Communication is key to managing an efficient workforce. In a perfect world, each employee would understand your exact meaning and would follow instructions without a hitch. But in reality, you often have to clarify, elaborate or rephrase to ensure comprehension. Being aware of the different types of language barriers in the workplace is one way you facilitate more efficient communication.
Poor communication skills represent the most common type of language barrier you'll encounter in the workplace, even if you only have one employee on your payroll. But as your business grows, you're more likely to recruit a diverse workforce. As such, you'll meet people who are fluent in more than one language, who were raised in cultures different from your own or who need a little more time to comprehend written communications.
Fortunately, language barriers can be accommodated and overcome. However, don't assume that it's the employee's responsibility to seamlessly adapt to the workplace. Breaking down culture and language barriers requires the company itself to make an effort.
Your company's human resources department can spearhead the effort to make accommodations and conduct diversity training. This will bring all of your employees onto the same page and hold everyone to the same standard. As a leader in the company, you can also make a difference by setting an example with every interaction and communication.
Language barriers can exist even in a rather homogeneous workforce. Two people with poor communication skills may fail to grasp each other's intended meaning when having a conversation. Fortunately, you can help your employees be better communicators by teaching them a few tangible tips.
Communication is two-sided, with a sender and a receiver. It's the sender's responsibility to be as specific as possible. For example, the sender can name specific deadlines instead of asking for a report to be handed in "next week." Avoid using too many pronouns (such as him, her, it, that, then) as well.
On the other hand, it's the receiver's responsibility to engage in active listening. Inc. recommends that receivers avoid multitasking when listening to someone talk, for example. Be on the lookout for nonspecific language, and ask for clarification when needed. For example, if someone asks you to prepare something "ASAP," ask for a hard-and-fast deadline to potentially save yourself some undue stress.
Some of your employees may not speak English as a native language. Even with a high level of fluency in English, some phrases or words could still cause confusion to a non-native speaker. Avoid using idioms like "the early bird catches the worm" or "don't let the cat out of the bag," and be mindful of words that sound similar but have different meanings. Try to slow down your speech a little, explain what you want in several ways, and ask questions to verify the employee's comprehension.
Create an environment where employees who aren't native English speakers feel like they can ask for clarification without being ridiculed. Many people who know English as a foreign language do not have the same fluency when reading, writing, speaking or listening. Ask how they best understand and communicate in English so that you can accommodate them as needed. If possible, provide a translated version of important company documents, such as the employee handbook.
If a significant portion of your workforce speaks another native language, consider hiring a native speaker to conduct important training sessions or produce training videos. Make sure safety signs located around the workplace use visual images in conjunction with words, and make a translated version if possible. Ideally, the supervisor working with a larger group of non-native English speakers will also have some proficiency in their native language in order to help clarify instructions.
Speaking a different language isn't the only way some cultures can clash in terms of communication. For example, in some cultures it's not common to use direct language. In fact, being too direct or blunt may be considered rude, especially toward a supervisor or manager. Employees from certain cultural backgrounds may expect to be asked for their opinions and will not simply offer them up, even when their peers speak freely and directly.
Body language, gestures and symbols can all carry different meanings from culture to culture as well. Be especially mindful of these nuances when communicating with international partners. It's helpful to hire a cultural liaison to coach your employees in key cultural differences in order to avoid embarrassing faux pas in these situations. Although your international colleagues may tolerate a few blunders, it's a sign of respect to learn about their culture and communicate in a way that makes everyone comfortable.
Dyslexia affects a person's ability to read and understand words and symbols, but according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this common learning disability is not an indication of poor intelligence. Someone with dyslexia may also have dyscalculia, which can cause them to mix up numbers (reading 45 as 54, for example). Dyslexia acts as a language barrier because it can lead to misunderstandings. For example, someone with dyslexia may interpret directions backwards (such as giving someone a document instead of taking the document from them).
Because dyslexia is considered a learning disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers are expected to make "reasonable accommodations" for employees who have dyslexia. People with dyslexia typically understand their own strengths and weaknesses and have developed coping strategies over the years, so start by asking them what they need to do their job. For example, if the employee is responsible for creating documents, you might identify another team member who can proofread them before publication. You could also help the employee find a spell-checking app or a speech-to-text app for email communications.
An employee with dyslexia may also use read-back software to better understand long documents. Hands-on training may prove more effective than handing an employee with dyslexia a huge training manual. Remain open-minded and encourage an employee with dyslexia to always come to you (or their manager) if additional accommodation is required.
If you're struggling with culture and language barrier problems in the workplace, consider hosting a diversity and communication specialist. Through seminars and workshops, all of your employees will get a crash-course in the benefits of diversity and how to overcome potential language barriers. You don't have to reinvent the wheel; entire companies exist to provide these training programs to your employees.
The benefit of conducting a training session with all of your employees is that it places everyone on the same page. There will be no excuses for not following the best practices, and everyone can be held accountable for upholding new standards in communication. If your business is growing rapidly, consider integrating this training into new employee onboarding procedures or hosting a refresher course every six months or so.
According to Harvard Business Review, diversity training can take many forms, so don't hesitate to hold different training sessions throughout the year. A technique that makes everything "click" for one person may not be as effective for another person, so diversifying your diversity training can have good results. Your managers and leaders should receive additional training in order to handle any conflicts that may arise due to culture or language barriers.
Cross-cultural communication is becoming ever more vital in a world of remote, often international teams. According to a Harvard Business School report, 89% of employees belong to at least one global team, while more than 60% work with colleagues from three or more cultures.
However, as many organizations learn the hard way, expecting effective communication to emerge organically among employees of different cultures often doesn’t work. This is because developing a thriving and cohesive multicultural workforce requires a deliberate strategy, a conscious approach to communication, and a professional skills training program.
Why is cross-cultural communication so important?
As today’s top business leaders increasingly realize, fostering diversity and inclusivity is the key to building an effective and engaging company culture.
Most strikingly, companies that cultivate an inclusive company culture are 36% more likely to outperform competing firms financially.
One reason for this is that these workforces are more creative. A Boston Consulting Group study found that businesses with more diverse leadership teams demonstrate higher levels of innovation, leading to more successful product development and a revenue increase of 19%.
Another factor to consider is that diverse teams can make better investment decisions. In contrast, homogeneous teams lead to worse investment results, according to a study published in the Harvard Business Review.
The authors, Paul Gompers and Silpa Kovvali, explained that succeeding in the unpredictable and competitive investment industry requires creative thinking. “The diverse collaborators were better equipped to deliver it,” they said.
Building a diverse workforce can enhance performance, drive innovation and creativity, boost profitability, and improve decision-making. However, to enjoy all the benefits of cultural differences, you must also understand, embrace, and accommodate the cultural needs each team member brings to the table. After all, diversity is about more than just inclusive recruiting policies.
To prosper, your organization should establish communication norms based on empathy and mutual respect. And hold these values up as the pillars of your inclusive company culture. Cross-cultural communication skills are essential to building a multicultural workplace where all employees feel comfortable and thus capable of delivering their best work.
Why is cross-cultural communication sometimes difficult?
In her book The Culture Map, social researcher Erin Meyer proposes an 8-dimensional model for understanding cultural differences. Based on her analysis of workplace culture in 12 countries, she suggests there is a broad spectrum of ways managers and employees from different backgrounds approach even the most basic business activities. For example, communication, conflict, scheduling, and negotiating:
Cross-cultural communication problems often stem from the fact that most people think of their own culture as “the way it should be.” It can be challenging to identify your own cultural preconceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. As a result, it can be easy to offend a colleague from a different culture without even being aware of it.
What to avoid in cross-cultural communication
To prevent misunderstandings, confusion, or hurt feelings in a cross-cultural organization, managers and employees should watch out for the following common pitfalls:
Assuming that everyone will act or react in the same way that you do is a recipe for a communication breakdown. Instead, team members should try to be open to new ways of thinking, learn from one another and value each others’ differences. After all, those same differences will help your team think creatively and find innovative solutions together.
When communicating, it’s also important to avoid thinking of colleagues in terms of cultural stereotypes and instead see one another as individuals. Research consistently shows that people vary more widely within cultures than between cultures. This means that what is true for one member of a given culture or nationality may not be true for another.
Humor can be a great way to connect with other people, regardless of their culture or background. However, choose your jokes with care. What may be funny in one culture may be inappropriate in another – and not every culture feels comfortable with humor in the workplace.
For example, research comparing Chinese and Canadian perspectives on humor found that the Chinese participants considered humor “less desirable for social interactions.”
Cross-cultural communication tips for the workplace
For those leading multicultural teams or any diverse group of people, the following simple strategies can help create a more inclusive culture and facilitate effective communication among coworkers:
1. Listen up
According to HR consultant Michelle Raymond, the best cross-cultural communicators are also the best listeners. To avoid misunderstandings and hurt feelings, practice active listening with your colleagues, direct reports, and supervisors.
This means consciously focusing on the speaker and then restating what they are saying. This way, they will know that you’ve clearly understood what they mean and that you have been paying attention.
Also, ask questions frequently to build rapport and demonstrate interest. One word of caution, though – in some cultures, direct questions can cause embarrassment, especially in a public setting. So, try to ask open-ended questions when possible, rather than Yes or No questions.
2. Watch and learn
A great deal of communication takes place on a non-verbal level. Therefore, to avoid cross-cultural misunderstandings, note other people’s body language, not just their choice of words.
According to research scientist Dr. Jeff Thompson, the key to reading body language is to consider the “3Cs” – context, clusters, and congruence.
Congruence refers to the alignment between what someone appears to be saying and what their body language suggests they are feeling. For instance, if a coworker says they are fine with the role they were assigned, but they have their arms crossed over their chest, you may want to ask follow-up questions. Or have a private conversation to ensure they are being open and honest with you.
The context is also important. For instance, different cultures vary in how comfortable people feel sharing their opinions or disagreeing with senior staff members in public settings, so you might want to seek opinions from team members in a private chat after the meeting.
Clusters are sets of gestures that appear together. For instance, someone who is angry might frown but also tense their shoulders and make fists with their hands. So, instead of judging someone’s mood based on their nervous hand movements, for example, you should look at their whole body language to understand how they might feel and what they aim to communicate.
3. Make allowances
Of course, non-verbal communication cues can vary across cultures too. Interpreting body language in multicultural teams is an area where some background knowledge can go a long way toward avoiding misunderstandings and building rapport.
For example, while direct eye contact is a sign of confidence in the West, it can be perceived as rude or confrontational in regions like Asia and the Middle East.
Professionals who frequently work with other cultures should use minimal hand gestures to avoid offense. While a head nod is a common way to signal affirmation or agreement across the world, in some cultures such as India and Bulgaria it can mean “No.”
Similarly, the word “yes” doesn’t always mean yes. People in the US, Europe, and other western countries usually say “yes” to mean they both understand what is being said and that they agree. However, in some Asian societies, “yes” can simply indicate that someone is listening to you, similar to an American saying “Uh huh”.
This can lead to a situation where one party believes the other is happy with a negotiation or instruction only to later discover that the case is completely the opposite. If you need an agreement for something important, get explicit confirmation that the listener indeed means “yes, I understand and agree.”
When it comes to physical distance, err on caution. Different cultures have varying ideas of personal space, and breaking the rules could leave people feeling uncomfortable. People from Latin cultures tend to stand closer than those from European or American societies.
However, even within Europe, expectations vary and Northern Europeans expect more personal space than people from Mediterranean cultures. The best advice is to get no closer than two feet and let the other person shorten the gap if that’s what they are used to.
Facial Expressions for emotions like joy, sadness, and anger are quite common to most, if not all of us. On the other hand, the degree to which they are permitted in a workplace setting can vary. The Japanese and Chinese, for example, prefer to keep their faces neutral to avoid affecting other people with their emotional states.
An awareness of high-context and low-context cultures can be invaluable to managers of multicultural teams and employees.
People from high-context cultures such as Brazil or Saudi Arabia use nonverbal communication to convey information more than those from low-context cultures. Rather than state everything relevant directly and explicitly, background information such as personal histories, social status, relationships, and cultural knowledge are used to communicate meaning.
For people from low-context cultures like Northern Europe or the US, the words are more important, and they prefer direct and clear communication.
The key to successful multicultural teams is not to assume everyone is communicating the same thing with their words and body language. Take some time to get used to the personal communication style and nonverbal vocabulary of your colleagues.
Make a conscious effort to observe and remember things like posture, proximity, tone of voice, and explicitness of words. You’ll gradually be able to learn to interpret what people are really saying.
4. Use multiple communication channels
Avoid cross-cultural communication issues by confirming that everyone is on the same page via multiple communication channels. For instance, follow up with employees after a meeting by restating the action points and agreed deliverables in an email. You can also send a direct message to a client following a phone conversation to establish what has been agreed upon.
If your multicultural team seems to be struggling during face-to-face meetings or video conferences, try using a technique known as the “silent meeting.” This strategy involves participants adding written notes and comments to a meeting agenda document before discussing any problem areas.
This can be particularly helpful if team members don’t share a common native language, as writing their thoughts down may be less intimidating for non-native speakers than sharing them out loud in a group.
5. Consider skills training
Cross-cultural communication is a learned ability, not an innate capacity. Expecting it to develop naturally could be storing up problems for the future. If you’re managing a multicultural team, you should consider investing in communication skills training.
Learning to effectively communicate with each other means they can forge stronger working relationships. Communication training programs have been found to boost team productivity by up to 25%.
In addition, if your team members have different mother tongues, corporate language training can be an invaluable resource. This helps them learn the vocabulary and grammar necessary to express themselves clearly, and they will also be able to understand colleagues, supervisors, and clients more confidently.
What’s more, an experienced native language tutor will be able to help employees understand how their cultural differences may affect their ability to communicate with their coworkers effectively.
Level up your cross-cultural communication skills today
Cross-cultural communication can be challenging, but with the right communication plan and policies in place, it can also enable your business to reap many rewards.
Improving your employees’ communication skills can pay dividends by creating a more empathetic, trusting, collaborative, and productive workforce.
At Preply Business, our team of experienced online tutors can design and deliver made-to-measure language programs for your multicultural team or organization.