Introduction.
What is Cultural Awareness?
Cultural awareness refers to the appreciation and awareness about other cultures apart from your own. It increases the sensitivity and compassion for all sections of people in a professional setting.
Why Should A Company Arrange For A Cultural Awareness Training Program?
Cultural awareness training programs help to bridge the cultural gap between different employees of the same office. An ethical institution includes people from all ethnical regions.
The cultural awareness training program will increase the sensitivity and tolerance amongst employees. Workplace harassment regarding cultural sentiments can be avoided.
How to Design And Deploy A Perfect Cultural Awareness Program?
To design a perfect cultural awareness program, these are the steps one should follow.
The Company’s Culture Consultant Should Educate The Employees About Cultural Appreciation.
Cultural appreciation refers to the act of genuinely relishing cultures from all over the world. Cultural appreciation and a friendly work environment is only possible when the employees are well educated about these matters. You should hire a company culture consultant who will inform every member of the business about cultural sensitivity.
You Can Only Appreciate Other Cultures When You Are Aware And Informed About Your Own.
To appreciate other people’s culture you should be aware of your own. You should make an endeavor to learn about your own culture in depth so that you can inform and make other people aware. A person who appreciates and relishes their own culture and ethnicity usually has an affinity for other cultural groups as well.
Any Myths Or Stereotypes Surrounding A Particular Cultural Group Should Be Broken.
We are all well aware of the stereotypes that are attached to certain cultural groups. These myths and stereotypes are not necessarily true in this century. However the myths that haven’t been busted might hurt the sentiments of your peers. You should learn in depth about their culture before making a comment or speaking about it.
Is Your Business or Office Inclusive?
Cultural groups not only refer to ethnical diversity but also gender diversity, regional diversity and breaking language barriers. You should make sure that your office is a safe space for people of all sections. Gender inclusiveness, equality irrespective of sexual orientation, cultural diversity and disability inclusion serve as the foundation of a good company.
- You Should Respect The Values And Morals Of All Cultural Groups.
- The Dress Code Of The Company Should Serve As The Live Example Of Inclusion.
While most companies have a strict dress code for the employees it is important that this dress code does not violate cultural sentiments. For example turbans and hijabs are sacred garments worn by several cultural groups.
Wearing religious apparel is an extremely personal choice. No company should ever impose a dress code that violates this basic right.
No Interference Or Reference Of One’s Culture Should Be Made In An Office Or Professional Setting.
Religious and cultural discussions should be kept to personal settings and not brought inside the office environment. If any reference makes an employee uncomfortable the perpetrator should be questioned and quizzed thoroughly.
Strict rules and guidelines should be set about the boundary of discussions within the office. A cross cultural trainer Will be able to inform the employees about this subject.
Celebration Of Each Festival With Vigour Is Another Way Of Establishing Cultural Appreciation In Your Business Office.
The company should celebrate each festival with vigour and joyful stop this will inculcate the habit of cultural appreciation within the office setting.
However if it is not possible to celebrate innumerable occasions then leaves should be made available for each individual. You can grant leaves to your employees for their main festivals. This goes without saying that the holidays should follow a particular time bracket.
You Should Make Sure That Your Employees Get Used To Their Foreign Colleagues.
Lingual differences are common in any office setting. However, we should make sure that our foreign colleagues feel comfortable in the office. Talk slowly so that they can catch your words effectively. Apart from this you should also be enthusiastic about learning from them.
You Should Respect The Time Zones Of Other Countries If You Are Working Remotely.
Another great way of showing cultural inclusiveness is respecting the time zones of your foreign colleagues. You should not expect them to work during their night shifts or night if they did not sign up for it in the first place. They should work according to their country’s time zone. This ensures that cultural appreciation is maintained in the office.
Employing cultural assessment tools might also help you to know about different cultural groups.
Summary.
Cultural awareness is essential to facilitate the communication between foreign colleagues and native ones. This also ensures that the work environment is a peaceful and harmonious one. You should inculcate cultural intelligence amongst your workers to avoid any kind of harassment in your office setting.
Employees are the face of any company and harmony between the different faucets or branches in the company facilitate the expansion of your business.