Modern Business Magazine October 2016 | Page 6

MODERN WORKPLACE

Communication – The beginning of understanding ? Cross-cultural conversations in teams By Holona and Trish Lui

There is increasing evidence that varied backgrounds gives organisations strength . There is also evidence that when it comes to problem solving that people ’ s identity groups – ethnic , racial , sexual , age – matter when it comes to diversity of thinking . ( Ref : Prof Scott Page , “ The Difference : How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups , Firms , Schools and Societies .”

The challenge for businesses is how to tap into and harness that diversity of thinking from these different groups quickly and effectively ? How do companies mould a group of people from different cultures into cohesive , effective and highly productive teams ?
Talking to each other is an obvious place to start , but how do staff who may speak only one language converse with their workmates for whom English or the host country ’ s language could well be their second , third , fourth or more language ? In the perfect world there would be some cultural awareness and cross-cultural communications training incorporated into workplace induction , training and professional learning and development programmes across the organisation .
The basics of effective cross-cultural communication are skills that can be learnt . For some companies that appreciate that this is important ,
6 ModernBusiness October 2016