Manage HR Magazine | Friday, November 10, 2023
‘They didn’t say anything!’ This is probably the most common phrase I hear when working with clients who have hit a blocker when implementing their change initiative.
A team has been tasked to consult and gather feedback across all impacted countries to plan for the implementation of this change (new technology or a new process or a new structure or any other change). They run workshops and brainstorm sessions. They gather the input which is then fed into the implementation plan. Sounds familiar? This is how most organisations gather feedback.
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The challenge is that not everyone is able to or comfortable with providing input in the same way due to their cultural background. Here are things to consider to ensure you get input from everyone.
Who is asking for the input?
In some cultures, it is not appropriate to challenge authority. If someone senior asks a more junior person, they may not feel comfortable voicing their opinion. It may be more effective for a peer to ask for this input.
How is it asked?
In some cultures, it is not appropriate to voice an opinion in a group context. Groups are a place to inform and take in information. It is not a place to debate or brainstorm, this would be perceived as disrupting harmony. In this cultural context it is more effective to provide information in the meeting and let people reflect on it. After a few days ask individually for their feedback in one-to-one conversations.
Are you listening?
The way to communicate opinions vary widely across the globe. Some cultures are direct in their communication which can be perceived as aggressive/ blunt by others. Other cultures are indirect in their communication which can mean that others don’t hear their message. When working across cultures it is crucial to understand the different communication styles to be able to get input from all. Let’s say you are looking for input on different processes. A direct communicator will likely say ‘the first process won’t work because … the second process works because …’. An indirect communicator may stay silent on the process they think doesn’t work but will say that ‘the second process is ok’. The silence on the first process is feedback in itself and this is what you need to lookout for.
Any experienced change manager will tell you that not gathering input from all relevant stakeholders will lead to challenges at implementation stage. Very often it means having to retrofit solutions or going back to square one which is a costly consequence.
Cultural differences are not the prerogative of global change programmes. Domestic cultural differences are also significant and need to be accounted for, to ensure that your implementation plan is not only built on the feedback gathered from people with similar cultural norms.
Building capability to work cross-cultures has never been as crucial to the success of change programmes. Investing in developing the cultural intelligence of your team will save your change programme time and money.
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