Peter Kennedy is VP of Programme Management at First Data Corporation in the UK. Here Peter shares his thoughts on why it is important to harness cultural diversity in order to successfully deliver pan-European change programmes.

For me, the most critical part of managing programmes that have stakeholders in more than one European location is to understand other people's culture and have your own culture understood. There are differences amongst European cultures and these trickle down not just into daily life, but into all aspects of business. As in every aspect of life, cultural differences in business can be a positive and powerful element, but can also, if not understood properly, trigger conflict and other issues.

In my experience, seldom are our perceptions of other European cultures wholly correct. It's therefore critical to organise the programme correctly so that you can understand those differences and manage accordingly.

If you are about to embark on a pan European programme, then take time to consider the following:

Articulate the objective - typically, pan-European programmes are primarily undertaken to achieve some material benefit to the organisation. They also tend to be complex. However, the complexities can often overshadow the primary objectives, so ensure that you clearly articulate these so that the vision for the programme can be understood by all. A common understanding of the objectives is critical to the success of any large programme.

Plan for local change - every culture and country will have unique considerations that will ultimately require changes to scope, time, cost and so on. Expect that change will occur and plan to manage it. Embed local expertise into the programme, so that you have access to subject matter skills and knowledge that will help you judge and determine how to manage that change.

Create champions - pan-European programmes are typically about significant change. Change is more easily brought about when there are local champions advocating and leading the change and positively influencing those who are being impacted by it.

Keep the lines of communication open - invest heavily in dialogue, be open and receptive, listen and be considered in replies.

Facilitate effective decision-making and build your escalation path - sometimes impasses will occur, regardless of the strength of working relationships or the level of interaction. Be sure that you have an escalation path that can be used to conclude the course of action. Delays in decision-making will impede a programme, and can often cause conflict to fester, which in turn will create further obstacles to programme delivery.

Be prepared to travel - it's important for local stakeholders to trust the person who will take on the corporate identity for the programme. It is just as important that they believe they have access to you. Be sure to plan to visit each location during the programme; this creates trust and makes it easier for stakeholders to communicate with you and the programme.

Understanding diversity can help identify how differences can be used to add value to a programme rather than cause issues. In fact, diversity of culture can be a very powerful element of any programme team, as different views and styles offer flexibility and a breadth of capability that is rarely matched by single-country programme teams. And in my experience, time spent harnessing the cultural differences for the success of a programme is ultimately time well spent.