The Importance of International Communication Strategies

Companies with an international presence recognize the importance of cultural training for their employees and measure their success abroad by the level of “cultural ease” their workforce demonstrates. But with the needs of modern workforces trending toward a more diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment, the level of employee training needed is expanding.   

Organizations like Hansa One are meeting these new global challenges by taking a deeply strategic approach to cultural training through their comprehensive intercultural training and coaching series, Select Skills ™.  

“Assuming that all cultures operate the same or are compatible in their approach to work is a mistake,” says Andrew Miziniak, CEO of Hansa One Corporation. “We should work to teach our workforce to be compatible through understanding and help them acclimate, instead of just focusing on what to do and not do.” 

Emphasizing communication as a pathway to compatibility, the Select Skills ™ series promotes a departure from this standard cultural approach of “do this and don’t do this” to a more holistic approach that encourages a deeper understanding among differing cultures. With this training, making cultures compatible through understanding can lead to a more inclusive and diverse workplace environment – and a more successful global presence overall. 

According to Miziniak, the skills needed to go global are very different from the skills needed to stay global – and staying global requires a more introspective path to engagement. 

“How do I tell my manager from India that I want my report back on time without a conflict? How do I correct someone's behavior without having turbulence? How do I engage someone?... We're focusing on a person's ability to self-reflect, to gain some insight about themselves. How do their values drive their attitudes that drive their behaviors? Ultimately, ‘going global’ tools can also include very strong analysis on a culture structure, whether or not a culture is, for example, egalitarian or hierarchical, whether or not they're transactional or more interpersonal, direct or indirect,” says Miziniak. 

With a deeper cultural understanding, trust naturally follows, creating increased ‘cultural ease’ for the employee. By following the objectives of the Select Skills ™ series, a company can attain their goal of being a wholly global organization: 

• Recognizing differences in communication norms among cultures 
• Minimizing time lost in misunderstandings, miscommunications, escalations and misperceptions 
• Being globally minded instead of internationally minded 
• Using strategies for working in multi-national teams 
• Learning how the target group communicates, manages and works to achieve goals 
• Illuminating participant’s own behavioral/communication norms and styles stemming from their national culture or group, work environment and personal profile 
  

Learn More about Hansa One’s Select Skills ™series