How to Ensure a Harmonious International Team Environment Through Cultural Inclusion
Sometimes it’s hard to put your finger on exactly why some intercultural teams experience friction between members. But one thing’s for sure – it’s not the best atmosphere to work in.
Fortunately, with greater cultural awareness and understanding, you can foster a more inclusive and harmonious working environment, where teams recognise, understand, and celebrate their differences – creating a safe space at work where everyone feels they can freely ‘belong’.
Whether you’re just setting out on your journey towards cultural inclusion, or already making progress, here are some things to remember:
A level of understanding of different cultures within your teams is essential for identifying with various cultural habits, management and communication styles, taboos, and cultural norms that affect different people’s work and home lives. Language and cultural training can help empower, support, and unite teams by easing tension and breaking down cultural barriers. Delve into more detail in our cultural training whitepaper.
The same country doesn’t mean the same culture. There are many cultural groups and subcultures within a country. Being aware of the different religious holidays, holy days, and festivals celebrated within your team means you can plan ahead and allow everyone to celebrate their faiths and cultures as they wish. Avoid prioritising one over others and be mindful that religious greetings carry different meanings to different people.
People find it easier to express themselves in their first language because they likely have a greater depth of vocabulary compared to their non-native languages. Almost 1 in 5 people across the world speak English, but only 26% of them are native English speakers. This means that using English alone can be both a bridge and a barrier to communication. Teams that communicate efficiently and freely are less likely to end up in situations of conflict. You can aid communication through language and cultural training, or providing professional interpreters or translations to help smooth out any friction caused by language barriers. Have a watch of our webinar on cultural awareness to understand more.
Professional HR translations are important for ensuring full comprehension of hiring paperwork, employee handbooks, safety documentation, contracts, and confidentiality agreements. It’s also often a legal requirement. Not only will it keep employees safe, but it will also reinforce workers’ responsibilities and empower them to understand their roles and rights.
Culturally inclusive content also needs to be accessible. In addition to subtitles, voiceovers, audio descriptions and optimised reader interfaces, consider using Plain Language as a way of fostering cultural inclusion. This writing style is pivoted towards the reader and designed to answer all of their questions, in a direct, easy-to-read format, that everyone (especially non-native speakers) should find easier to understand.
Inclusive language varies between languages and cultures. This could be because of culture, lack of awareness of the weight that some words carry to native speakers, or sometimes even because of how different languages are structured (for example, some languages – unlike English – are gendered). This all means that some people may unintentionally use non-inclusive language, which could inadvertently cause offence. Providing your employees with an inclusive language guide could help explain common misunderstandings and lead them in their choice of words.
Achieving cultural inclusion is a long and winding road – but once you get to your destination, the views are worth it. Increased consideration towards everyone within a team will contribute to a healthier and more positive working atmosphere, where all members can thrive. Our cultural training service for intercultural teams, and employees having to relocate to another culture, is designed to empower, unite, and support your teams as they break down cultural barriers.
If you would like to know more about our cultural training, or professional HR translation service, get in touch or book an introductory call with a member of our team to discuss your requirements in more detail.
Content provided by Cathy Branson, Managing Director, Dialogue Language Services International.