INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENHANCED RESEARCH IN MANAGEMENT & COMPUTER APPLICATIONS

VOL. 2 ISSUE 2, FEB.-2013 ISSN NO: 2319-7471

Effective Communication in a
Diverse Workplace
Ritu Rana
Programme Associate, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi, India
[email protected]

Abstract: Due to globalization, today’s work environment has become diverse as people from different cultures, religions and
backgrounds have come together. They bring with them, diverse skills, knowledge and expertise. They have their own views, ideas,
perceptions and opinions which are totally different from one another's as they all come from different walks of life. To succeed in a
multicultural society, an organization must value the differences of its workforce, respect the individuality of all employees and
maintain a climate in which everyone is treated with dignity. Everyone in business today needs to better understand other cultures, as
well as other age groups, gender groups, and lifestyle groups. All this can happen only if there is an effective communication among
all the employees, from top to bottom. This paper explains how important is it to have a diverse workforce, what difficulties could
come in the way of effective communication in such diverse workplaces and how to overcome these difficulties in an effective
manner.

Keywords: Diversity, Effective Communication, Globalization, Workplace, Strategy.

Introduction

Effective communication is an important part of business success. It becomes more important, and even complex, when the workforce
is multicultural, or, is diverse. Diversity makes good business sense in today's globalized world, so we cannot ignore it and cannot
limit our organization to a uni- cultural environment. Building a productive workplace with employees from many backgrounds can
enrich a company on many different levels—but it's not a process one can take for granted. Language barriers and cultural
misunderstandings can get in the way of effective communication and create complexities in the workplace, including problems with
safety. Let us see how we can overcome these complexities and can make a diverse workplace, a harmonious, enjoyable and creative
place to work. For this, we shall, first of all, understand how important is it for an organization to have a diverse workforce, how can
effective communication make difference within an organization, and how we can communicate effectively in a diverse workplace.

Importance of Diverse workforce

Businesses are recognizing the need and importance of investing in diversity and inclusion as part of their overall talent management
practices and to continually challenge their organizations to make the connection between those principles and their corporate
performance. Diversity is especially crucial in today’s global marketplace, as companies interact with different cultures and
clients. The payoffs touch every area of the business by potentially resulting in increased creativity, increased productivity, new
attitudes, new language skills, global understanding, new processes, and new solutions to difficult problems. Greater agility, better
market insight, stronger customer and community loyalty, innovation, and improved employee recruitment and retention. The
businesses that fail to see the importance of Diversity and inclusion might find themselves unable to attract and retain the kinds of
customers, employees, and business partners that constitute our changing world in 5 to 10 years. Among the advantages of diversity in
the workplace are:

1. Increased Productivity: Diversity and Inclusion brings in diverse different talents together working towards a common goal
using different sets of skills that ignites their loyalty and increases their retention and productivity
2. Increased creativity and Problem solving: With so many different and diverse minds coming together many more solutions
will arise as every individual brings in their way of thinking, operating and solving problems and decision making
3. Attract and Retain talent: that add a competitive edge to any organization. Feeling included and appreciated increases loyalty
and feeling of belonging. Language skills pool is increased and propels organization forward either to compete in the
International global world or to increase its diverse customer base
4. Help to build synergy in teams and enhances communication skills: that brings in new attitudes and processes that profit the
whole team
5. Applying the proper diversity and inclusion management strategies does not only save money on litigation expenses generated
by discrimination lawsuits but is the right thing to do for the business.
6. It increases market share and create a satisfied diverse customer base: by relating to people from different backgrounds. It
does propel the United States and its status to claim its place and success in the global business world of the 21 st century.

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 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENHANCED RESEARCH IN MANAGEMENT & COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
VOL. 2 ISSUE 2, FEB.-2013 ISSN NO: 2319-7471

An Internal Communications Strategy Makes a Difference

Within an organization, effective communication can make a difference by securing employee loyalty, improving or maintaining
employee morale, creating mutual respect, increasing trust between employees and management, reducing turnover, reducing
absenteeism, empowering employees, helping employees deal with change effectively, generating greater productivity, enabling the
organization to get through a crisis, and improving the bottom line.

Communication is the lifeblood of any organization. When communication breakdown occurs, organizational performance will suffer.
Poor communication is one of the top reasons why organizations fail or don't realize their potential. And while most organizations
have more communication tools than ever before the question remains, "Why are we having such a hard time communicating?" Good
communication practices help people at all levels in the organization improve their understanding of, and response to, the
organization's and each other's needs. It helps people make effective decisions that are aligned with the organizations' goals and
objectives. And, it can motivate performance by linking individual and team efforts with the bigger picture and by recognizing desired
behaviors and effort throughout the organization. When employees are poorly informed or communication is neglected, people
become cynical and lose their trust and respect for the organization and its leaders. As a result, they may consciously or
subconsciously undermine the success of the organization. At best, they will simply be hindered from reaching their potential or
performing in the best interests of the organization.

How often have you heard people say: "There was a communication break-down", "The problem was due to a mix up in
communication", "One hand just didn't know what the other hand was doing", and "It was a case of poor communication." How often
have you heard managers speak with frustration about good initiatives in their organizations that failed because employees were
cynical and skeptical of the intentions or the potential for results? Organizations will say employees are their greatest resource, but
often employees are bitter and demoralized – one of the outcomes of poor communication.

Poor top-down communication can result in employees failing to understand organizational expectations, initiatives, or directions,
which will result in a communication vacuum. Any time there is a gap in communications, it's likely it will be filled with speculation
and rumor, which can only hurt the bottom line.

Poor bottom-up communication deprives business leaders of information about customers, the impact of their policies and programs,
the effectiveness of their systems, as well as the opportunity to learn about simple changes that might improve performance.

Internal Communication Tools

In every organization, the internal communication tools are essentially the same. The difference is how the tools are used. Is there a
plan? Do you have clear objectives? Can you measure the effectiveness of your efforts? This is where a strategic approach to research,
analyze, communicate, and evaluate comes in. Part of developing a solid plan, is determining which communications vehicles are
appropriate for your message and your audience.

Table I: Internal Communication Tools and Their Employment

Communication Some common uses Top down- Bottom up- Lateral- management
tool management employee and/ or employee
driven driven driven
Employee Keep employees informed of business
publications- information, direction, progress and goals.
paper or electronic Encourage quality improvement,
increased efficiency, improved service and
greater social responsibility.
Information about company programs and
initiatives.
Recognize employees' achievements/
successes.
Employee Intranet Document philosophy, values, guiding
principles, history, awards, founders,
organizational successes.
Info on benefits, pension, profit sharing,
safety, recreation programs, training,
policies and procedures.
New employee orientation.

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VOL. 2 ISSUE 2, FEB.-2013 ISSN NO: 2319-7471

E mail Ongoing day- to- day communication.

Updates on important issues or changes.
Crisis communications.

Memos/ Letters Important announcements.

Employment agreements.
Documentation of policy or procedural or
other significant changes.

Inserts/ Enclosures Payroll stuffer or insert in publication.

Important notices regarding changes in
benefits or procedures or other significant
changes.

Large group Company vision.

meetings State of the nation address.
Major change initiatives.
Culture building.

Small group Team building.

meetings Work planning.
Status updates.

Bulletin board Upcoming events.

Notices about changes.
Promotion of company programs.

Social media Brand/ reputation management/ profile

announcements.
Crisis communications.
Conversation

Grapevine Fast and effective way to disseminate

information about company happenings
and issues.
Often inaccurate.

Video To promote brand.

For major organizational initiatives.
For training and orientation.
To celebrate milestones such as
anniversaries.

PowerPoint slides For major organizational initiatives.

For training.
To communicate the company vision/
mission/ goals.
To communicate benefits information.

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 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENHANCED RESEARCH IN MANAGEMENT & COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
VOL. 2 ISSUE 2, FEB.-2013 ISSN NO: 2319-7471

Webinars New initiatives/ programs.

Working meetings.
Information sessions.

Face- to- face Reinforcement of all communications

Displays/ Exhibits Highlight company or program

information.
Generate inquiries for more information.
Get feedback.
Recruit personnel.

Workplace Communication and Cultural Diversity (Overcoming the issues)

Cultural diversity is commonplace in businesses today, but it is important to ensure that your managers and employees are effectively
communicating when cultural differences exist. Poor communication practices create personal conflicts, missed deadlines, incorrect
goal assumptions and contribute to employee turnover. Really effective communication establishes trust and rapport, helps you to act
on risks and opportunities, and promotes productivity and alignment.

Language barriers are important to address because messages can easily be misconstrued. A worker may pretend to understand a
directive when they really don’t if they are embarrassed or frustrated with the language problem. There are many cultural differences
that affect communication and different ways of viewing them. One way is to consider context. High-context cultures are those that
rely less on verbal communication and more on nonverbal communication, actions and settings to find meaning. Japan, India and the
Middle East are examples of high-context cultures. Low-context cultures place a great deal of emphasis on verbal communication and
don’t pay as much attention to other contextual clues. Examples of low-context cultures are the US, the UK and Germany.

One thing to keep in mind when managing cross-cultural communications is to avoid stereotyping. Even though a culture may be
defined in a particular way, that doesn’t mean such things are true of each individual and regional differences are also key. An Asian
employee from Malaysia, for instance, has a very different background than someone from Japan.

Other cultural issues that affect communication in the workplace are roles and status, personal space and body language. The roles and
status of men and women, for instance, can affect how a male employee relates to a female supervisor or how comfortable a female
worker feels when addressed by a male manager.

It’s important for you to tailor your management according to such cultural differences by ensuring that communication is clearly
received and understood. One way is to use reflective listening, that is, have employees explain to you what it is that they understand
goals and objectives to be.

Other tools for improving cross-cultural communication:

1. Learn how different cultures best receive information. Some cultures don’t trust information that comes from a manager and
would rather take direction from a shop foreman or team leader. And employees differ in whether or not they appreciate praise
for their efforts in front of a group or in private.
2. Prepare all of your employees with cultural awareness and diversity programs. Teach empathy and mutual respect. Also provide
ongoing acculturation training to new employees so that they can truly understand your company’s overall culture: your goals
and the behavior you expect.
3. Assign mentors to employees so that integration is facilitated and employees have someone that understands them to turn to.
4. Avoid using slang, common jargon or metaphors when you address employees of different cultures. These can make no sense at
all to someone from a different culture.
5. Use graphics whenever possible in explaining goals and processes to employees of different cultures.
6. Ask for feedback but be prepared to use an intermediary if necessary.

“Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you,
For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be
opened to those who knock.” Matthew 7:7

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VOL. 2 ISSUE 2, FEB.-2013 ISSN NO: 2319-7471

The Twelve Secrets to Success

Acquire cultural knowledge by studying national cultures

Study role behaviors of different cultures relative to communication & decision making
Know and have an in-depth understanding of the language of context

Sell your ideas to your team

Engage in teaching active listening
Encourage impromptu and casual team interactions to build trust & respect
Know and have an in-depth understanding of the language of time

Know and have an in-depth understanding of the language of space

Negotiate from the proper cultural perspective
Open up to new ideas, be optimistic and appreciate cultural differences
Challenge yourself and your team by providing educational and training opportunities
Keep the faith and be patient!

Acknowledgment

I gratefully acknowledge Dr. Ajay Singh, my husband, for helping me and constantly motivating me to write this article. I am also
grateful to my other family members for being by my side and supporting me emotionally as- well- as economically.

Conclusion/Results

From the above discussion we can conclude that communicating effectively in a diverse workplace due to the recent rapid increase in
globalization can put a challenging job in front of the organization. Without effective internal communication in an organization, it is
just not difficult but is impossible for that organization to communicate with its external parties like customers, government, society,
suppliers, etc. leaving the organization becoming a failure. So, to be a successful organization with a diverse workforce a business firm
should concentrate on improving its internal communication and making it effective.
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