| Home / Company / News / The Linkage Leader / Archive /
|
| |
|
Adopting and
Adapting: A Global Approach to Inclusion Training
Michael C. Hyter
President & CEO, Novations Group, Inc.
In a strategic effort to make the transition from U.S.-based businesses to global organizations, many American corporations have “exported” diversity and inclusion initiatives as a way to foster work environments where everyone, no matter where in the world, can fully develop and express their talent. In addition to the logistic flexibility required to deliver training sessions in multiple languages and across many locations, two significant challenges tend to be present when implementing diversity training programs at a global level: 1) an initial, overriding resistance to U.S.-based initiatives being “imposed” abroad and 2) the impact of cultural differences on the way diversity and inclusion are perceived. Adopting company-wide diversity training strategies that are broad enough to have impact and relevance at a global level, and adapting them to accommodate local issues and perspectives, are critical steps in overcoming those obstacles.
Diversity: “That
American Thing”
In most places—whether it’s Europe, South America or the Far East—it is common to find negative responses to diversity training among employees and leaders, ranging from distrust and skepticism to lack of interest and commitment. Often, these corporate initiatives are originated in the U.S., and then the mandate goes out globally that everyone must get on board with inclusion; but the business rationale is seldom stressed. When faced with such a mandate, participants in international training sessions usually believe they will be spending their time discussing racial issues that are not reflective of their reality, but few of them think about the strategic bottom line connection to having an environment where everyone can develop their full potential. Once that case is established, global audiences are engaged and eager to learn.
Acknowledging (and helping participants acknowledge) local diversity issues is also fundamental in combating the “Americanism” of the inclusion message. In cultures where males traditionally dominate business activities, for instance, people may have difficulty realizing the extent of exclusion around gender in the workplace, even in a training room where only three of thirty participants are women. A broad approach to diversity, one that goes well beyond race or ethnicity and includes categories that are relevant to the local culture, helps people make a personal connection to diversity and understand that inclusion is really for everyone.
Absolute and credible support from local senior managers and from the organization as a whole is also critical to making diversity training effective around the world. In companies that successfully develop a global—rather than U.S.-based—organizational culture, people tend to be more open-minded about the nature and purpose of policies and practices originated abroad. This kind of environment allows local senior managers to trust and commit to global initiatives, and serve as role models for their entire populations. Communicating their support by being present at diversity training sessions and stressing their experiences and belief in the program helps reduce people’s reluctance to explore diversity issues and creates an effective learning environment.
Making Inclusion Make Sense
What is the right content for a global inclusion training session? To answer this question, it is critical to uncover what inclusion means at each particular location. While people in many American corporations have been exposed to some kind of diversity and inclusion training, and are ready to move on to the next level, the concept of inclusion in the workplace is rather new to various cultures. People in business settings in China, for example, have just recently started to talk about the impact of diversity. The Spanish equivalent of the word inclusion is so newly related to the business world that some corporate offices in South America have opted to refer to it as “participación.” It is essential to assess each location’s readiness for inclusion training, and adapt the content and the language accordingly in order to ensure that the global diversity message remains intact. Often this adaptation includes more than just translating the program into the local language.
Then, it’s important to examine what inclusion looks like in terms of actions, and customize the content to ensure participants will develop skills and set behavioral standards that are applicable and in agreement with the local cultural values. Giving feedback to someone who is older, or challenging the opinions of people in power, for instance, can be viewed as disrespectful behaviors in many cultures where status is earned by age and experience. Teaching employees and managers to use feedback and open communication as tools to foster inclusion in the workplace might be not only impractical, but proscribed in such countries. Finding alternative competencies that better fit the local cultural styles (influencing skills, for example) is key to prevent this disconnect.
Despite the differences in latitude, language and culture, something that corporate offices around the globe have in common are business goals. Global diversity training is therefore most effective when focused on creating an environment where people can contribute to their full potential and achieve the required levels of performance and productivity. Emphasis should be placed in helping people view diversity as a source of richness rather than a source of tension for the organization, and encouraging dialogue and strategic thinking oriented towards achieving common business outcomes.
Best Practices in Global Diversity Training:
1. Clearly communicate the business case for diversity training.
2. Enlist the support of local leaders.
3. Gear the training to the needs of the local audience—e.g., awareness raising, skill-building.
4. Use locally relevant examples and case studies.
5. Include strategies that are culturally appropriate.
6. Have translations completed (or at least) reviewed by someone familiar with the nuances of the location’s language and culture.
Access
FREE articles/Link&Learn Archives
Receive
announcements and special discounts about upcoming Linkage programs and
products
Subscribe/Unsubscribe
to Link&Learn OR mail to:
editor@linkageinc.com
This issue of Link&Learn was published
in December 2007,
by Linkage,
Inc. (http://www.linkageinc.com). Please direct copyright
and additional questions
and comments to
editor@linkageinc.com |
| |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Training
Programs:
Getting
Things Done: A Path to Personal Productivity
offered in exclusive partnership
with The David Allen Company
January 29, 2008 | Boston, MA
March 4, 2008 | Boston, MA
March 31,2008 | San Francisco, CA
The Getting Things Done
Certification Program
offered in exclusive partnership
with The David Allen Company
February 5-7, 2008 | Washington DC
March 5-7, 2008 | Boston, MA
What
Got You Here Won't Get You There with Marshall Goldsmith
January 31, 2008 | San Francisco, CA
March 18, 2008 | New York , NY
Introduction
to
Organizational Development
January 30-31, 2008 | Boston, MA
March 17-18,2008 | Chicago, IL
Strategic Thinking
February 12-13, 2008 | Boston, MA
Designing and Implementing Leadership Development Programs
February 12-13, 2008 | Chicago, IL
April 24-25, 2008 | Boston, MA
Summits
and Institutes:
The
Best
of
Organizational
Development
Summit
May 13-15,
2008 | Chicago,
IL
The
Summit on Blended Learning
May 13-18, 2008 | Chicago, IL
The
Summit on
Leading Diversity
April 28-30,
2008 | Atlanta,
GA
The
Global Institute
for
Leadership
Development
Oct. 12-17
2008 | Palm
Desert, CA
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Event
Calendar
