Tips on how to interact with diverse colleagues

• • Keep an open mind when collaborating with colleagues and treat each person as an individual, not a stereotype.

• • Search for common ground. People from different cultural backgrounds may have unusual ways of analysing issues or making decisions. To achieve a productive working relationship, keep the focus on the common objective.

• • Respect one another’s religious and cultural beliefs. For instance, recognise cultural holidays and plan meetings or events around prayer times so as not to disrupt proceedings.

• • Don’t ask double questions such as, “Do you want to carry on or shall we stop here?” as only one question may be understood in a cross-cultural situation.

• • When communicating with someone from a different culture, speak clearly and concisely, and avoid using slang or idioms. Many cultures also do not appreciate humour and jokes in a business setting.

• • Avoid negative questions and answers. For instance, in English we answer “yes” if the answer is affirmative and “no” if it is negative. In other cultures a “yes” or “no” may only indicate whether the questioner is right or wrong. For example, the response to “Are you not coming?” may be “yes”, meaning, “Yes, I’m not coming”.

• • In cultures that favour politeness over frankness, such as African and Asian cultures, it’s common for people to agree to do a task even when they don’t know what to do rather than ask for further instructions. By asking them to repeat your instructions, you’ll know if you need to get your message across differently. Politeness rather than frankness generally also means that you may find it difficult to have discussions and feedback.

• • Certain cultures have a flexible idea of time. When scheduling events, stress the importance of arriving at meetings on time and if someone is late, ask him or her why he or she is late rather than making assumptions.

• • Ask people how they want to be addressed. Referring to people by their first names may be disrespectful in some cultures.

• • Eye contact among Africans is traditionally observed between equals. Looking away or down is a sign of respect for a more senior or superior person.

• • Women supervising males and young people supervising older colleagues may need to be handled tactfully to avoid being culturally offensive.

• • Learn the different ways of greeting people. For instance, some women don’t shake hands but merely nod their heads. People also have various handshakes depending on their ethnicity. Farewell handshakes are generally only used when the person will be absent for a long time.

• • In African culture, it’s offensive not to spend a little time socialising. Avoid rushing past a colleague to keep an appointment or rushing through a meeting to be somewhere else.

Sources
Macleod, G. 2002. Cultural considerations in South African Business. Spearhead, New Africa Books (Pty) Ltd
www.beyond.com
www.fasset.org.za