Dilemma
Around 200,000 expats work in the Netherlands. Many companies also work together with employees abroad. This is essential to combat shortages in crucial sectors, but also entails challenges. Different cultures in the workplace can lead to miscommunication. How can you prevent that and use the diversity as an advantage?
Take a curious attitude
Jelke Schippers sees that working with people from other countries can lead to collisions every day in the workplace. As CEO of Smartshore, an IT company that builds software solutions for companies, he employs many people from India, who work in teams with Dutch colleagues. The employees from India are a golden hold, says Schippers. “In the Netherlands there is scarcity in the IT area, while there are many well-trained IT people in India.”
But that international cooperation does bring challenges. According to psychologist Sharon Blijd, connected to Psyned, cultural differences often express themselves in the way you are used to dealing with your colleagues. “For example, in many cultures, hierarchy is very important, people teach you to respect the person with authority. It follows that many people from other cultures Not Done Finding their boss, but we are used to that in the Netherlands. This can lead to complex situations. “
Schippers agrees. “Indians are quite respectful, while the Dutch are directly and dare to say to a customer or the boss that something is wrong.” That can cause annoyance. “We think that the Indian colleague does not say what it says, while that colleague thinks” I’m not going to burn your idea just like that. ”
The attitude towards time is also different, Schippers sees. “The Dutch find on time are very important, even if it is not necessarily necessary for the job. Indian colleagues have that less, but find it strange again if we clap our laptops punctually at 5 pm, even if the work is not yet finished. ”
The solution to avoid misunderstandings caused by cultural differences is to talk to each other, says Blijd. “It is important to discuss with each other how you approach things, what works and what doesn’t work, and what you are used to.” In such a conversation you can also make agreements about what you do to compliment someone if the work goes well, or to give someone feedback if the work can be better, advises.
“Unfortunately, such a conversation is not all places part of the organizational culture in a long way, but when it comes to diversity this is very important. Talk to each other, put you curious and investigate who is in your team and how you can get the job done together, taking into account the method of communicating colleagues. ” According to Blijd, it is the task of the manager to take the lead in this conversation, but employees can also contribute to it.
Make someone responsible
The decision to appoint international employees often comes from management, says Schippers. Employees are not always included in this, are often not waiting for it and may then have the idea that their international colleagues are split in their stomach. That counteracts Smartshore by telling employees why it is necessary to accept colleagues from India and to emphasize the benefits.
The collaboration is then monitored by a project leader within each team, says Schippers. “They are trained to recognize, solve and coach people.” That doesn’t have to be complicated. “It helps a lot to communicate carefully: ask targeted questions – for example, ask for three specific feedback points – and then also check whether someone has understood your request.”
Smartshore also regularly takes customers to India, to show where the Indian colleagues live and how they live, so that there is more understanding. “You have to do that continuously, because you often see that the relationship with the time becomes transactional. People forget that the doll on the screen is a real person. ”
Bringing the multicultural teams together is a challenge, says Schippers, but very worthwhile. “A team with only people who agree with each other is nice, but you don’t learn from that. Diversity will certainly benefit the quality of the work. ”
Finally, according to Blijd, it works well to undertake activities outside of work to get to know each other better and to understand. “Food connects. For example, organize a multicultural lunch, where everyone takes something from his or her country of origin or something they used to eat at home. Then the beautiful stories follow and so people come closer together. ”
So
There are misunderstandings in a multicultural team. Various customs and habits, for example with regard to getting on time or hierarchy in the workplace, can lead to friction and annoyance. But that can be solved by putting aside assumptions and discussing what colleagues find a pleasant working method and how they want to be managed. It also helps to make an experienced project manager responsible for international cooperation. Then someone is consciously busy with this theme and he or she can intervene quickly if there are any misunderstandings.