Added to demonstrating respect for others, building trust and working effectively in diverse teams are: being open to new ideas/ways of thinking, seeking opportunities for continuous learning, listening/observing to deepen understanding and strong leadership skills. Self-awareness and the flexibility to 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. These qualities and related ‘soft skills’ apply as much in the boardroom, within senior leadership teams, and franchise support staff, 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 franchise and 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 franchises also recognized that there are clear business benefits to recruiting both franchisees and employees with both diverse backgrounds and 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 franchise teams, franchisees and employees lack these intercultural skills are likely to be more vulnerable to risks such as miscommunication (37%) and damage to the organization’s
The benefit to the organisation will be more engaged staff, more cohesive teams, happier franchisees and customers and a positive impact on the bottom line
reputation or brand (27%), and the accompanying diversion of resources, time and energy needed to mitigate or repair any possible negative impact . The franchise recruitment, human resource, business need and benefit for intercultural skills development, is clearly highlighted. While the need for training and developing greater intercultural fluency is recognised, it could be 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. And for franchises, the screening process was almost non-existent, leaving them highly exposed to communication and relationship breakdowns in these situations. Candidates, who demonstrate they have intercultural skills, as well as formal qualifications, might have an advantage when applying for some jobs.
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