The most culturally diverse companies perform 36% better than the least diverse companies, according to McKinsey research. But diverse teams can only reach their peak if cultural competence is a priority.
Cultural diversity at work leads to teams making better decisions 87% of the time. That’s a huge difference in a company’s decision-making abilities. Plus, it has the potential for ripple effects throughout the business and into the outside world.
Culturally diverse companies also have better collaboration, innovation, and operations. All things that are key to getting ahead of your competitors, whatever industry you’re in.
So let’s take a deeper look at cultural competence: what it is, what the benefits are, and how you can improve cultural competence in your business.
What is cultural competence?
Cultural competence refers to a person or business’s ability to understand different cultures and their needs.
Key elements include empathy and understanding for people of different backgrounds and experiences.
Why does cultural competence matter for the global workforce?
Here are just some of the benefits of cultural competence for businesses:
Recruitment
Diversity is more important than ever to jobseekers. 76% now see it as important when picking an employer. 32% wouldn’t apply at all to a company that lacks diversity.
A lack of diversity within a business can make employees worry that they won’t be heard.
The less diverse a company is, the more likely it is to fall into the trap of groupthink. This makes it harder for employees to speak up, even if companies put diversity statements on their job applications. (Which, let’s face it, many just do because it’s a legal requirement in some countries).
If your organization lacks cultural competence, you won’t be able to attract the underrepresented talent your business needs to thrive.
Employee satisfaction
When employees are satisfied with their employer’s DEI efforts, they’re happier at work.
And when they’re happier at work, they can perform better and earn more money for your business.
Higher employee satisfaction, of course, also improves your retention rates. If employees are happy, why would they want to leave?
Despite this, 57% of employees feel their organizations could do more to increase diversity and cultural competence.
Innovation
One of the best ways to solve a challenging problem is to see it from a new point of view.
New hires offer a great way to get a fresh perspective on your business. But don’t underestimate the power of diversity within your existing team, either.
The way someone from the UK approaches a problem will be different from how someone from the US approaches the same challenge.
Every aspect of someone’s background can impact how they solve a particular problem. And that’s a good thing.
The more diverse perspectives you have, the more they can combine to make your business more innovative and forward-thinking, helping to future proof it in the age of AI.
How to improve cultural competence in your business
So, what can you do to improve cultural competence in the workplace?
Training
Training is one of the best ways to introduce new initiatives and educate employees. It can help them develop new ways of working and looking at the world. Which can go a long way towards helping them develop cultural competence.
It could be through a formal workshop, or it could come from things like written content, books, webinars, or podcasts.
The more options you offer for training, the more learning styles you can appeal to. This helps both with retention and attraction and shows that you really are committed to your DEI efforts.
Employee listening
The results of employee feedback surveys can be difficult to swallow. But they’re a vital way for you to spot problems before they become gaping chasms that seem monumental to fix.
Sending automated feedback surveys asking employees what they feel you could be doing better allows for an open dialogue about how your business operates and how you can create a strong company culture with high cultural competence.
If you’d like help sending your feedback surveys, why not get in touch? We can help you automate your employee feedback surveys and analyze the results so that you can collect more data and have more time to take action that supports your employees.
Get feedback
Employee listening is a crucial part of your feedback strategy. But so is managers actively asking for and collecting it from their employees. It’s important to not get complacent with things like diversity initiatives, as that’s when bias can creep back in.
If you really want to create a business with strong cultural competence, be sure to train your managers and employees on how to give and receive feedback.
Too often, there’s an assumption that people know how to do this. Giving feedback is all about clearly communicating positives and negatives. It’s not as easy to do effectively as it sounds.
Embody it
Understanding what cultural competence means is one thing. For it to truly happen in the workplace though, everyone within the business needs to live it.
This starts with managers setting an example, being aware of the differences between employees, and supporting their varying needs.
It’s also about taking action when employees provide feedback. You can’t just nod along and say you know there’s a problem but it’s too challenging to fix. This puts employees at risk of becoming disengaged because they feel like their problems don’t matter.
Conclusion
Cultural competence impacts every area of your business, from profits to recruitment and retention. It leads to better decision-making in almost every situation. And, it helps you attract better quality candidates who can further support your initiatives.
To make it work, you need to listen to employees and act on what they want and need from you.
You also need to ensure that all managers are trained in cultural competence—and don’t take it for granted.
Employees will be able to see when managers don’t have cultural competence, and when they’re not open to feedback. Ensuring everyone within a business knows how to give and receive feedback puts everyone on even footing. It helps create a workplace where everyone feels included, regardless of their background.
Ready to boost cultural competence in your organization? Workrowd has the tools you need. From automated feedback surveys to ERG management tools to real-time analytics dashboards, everything you need is just a click away.
Want to learn more? Visit us online or reach out directly at hello@workrowd.com.
