5 Best Practices For Engaging A Multinational Team
Posted by Kevin Sheridan
Guest Post by Kevin Sheridan, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Consultant of HR Solutions, Inc.
Within the world’s largest corporations are employees who live in different cultures, speak different languages, exhibit different religious beliefs, come from different ethnic backgrounds, and possess different values. Because of these differences, companies are challenged every day to engage multinational teams while at the same time promote a work environment that respects and supports employee diversity.
HR Solutions’ National Normative Database provides interesting data about employees’ opinions of diversity in the workforce:
- 80 percent of employees believe that their co-workers are respectful of other religions or religious beliefs
- 71 percent of employees agree that the cultural values, beliefs, and customs of different groups are understood and respected at their organization
- 74 percent of employees said that they value diversity of the workforce at their organization
- 80 percent of employees think employees with their company treat each other fairly and with respect, regardless of gender, race, age, religion, or sexual orientation
According to HR Solutions’ research, a positive correlation exists between diversity and employee engagement. Thus, employees who rate their organizations as treating both employees and customers of diverse backgrounds fairly, employee satisfaction and engagement are also more favorable (see bar graph below). Strong performance on diversity measures is linked to engagement, which is connected to a company’s bottom-line financial performance.
Global companies need to focus on increasing their employees’ perception of corporate diversity efforts, which will ultimately lead to increased levels of employee engagement and reduced turnover. The best practices for engaging a diverse, multinational team are similar to those used to engage employees in any company; however, implementing such practices across continents requires a sustained, organized effort that recognizes and embraces cultural differences.
Some of the best practices senior management can use for engaging a multinational team include:
1) Communicate the importance of diversity throughout the organization
2) Model desired behaviors through their own actions
3) Provide resources about diversity for recruiting, training and educational purposes
4) Highlight likely scenarios requiring diversity awareness in their organization
5) Introduce a company-wide charitable contributions program where employees can request matching donations to organizations/associations representing people of diverse backgrounds
Such practices and others like them will help multinational companies embrace diversity, keep employees engaged, and retain top talent.
Related:
The Three Buckets of Employee Engagement
Selecting Candidates for Engagement and Retention
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About the Author: Kevin Sheridan is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Consultant of HR Solutions, Inc. and directs all survey work conducted by the firm. He has extensive experience in the field, having co-founded three successful survey-related organizations. Mr. Sheridan received a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School in June 1988, concentrating his degree in Managerial Decision-making and Strategy, Human Resources Management, and Organizational Behavior.
Prior to business school, Mr. Sheridan spent four years with the Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. in New York City, London, and Japan. As Relationship Manager and Second Vice President, he directed Chase’s business relationships with 37 Japanese banks and trading companies and eight Australian banks. Mr. Sheridan has done consulting for some of the world’s largest corporations and has earned several distinctive awards and honors. One of his most notable recognitions was for the creation of HR360, which won Human Resource Executive Magazine’s HR Product of the Year Award. He is a frequent speaker at national and international conventions, and his work has appeared in many different mediums. He is also an avid volunteer.
Mon, Sep 27, 2010
Global Issues