Jul 16

Implementing a Global 360° Feedback Process across Cultures: Will it Really Work?

Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources No Comments »

360° feedback is one of the most widely used performance management strategies in global organisations today.  In fact, research shows that approximately 90% of all Fortune500 companies use some kind of 360° feedback technique.  One of the fundamental objectives of any 360° feedback is to improve the individual performance of employees in line with the organisation’s global priorities and requirements.

The principle of running an evaluation process to review and improve an employee’s performance is an important one, however the way this process is carried out may or may not be effective depending on where and how it is implemented.  Organisations looking to harness the benefits of effective global leadership and management must consider the cultural factors that can negatively influence a performance management process of this kind.

Business Writing Viorika Prikhodko i Implementing a Global 360° Feedback Process across Cultures: Will it Really Work?

© istockphoto.com/Viorika Prikhodko

So what is a 360° feedback process?

Before we explore what may or may not work across cultures, let’s first make sure we understand what a 360° feedback process is.  The process of using 360° feedback consists of providing an employee with feedback from different internal and external perspectives, in other words, it looks at feedback from a full 360° circle.  Each individual is objectively evaluated by colleagues both above and below their level as well as external counterparts to ensure a complete picture of their performance.

Once a combination of quantitative and qualitative feedback is collected, individuals will go through a series of review meetings to discuss the feedback and identify areas for improvement or reward.  During these 360° feedback review meetings the employee and their manager will share feedback, both positive and constructive, in order to highlight specific short and long-term actions to improve their performance.

What are the potential problems?

So what makes the implementation of a global 360° feedback process so difficult in a multicultural environment?

In many individual, task-oriented and egalitarian cultures like the US, UK, Finland or Germany, 360° feedback processes such as this can be very well received and effective.  In more collective, relationship-oriented and hierarchical cultures, this evaluation system is often extremely ineffective.  Although people from cultures like India, Spain and China will go through the process if required, the feedback collected and results of the meetings will not always be an accurate representation of the individual in question.

The assumption that feedback is welcomed and viewed as constructive is sometimes a one sided cultural perception.  In fact, people from collective cultures like those in Asia will often avoid criticism and refrain from negatively assessing an individual’s performances for fear of hurting the group harmony and causing loss of face.  This is particularly the case if the feedback is being requested by someone more senior than them, especially in cultures where hierarchy plays a key role in business and social interactions.

Asking for feedback from direct reports and superiors is just one cultural challenge of the 360° feedback process.  Sharing the feedback with the individual can be equally, if not more, challenging.  People from collective cultures like China may perceive the information as negative and embarrassing and may as a result feel isolated and depreciated in the workplace.  People from individually-oriented cultures like the US value honesty and since they believe that they have considerable control over their own behaviours and outcomes, they value direct feedback which will help them to improve their performance.

Cross-cultural challenges of 360° feedback

When you combine the potential cultural challenges of requesting and giving feedback with certain cultural attitudes without adapting the approach, you may waste considerable time and effort on a process that will not give you the desired results.

Here are two specific examples of how a 360° feedback process can be challenging across cultures:

  • Where the process is implemented directly from a culture like the US to a hierarchical and relationship oriented culture like India, you may have problems collecting valid feedback which is truly reflective of employee performance in that location.
  • Where the process is implemented between two people of opposing cultural approaches, such as in the case of a British manager and Thai subordinate, there is a risk of not only failing to collect legitimate feedback but also of causing offence and damaging the relationship.

How can we improve 360° feedback across cultures?

With the right cultural understanding and effective global leadership skills, there are many things that global managers can do to ensure the successful use of this evaluation system.  Here are a few simple ideas:

  • Amend the process so the upwards feedback is guaranteed to be anonymous
  • Make sure that you know what to ask for and be specific and clear in your requests
  • Clarify what kind of information you want to get and explain how you expect the feedback to be received or acted upon
  • Define the different grades on the scale to avoid initial misunderstandings and diverse interpretations
  • Ask your employees how they interpreted the feedback to check the accuracy of the assessment and whether the action plan correctly addresses the issue
  • Be a live example of how feedback should be shared and used

Despite the challenges that a 360° feedback process may present across cultures, organisations that take into consideration the cultural factors will see a significant difference.  Not only will they get the information they want but they will develop a pool of talented employees with a high level of performance and enhance positive interpersonal relationships among employees.  Considering how this process is impacted in a different cultural context will also help organisations to reduce confusion around expectations, motivate their employees’ professional and personal growth and improve everyone’s job performance.

Implementing a 360° feedback process can offer great results around the world, but only when culture is taken into account right from the outset.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2012

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Sep 21

The Shifting Leadership – How to Harness the Benefits of a Multicultural Workforce

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

The appearance of international leaders coming from what Westerners usually call the “emerging countries” is creating new trends in the globalisation phenomenon. Once dominant companies are now being bought by Chinese, Brazilian or Indian companies and managers are increasingly recruited from these and other countries, creating new intercultural challenges.

Business People walking urbancow i1 The Shifting Leadership – How to Harness the Benefits of a Multicultural Workforce

© istockphoto.com/ Urban Cow

 

The merger between Arcelor and Mittal in 2006 is perhaps one of the best examples of this new trend. Arcelor, a powerful western steel company was bought by Mittal, an Indian steel manufacturing consortium owned by the Indian businessman Lakshi Mittal. This transaction faced heavy resistance and the French, Spanish and Belgian governments expressed their opposition alongside most of the Arcelor board members. Guy Dollé, the Chief Executive of Arcelor at the time, even described Mittal as a mere “company of Indians”.

This international merger shows us the difficulty many westerners have in accepting the fact that tomorrow’s decisions makers, managers and leaders will not only be German, British and North American but also increasingly Chinese or Indian. As these new international managers come onto the scene, they will bring with them their own unique cultural values and working practices which can be quite different to what most westerners are used to.

Perceptions of time, orientations toward hierarchy, approaches to decision-making or styles of communication are all elements of business which will be different. For employees of global organisations, having managers from different cultures means they could face intercultural challenges they may not have experienced before. Providing them with intercultural training courses before the new manager takes the role will help them to understand their managers’ style and expectations while it will also improve their ability to adapt to these new working styles. Failure to understand or adapt to another intercultural style may result in misunderstandings, conflict or poor performance.

Managers from countries like China or India coming to manage employees in the UK or Germany will face similar intercultural challenges. Understanding what their teams expect of them and knowing how to motivate, lead and manage them effectively requires a high level of cultural understanding and knowledge. Intercultural training provides managers with specific intercultural strategies and appropriate management tools that will help them achieve success in their different global projects.

Providing international employees and managers access to specific intercultural training programmes like Working Effectively across Culturesor Effective Global Leadership is crucial for global organisations employing multicultural teams or managers from other cultures. Enhancing the intercultural awareness and understanding of employees and their managers will not only reduce cultural misunderstandings and conflict but it will create a good working atmosphere allowing organisations to harness the benefits that their multicultural population brings.

With intercultural training, organisations such as ArcelorMittal can look towards joint ventures or M&As with other cultures more favourably so that Guy Dollé’s quote about the ‘company of Indians’ would instead be seen as a positive force rather than a negative one.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Apr 20

Challenges of Doing Business in the UAE

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »
Dubai shao weiwei i Challenges of Doing Business in the UAE

© istockphoto.com/ShaoWeiwei

 

Combining the strengths of seven individual states, the United Arab Emirates takes each state’s unique histories and identities to form an innovative, modern and vibrant state. The UAE balances its commitment to forward thinking and modernisation with a strong Islamic tradition, however this can often present challenges for those doing business in the United Arab Emirates without an understanding of the culture.

Cross Cultural Training Middle East programmes such as Doing Business in the UAE will help employees in your organisation raise their level of awareness and understanding of the differences and challenges of doing business in the UAE. The following are some of the major challenges of doing business in the UAE.

Communication Style
Communication styles vary across the world, from country to country and region to region. This can be challenging for organisations operating outside their home country. Organisations doing business in the UAE must be aware of some of the communication differences they will come across. For instance, the multiple meanings of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ may differ greatly from their own cultures. The level of formality and directness in the United Arab Emirates may also be hard to adapt to.

Islam
While the UAE is an increasingly modern state, especially in relation to its Gulf State neighbours, religion still stands at the centre of Emirati culture and society. Islam plays a crucial role in people’s everyday lives, in the office and outside. Islamic customs should be observed and the effects of the Islamic religion on business interactions must be respected when doing business in the UAE.

Attitude to time
In comparison with Europe and the US, timekeeping is viewed with a far more relaxed attitude in the UAE. Meetings, for instance, will often run over, start late or be cancelled at the last minute without any warning. Another important difference in business culture in the United Arab Emirates is that the working week is different from that of Christian countries, running from Saturday to Wednesday, with the ‘weekend’ covering the Muslim Sabbath.

Hierarchy
Hierarchy remains a very important concept that you should consider when doing business in the UAE. It is essential to respect people’s titles and position in society. Most businesses have a top-down hierarchy, with one important individual making most of the decisions.

The UAE is modernising rapidly but traditional Muslim practices are still at the heart of Emirati society. Organisations doing business there must understand the balance between the new and the old. Participating in a cross cultural training programme for business management such as Communicaid’s Doing Business in the UAE will help you develop strategies for operating effectively in the UAE thereby enhancing your organisation’s success.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Apr 07

Challenges of Doing Business in Singapore

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources No Comments »
Asian Lantern espion i1 Challenges of Doing Business in Singapore

© istockphoto.com/espion

 

A top destination for business, Singapore is known worldwide as a prosperous, modern and efficient country. Regularly heralded for its thriving economy, high standards of management and ease for doing business, Singapore is rightly seen as an attractive area for investment. In fact, according to the Singapore Economic Development Board, Singapore is the easiest country in the world to do business.

It is clear that doing business in Singapore offers immense benefits for international organisations and it may therefore be easy to assume that doing business in Singapore comes without cultural challenges. However, there are a number of key cultural stumbling blocks that could result in huge costs to the organisation if overlooked.

Cross-cultural awareness training programmes such as Doing Business in Singapore help organisations ensure those working in Singapore understand the cultural challenges and develop a set of strategies for overcoming these differences. The following are five of the key cultural differences international organisations face when setting up or doing business in Singapore.

Relationships – Being heavily influenced by Asian philosophies, Singapore places emphasis on the importance of creating good relationships with others before doing business with them. This is often an unrushed process as Singaporeans are cautious and like to make sure they are doing business with someone they can trust. When doing business in Singapore remember that investing time in creating strong bonds initially is likely to benefit you in the long run. A Doing Business in Singapore cultural awareness programme will help organisations understand how to establish a good and genuine relationship with Singaporean counterparts to demonstrate capabilities and good character.

Harmony – Somewhat tied into Singaporean concepts of relationships, harmony refers to a value promoting the good of the group over that of the individual. At the core of this focus is the family, which is held in high regard in Singapore. Although the concept of harmony is quite a collectivist sentiment, Singapore is quite unique in the fact that it can also be quite individualistic in some ways, for example in its competitive nature.

Chinese businesswoman 6 zhudifeng i 200x300 Challenges of Doing Business in Singapore

© istockphoto.com/zhudifeng

East meets West – A relatively young country, Singapore draws influences from both East and West and is positioned well to do business equally successfully with both. The most developed country in Southeast Asia, it seamlessly strikes a balance between traditional and modern, Eastern philosophy and Western technology. Similarly, Singapore is quite unique in the way it embodies both collectivist and individualistic sentiments. It is at the same time deeply respectful of ancestors and fiercely competitive, direct in some ways, indirect in others. A Doing Business in Singapore cross cultural programme will help enlighten those unfamiliar with the intercultural influences as to how Singapore manages to maintain seemingly contradictory ideals.

Face – When communicating with Singaporeans, it is wise to pay attention to the protection of “face.” Face is closely linked with personal pride and forms the basis of an individual’s social status and reputation. In order to avoid losing face, Singaporeans control their behaviour and emotions in public and do not criticise directly. When doing business in Singapore, it is wise to remember that damaging face through overt confrontation or criticism can be destructive to hierarchy and disastrous for business relationships.

No common identity – Singapore’s diverse population is one of its strengths. Singaporeans are predominantly of Chinese, Malay or Indian ethnicity and due to an open immigration policy, one in three people living in Singapore have come from abroad. However, to be successful when doing business in Singapore, it is important to fully appreciate and understand the many different customs and traditions which impact Singaporean business culture and etiquette.

Recognising the cultural differences which exist when doing business in Singapore is only the first step. International organisations must also understand the what, why and how behind them to develop effective strategies for appreciating and benefiting from the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Singaporean society. A Doing Business in Singapore programme will help the organisation maximise the immense opportunities of doing business in Singapore and ensure they understand the subtleties of Singaporean business and social culture on all levels. Furthermore, the Doing Business in Singapore programme will also help develop an interculturally competent workforce, giving the organisation a huge advantage in this fiercely competitive global world.

©  Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Dec 21

Coming Home: The Hidden Challenges of Repatriation

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Human Resources No Comments »

The thought of returning home after an international assignment usually creates a variety of mixed emotions for international assignees.  The excitement of seeing family and friends, anxiety about how they might be accepted professionally and personally and feelings of sadness about leaving the life they created abroad are all symptoms of reverse culture shock that many international assignees face upon repatriation.

Most people underestimate the potential challenges of readjusting to life back home.  In fact, studies show that repatriation is often the most difficult phase of the international assignment process and that reverse culture shock often affects both professional and personal reintegration.

Major professional challenges may involve the:

• Lack of recognition of improved professional skills
• Lack of an appropriate professional role
• Challenge of integrating into a potentially different organisational culture

On a personal level, international assignees often:

• Have unrealistic expectations of life at home and how it has changed
• Make false assumptions about how easily they will be able to fit back in
• Have difficulty supporting family members experiencing reverse culture shock

Studies show that over 40% of returnees leave their companies within one year of their return.  This has serious direct and indirect cost implications for the company.

Repatriation Training can help international assignees anticipate the challenges of returning home and develop strategies for dealing with them. Repatriation training provides international assignees an understanding of what has changed in their home country, tips for dealing with reverse culture shock and support from an expert to understand the hidden challenges of returning home.  Organisations can also benefit from providing cross-cultural training programmes for relocation to international assignees as it will help them harness their new skills and experience and ensure they have a professional place to come back to.

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