softawre apabilities
- Their willingness to discuss things openly, such as innovations
- The fast paced speed at which they work
- The technology that they use, i.e. Saleforce, Apple MacBooks, modern bulidign infrastructures
Foreigners are most comfortable work with this group of Thai companies and people. If not for anything else then just their advanced english proficiency, already is a great differentiator to the Traditional Group. But other benefit include: easier to adopt new services and tech, more capable to work with complex system and dispersed networks, more willing to move fast.
How to Behave in Meetings with Thai Companies
Greetings
If you are working with a Traditional Thai group, then you will ALWAYs, have to Wai and be very polite and respectful throughout the meeting, but especially at the beginning.
If you are meeting a modern group, then a hand shake is just fine. In fact, they might feel it a bit weird that a foreigner is Waiing, as it’s not something that they do unless in the presence of someone who they feel will insist, or are extremely holy, like a Monk, or their Boss’s Boss.
Followup with Introductions, and hand out cards.
Business Cards
These are commonly used in Thailand. It is expected that you will have one.
If in a meeting, you will likely see the Thai team place your cards in front of them, as a sign of respect for your name and offering. But also to be used to help remember who they are talking to and what department you are from, to help them address discussions with you appropriately to your likely requirements.
cards are to be treated respectfully. Not to over do it, but you will have to treat their business card to you as if it were say, a picture of them. So place it carefully, don’t forget it, don’t disregard it etc as that is quite disrespectful.
How to discuss and how to address people in the meeting
You will have to address the person speaking with you, but pay attention to their ranking in relation to yours.
For example, if you are the most junior person in the room, and their CEO has a question. You should try to let the most senior person on your side address the CEO. It must also be done politely.
In this scenario. If the most senior person on your side wants you to add to the conversation, they should directly explain that you will add further. At which point you are allowed to address the CEO on their side, politely and gracefully.
What CANNOT happen, is that the CEO on their side asks a question, and the most junior person on your side speaks over everyone in a condescending manner. If that happens, the business relationship is basically over, and there’s no point continuing.
At all times, you need to know the seniority of the people asking questions. And if possible have the same ranking person on your side answer. This is how two companies show that they can work in harmony. When done correctly, it’s a show that you and they know each other, that you can work together.
Not all meetings can be like that perfect example. But showing a striving for such is just as valuable.
What you CANNOT do, is not even try. They will be able to see it, and what it signals, is that your team do not know, care, or want to work with their team and their issues will not be looked after by your team. Again, end of relationship.
Conclusion
There are many things to look out for. And we hope that this article helps you work with your Thai partners better.
If you are interested in Thailand, here is our business page, with links and stats to interesting fact about Thailand Business Landscape.
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