16 Apr Cultural Intelligence: The New Imperative for Global Teams
Managing a business is no picnic, and employing a global workforce could be even more challenging. Today, businesses are no longer situated in a single location. There are many benefits to employing global teams, from continuous operations and cost reduction to increased market insights and access to a diverse talent pool.
The key to maintaining a global team is to enhance your organization’s cultural intelligence or CQ. Since you’ll be working with a diverse team, everyone in your company must learn how to be culturally aware to navigate cross-cultural communication and to foster inclusivity within the organization.
What Is Cultural Intelligence and Why Is It Important for an Organization?
Cultural intelligence is the ability to navigate and adapt effectively in diverse cultural settings. Here are the three main components of cultural intelligence:
Cognitive Cultural Intelligence
Different cultures have varying norms and values. These unique activities and practices contribute to culture-building, giving every ethnicity qualities distinct from others. When employees work with people around the world, it’s important to respect and be aware of these differences. This not only creates a positive work environment but also allows diverse team members to thrive together.
Emotional Cultural Intelligence
With so many differences, people from diverse backgrounds often unintentionally hesitate to connect with others. Normally, people from similar locations and races become more easily acquainted, while those of different cultures find it harder. This is mainly because of the lack of shared experiences, common ground, and language barrier.
With a strong cultural intelligence, everyone in the organization should be able to interact with others, regardless of background. However, this is easier said than done.
Behavioral Cultural Intelligence
Aside from understanding and interacting with people from different backgrounds, it’s also critical to know the appropriate verbal and non-verbal actions people use.
For example, maintaining prolonged eye contact in Japan can be considered rude. In Western cultures, however, this is seen as a sign of confidence and attentiveness. Similarly, a thumbs-up is a positive sign in many countries. However, it can be offensive in some countries in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe.
What Is Cultural Intelligence in Business and Why Do You Need It?
Developing cultural intelligence in the workplace is key to managing global teams. Here’s how cultural intelligence can boost your organization by fostering cultural sensitivity and awareness:
1. Global Communication
Whether you have local or cross-border teams, communication is crucial—especially in a global setting. Aside from the day-to-day operations, your employees will need to handle cultural differences. Without proper and clear communication, this could lead to misunderstandings, conflicts, or even missed opportunities. Leaders should be equipped with CQ knowledge to effectively evaluate cultural nuances and ensure smooth communication throughout.
Read more: Future-Proof Your Staffing Strategy: Navigating Economic Uncertainty
2. Trust and Connection
Trust is considered a vital factor in building relationships. With strong cultural and emotional intelligence, your workforce will be more committed to connecting with people from diverse backgrounds. This could also help translate workplace practices that might need transformation to work in different customs and expectations, allowing the business to succeed as a global organization.
3. Innovation
People from different cultures often experience varied experiences and practices. This is why a global team can be more creative and innovative, allowing multiple sources of perspectives to contribute to the overall organization.
A culturally intelligent workforce will be able to utilize valuable knowledge and apply it to the business. This helps increase the company’s potential for success, and the key is to foster an environment of respect and collaboration.
4. Expansion Risk Mitigation
Companies often encounter challenges when tapping global markets. Leaders and key business players must be prepared with a proper CQ strategy to anticipate and address these challenges. This will allow the business to run effectively despite being in different locations.
Common Challenges in Global Teams and Cross-Border Expansion
Expanding your business is a necessary step toward growth. However, there are challenges when companies enter foreign markets. CQ drives expansion by mitigating these obstacles and ensuring a collaborative workplace. Here are some of the common challenges:
1. Communication Barriers
The first barrier is language. While English is considered the most widely used language in the world, for some, it’s their secondary language. Due to their markets, countries like China, Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia are often seen as the most strategic locations for expansion. However, these countries have varying levels of English proficiency.
2. Language Use and Practice
Due to local communication practice and grammar formation in different languages, some people may use English in a different manner. Here are a few examples:
- Chinese speakers may say, “You have how many years?” due to different sentence structures.
- Japanese speakers may have trouble saying “no” as their culture avoids direct refusals.
- Brazilian speakers may say, “Is ready the report?” due to their flexibility in subject placement.
- Thai speakers may not use past tenses and say something like, “I go to the market yesterday.”
3. Cultural Misalignment
Work ethics and job expectations differ across cultures. While some follow a hierarchical structure, some are exposed to flat. This can easily affect work output and be mistakenly seen as incompetence or lack of respect.
Read more: Diversity and Inclusion in Your Workforce: How a Staffing Agency Can Help
4. Time Zones
Since a global team can have varying time zones, it can be difficult to find the best time to work. Companies often have to set multiple shifts, which allows cross-collaboration between teams.
5. Legal and Compliance
Aside from physical barriers and cultural differences, navigating legal and compliance can be challenging. This would include varying labor laws, tax regulations, and business policies or practices. Companies must learn about different legal compliance regulations to manage global teams effectively. Furthermore, data privacy and security regulations vary across regions.
- California, USA – CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)
- Europe – GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
- China – PIPL (Personal Information Protection Law)
- Canada – PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act)
- India – DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection Act)
While these laws generally maintain safe digital spaces, it’s important for businesses to learn the specific nuances and processes to ensure proper use of data.
How to Foster Cultural Intelligence Across the Business
Initially, you can introduce various training programs or invite key speakers to discuss cultural awareness in your organization. These activities can provide historical and theoretical understanding, which can help your workforce interact with one another.
However, cultural intelligence is not a one-time event. Rather, it must be a continuous learning through experience, networking, and collaboration. Employees may learn about the critical differences in language or hand gestures, but their experience will only be solidified if they have enough interaction with diverse cultures. Here are a few ways you can support cultural intelligence in the company:
- Let people from different backgrounds collaborate on various projects.
- Set an event for cultural appreciation and celebration, inviting everyone in the company.
- If possible, and if there’s a need, send your people to different countries for collaboration.
- Pair employees from different backgrounds for mentorship opportunities.
- Provide language and cross-cultural training regularly.
- Implement inclusive policies and a zero-tolerance environment for discrimination.
- Promote open discussion regarding cultural challenges and experiences.
- Offer flexible holidays that allow employees to follow local holidays and events.
Read more: The Power of Gratitude: Why Expressing Employee Appreciation is Important
Improve diversity through Masis Staffing.
Masis Staffing advocates for diversity and equal opportunities for all employees. We conduct fair assessments and ensure inclusive hiring processes.
In addition to supporting cultural diversity and intelligence, we are also able to provide a wide range of talented individuals in a variety of fields. If you need strong leaders to enhance cultural intelligence within your business, we also source and place executives and HR staff. Contact us today to learn more about our services.