Cultural Diversity
How do I guide my team to become conscious about the importance of understanding cultural diversity and be sensitive to differences in the Spanish language as well as the way people interact?
I BELEIVE THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP WORKSHOPS RELATED TO THAT TOPIC. EVERY EMPLOYEE MUST HAVE SOME KIND OF INFORMATION RELATED TO CULTURAL DIVERSITY. A GOOOD RESOURSE COULD BE AN ONLINE TRAINING LIKE THIS ONE.
I agree Maricelly. Helping employees develop sensitivity to peoples differences is an important piece in learning to connect with others in more meaningful ways.
I would suggest as the others have said is a workshop or training. Give them homework to interact with people with a diverse background and practice listening skills as to not misinterpret what someone is saying. Also go over some common cultural nuances that a target culture may have. For example, if you are talking to someone from Europe it is always rule of thumb to never talk about a specific sports team. They are very dedicated and invested in their teams and can become very offended if you mention a rival team. I have actually seen this in action. A prospect just got up an walked away, stating that he would never purchase anything from that teams fan.
Being sensitive to cultural differences is critically important when working with students. Sharing experiences with one another can be extremely helpful. What type of training have you participated in to increase your cultural awareness?
I have found that it helps to keep a on going training on culture awareness. For example I asked guess speakers to come into our trainings to speak of their particular culture. For example i can relate to the Latino culture, it is very important for them to have the family involved as part of their decision making. No matter what age, this is a fact on the Latin Culture. Another way is have each rep pick a Country that they had to no clue on their culture, and have them do some research about them and put it into a presention and give on our Friday Trainings. Does any one have any other ideas??
These are great ideas, Gladys. I get the sense that you use your own experiences to help improve awareness with your team. In addition to that, I love the fact that you empower your team to learn more about other cultures and share with their colleagues what they've learned. How has this helped your staff in their interactions with students?
I think you can guide your team to be conscious about the importance of cultural diversity by, as I'm sure you have already done, learning all you can about that culture and sharing that info with your team as needed and during training sessions.
One of the best ways I have found to gather information about a specific culture is to get to know two to three individuals from that group and tactfully share info back and forth with them. If you let them know that you are doing this in order to become more knowledgeable about them, that you might be of greater service to them, my experience has been they are more than willing to share openly and honestly with you.
Duane, thank you for sharing. It sounds like you have done this before. By doing this, you are also setting the example for your team to learn more about other cultures.
Shannon Gormley
I agree with this method. Different cultures have different communications styles. Some styles seem to be abrupt or to the point where others you may have to read between the lines.
Janet, thanks for adding to this discussion. It sounds like you may have experienced these different communication styles. The idea here is to then tailor your communication style to match or mirror that of the other person. This will help create a collaborative environment where the other person feels comfortable.
Shannon Gormley
I couldnt agree more! It is not only important to learn about culture diversity but also to be able to adapt to the flow of the conversation and implement the right tone increases the opportunity to make the connection with the student.
Thank you for your insight Giovanni. It sounds like you would try to match the tone in order to start to build rapport while taking into consideration the cultural differences. Do I have that right?
Dr. Jean Norris
Within our organization, we have a few spanish speaking reps... it may be helpful for these reps to share their weekly experiences with other staff members, says, during weekly reps meetings. Just to go over the concerns/issues that spanish speaking reps may encounter during a visit with a spanish speaking visitor... i.e. language barrier issues, familial issues, decision making issues/challenges, etc.
Sherri,
This is a great idea! It sounds like a great opportunity for the rest of the team to offer some solutions/options if the information is shared.
Dr. Jean Norris
That has been very helpful to me, as we have many students from various parts of Africa, that attend our school. It has been so informative to get to know about this country and its people to help me communicate better with them. It really helps them to relax and open up if I know a little about where they come from and know what their challenges are.
That's a great point Kelly. This is just another way that you can build rapport with your students.
Dr. Jean Norris
This is wonderful. My place of work does not reach out to the spanish speaker. The reason being we offer classes that are only in English and each student must demonstrate a English speaking level to attend our University. To speak to the bigger picture of cultural diversity, a whole different approach is necessary. Our hiring managers would need to intentionally seek more diverse staff. Instead of hiring people just like ourselves, we would look for the beauty of diversity. Likewise, discussions and trainings of the importance of cultural diversity that facilitiate cultural competance is needed.
Ashley ,
You bring up a great point! It sounds like a good conversation for you to have with your manager and hiring team.
Dr. Jean Norris
