A Primer On Workplace Cross-Cultural Communication

Posted on January 29, 2023 by Jennifer Rickmers, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.

Let’s face it – the workplace has changed more rapidly in the last 3 years than it has since the Industrial Revolution. Returning to work post-COVID has posed it’s own set of harsh realities, and workplace culture is being reformulated as I write. But the fundamentals of the workplace haven’t changed, because humans haven’t fundamentally changed. We still develop and thrive on connection. The challenge I pose is then how we can foster it, whether you jump at the chance to return to the office or relish your time working remotely.

First, we know that the conflicts in the workplace still hinge around a few hot issues. Religion, race, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and generation gaps (we’re looking at you, boomers v. millennials) are still sources of conflict. We also know that overcoming these differences stays much the same as well. Although there are some nuances, I’ll focus here on communication. Specifically, in dealing with diverse groups of employees, I’ll focus on cross-cultural communication.

Simply defined, cross-cultural communication is an attempt to exchange information (communication) to another group that differs in one or more key ways. Successfully accomplishing this has a few key elements to success.

1. Generate awareness. How are you different? More importantly, how are you similar? What can you be doing to communicate effectively? How are you preparing your team? Focus on the similarities, and have a meeting, a training program, or a conference. The more tangible, the better. Ideally, this can be worked into your mission and values as well.

2. Listen to dialogue. Find out what your colleagues want. What do they desire? What are their hopes and dreams? Try not to stereotype; it’s important to respect people’s differences. For that matter, respect is key here. Remaining non-judgmental and keeping an open mind is essential. Don’t finish what people are saying in your head, and definitely don’t prepare your response before they’ve finished. Also, watch body language, tone, and non-verbals. This can say a lot of someone’s comfort and provide context to the communication.

3. Accept their viewpoint. Acceptance doesn’t mean you agree, but it means you tolerate your differences. The more knowledge and exposure you have to another group, the easier it becomes to accept another group. Focus on similarities and not differences. Fundamentally, you are simply respecting them as a separate entity.

There are a few techniques that can help too in this digital age. If it applies, try to have people proficient in multiples languages on teams. Plan projects around different time zones, and be cognizant of foreign working hours. Even if your team is local, don’t feel afraid to ask for something to be rephrased, and don’t make assumptions about why someone said something. (We are terrible mind-readers). Take a few seconds before you respond as well.

If you’re wondering how this differs from communication in general, you’re not alone. Effective communication is pretty universal. With cross-cultural communication, you just have to make a little more effort, and focus more on context. Paying attention to non-verbals and other contextual cues doesn’t come as naturally to native English speakers, but the good news is that practice does improve overall communication skills.

It’s worth practicing, too. Diverse leadership and executive teams outperform companies with little or no diversity, and this translates to dollars in the bank. Additionally, hiring employees that are demographically similar to your consumers is free marketing analysis. Again, insight you won’t have to pay for. If you’re looking to improve your team’s cross-cultural communication and you don’t know where to get started, a coach can put you on the right path.