MODERN MANAGEMENT
adapt one’s own behaviour and style
to get the best from the people
you are working with are essential
qualities for effective intercultural
communication in the work place.
These qualities and related
‘soft skills’ apply as much in the
boardroom, within senior leadership
teams, and middle management, as
they do on the shop or factory floor.
They are a key part of developing
and strengthening an effective and
positive working relationship with
colleagues, clients and within the
workplace hierarchy.
The interesting and dynamic
challenge is that these ‘soft
skills’ and values are expressed
differently in different cultures. The
ability to appreciate other peoples’
different cultural perspectives and
to navigate and manage different
expression of those perspectives
and their underlying values and
expectations about the way things
should be done, are essential
intercultural and leadership
skills. These can and need to be
developed and polished as an
integral part of normal business.
The research poll reinforced the
fact that employers also recognized
that there are clear business
benefits to hiring candidates with
intercultural skills and business
values such as keeping their teams
running effectively (40%) and
building trust and relationships with
clients (35%).
With increasingly multi-cultural
teams across the globe,
organizations whose employees
lack these intercultural skills are
likely to be more vulnerable to
risks such as miscommunication
between teams (37%) and damage
to the organization’s reputation or
brand (27%), and the accompanying
diversion of resources, time and
energy needed to mitigate or repair
any possible negative impact. The
human resource and business need
and benefit for intercultural skills
development in the workplace, is
clearly highlighted.
While the need for training and
developing greater intercultural
fluency is recognised, it could
inferred from the research that
almost two-thirds of employers
(65%) indicated that there was a
need in their countries to develop
intercultural skills in students
before they enter the job market.
When it came to recruitment,
employers also admitted to
inadequate screening processes
for intercultural competence in
job candidates. Some 24% did
not screen for these skills in the
recruitment process. Candidates,
who demonstrate they have
intercultural skills, as well as
formal qualifications, might have an
advantage when applying for some
jobs.
The need to ensure that there is
adequate intercultural induction and
training for international transfers
and appointments is something
that has been highlighted at times
by a number of public departures
of high-profile senior executives
who were employed directly from
overseas. An unspoken but possible
contributing factor may have been
difficulty in reconciling underlying
and unrecognised cultural
differences which may have been
at play.
This research report reinforces the
value and need for intercultural
skills in the workplace. With
an increasingly mobile global
workforce, businesses need
their staff to know how to
work effectively in teams, to
communicate in, and to have the
skills to negotiate different social
and cultural environments.
The Ipsos Public Affairs research
shows a clear demand for these
skills amongst employers around
the globe and that intercultural
skills bring added benefits in the
workplace.
Holona and Trish Lui specialise in building cross-cultural effectiveness
to support high performance in teams and organisations to achieve their
business goals. Email: [email protected]
February 2016
ModernBusiness
53