You help an international employee get used to Dutch work culture by making expectations explicit, documenting communication agreements, and creating space from day one for questions, feedback, and autonomy. Combine that with practical guidance on work processes and social norms, so someone can contribute quickly, safely, and effectively.
This works especially well for Highly Skilled Migrants, because they often have to navigate a new job, language, and living environment at the same time. Small misunderstandings about directness, planning, or decision-making can then cost an unnecessary amount of energy.
Below you’ll find the most frequently asked questions, with concrete answers and actionable steps.
What is typically Dutch in work culture?
Typical Dutch work culture includes direct communication, an egalitarian way of interacting, and a strong emphasis on independence and agreements. Teams expect you to share your opinion, ask questions, and take responsibility. At the same time, Dutch people like to plan ahead and value clarity about roles, deadlines, and decision-making.
In practice, you often see this reflected in day-to-day collaboration:
- Directness in conversations and emails, usually without much beating around the bush
- Low hierarchy where you also consult informally with managers
- Consensus in decisions, with input from multiple stakeholders
- Autonomy where you manage your own priorities and raise bottlenecks
- Work-life balance with respect for personal time and part-time work
Add nuance: direct doesn’t mean unfriendly, and consensus doesn’t mean everything takes forever. It helps if you make explicit what’s normal in your team, because Dutch work culture also differs by sector and organization.
How do you create an onboarding plan that accounts for cultural differences?
You create an onboarding plan that accounts for cultural differences by onboarding not only tasks and systems, but also behavioral expectations, communication, and decision-making. Explain how you run meetings, how you align priorities, and when you expect escalation. Schedule fixed check-ins in the first 30, 60, and 90 days to correct assumptions quickly.
Use a plan that provides both structure and room. This helps you normalize expectations without overwhelming someone.
- Week 1 make roles, goals, and success criteria concrete and write them down
- Weeks 2 to 4 assign a buddy and practice with real cases, not just explanations
- Month 2 let the employee take on a small project end-to-end with guidance
- Month 3 evaluate collaboration, feedback style, and ownership, and adjust agreements
Also include practical working agreements, such as working hours, availability, meeting etiquette, and how you document. For Highly Skilled Migrants, this works even better if you explain jargon and spell out abbreviations, so someone can join the conversation faster.
How do you give and receive feedback the Dutch way?
Giving and receiving feedback the Dutch way usually means: clear, specific, and focused on behavior and results, often in an open conversation. People appreciate honesty, but also expect you to support feedback with examples and to leave room for a response. Make agreements about timing, tone, and follow-up.
This helps make feedback useful rather than intimidating. A practical approach:
- Be specific describe what you saw or heard and what effect it had
- Ask follow-up questions check intent and context before drawing conclusions
- Make it two-way also ask what you could do differently
- Document next steps agree on what you will do differently in the coming weeks
Pay attention to nuance: directness can sound harsh in some cultures. You can keep the same clarity and still make it land more gently by stating the goal first—for example, that you want to help someone become successful faster.
Which do’s and don’ts help when working with an international team?
The best do’s and don’ts for working with an international team are: make implicit rules explicit, avoid assumptions, and build a communication rhythm. International teams perform better when everyone has the same information, uses the same definitions, and knows how decisions are made. That requires clear agreements, not perfect language.
Do’s that immediately create calm
- Write agreements down about deadlines, quality, ownership, and escalation
- Use plain language avoid idioms and explain abbreviations
- Check understanding ask someone to summarize what the next step is
- Make decision-making visible who advises, who decides, who executes
- Celebrate small wins this helps build trust in new teams
Don’ts that often cause misunderstandings
- Don’t assume for the other person silence doesn’t always mean agreement or lack of knowledge
- Don’t use sarcasm as the default humor works differently across cultures
- Don’t communicate only ad hoc without fixed moments, uncertainty builds up
- Don’t leave norms unspoken like “take initiative” without saying what that means
For Highly Skilled Migrants, it also helps if you explicitly state that asking questions is encouraged. That lowers the threshold for flagging risks early, for example around planning or dependencies.
How All About Expats helps with adapting to Dutch work culture
We help you ensure Highly Skilled Migrants settle in faster and more comfortably by supporting work and relocation as one integrated process. This means we don’t just support the immigration process via the highly skilled migrant route, but also align practical steps around arrival and settling in with your onboarding, so there’s less friction in the first months.
Specifically, you can come to us for support that aligns with work culture and being ready to start:
- Immigration support for the residence permit with the IND via the highly skilled migrant scheme, with attention to planning and compliance
- Relocation and settling in so essential matters are arranged faster after arrival and someone can focus more on work
- Employment and payroll in one approach, so responsibilities and processes remain clear
Want to discuss an onboarding approach that fits international professionals and your team? Get in touch via our contact page or see how we support employers via immigration services for employers.
