Intercultural communication in the workplace deals with the issue of differences in culture relating to speech and communication while workforce diversity seeks to include people who can be considered as different from those in the main community. 

Every culture is different and our culture impacts each and every one of us as we grow up. It dictates our attitudes and understanding, how we believe we should address our colleagues or our superiors, and our approach to time keeping and meeting deadlines. Our communication patterns, including formality or informality as we address customers and clients, bosses and co-workers, are all predicated on our culture. Therefore, a key tool in communicating effectively is understanding culture differences.

Workforce diversity, on the other hand, deals with issues of inclusion in the workplace to help those with different religious or traditional ways of working fit in seamlessly with the mainstream. This might mean creating a separate, quiet area where people can go and pray during the working day. A more extensive range of vegetarian or kosher food is another example.

A company that undermines the importance of cultural diversity will lose out in many ways: primarily, its workers may have problems with each other and may not be able to work efficiently; communication with customers may be impaired; talented people from diverse backgrounds will only want to work where they are appreciated; and, also, innovation comes from putting ‘new' and different ideas together.

It is important as you become a promoter of respectful and sensitive intercultural communications that you reach beyond stereotypes. Stereotypes do not represent the population they seek to identify. Evaluate people on an individual basis. Stereotypes often reflect the differences in socioeconomic status, religion, or dialect. These differences are apparent in all races and cannot identify one specific group of people. It is important to suspend judgment, avoid misconceptions, narrow perspectives, and immature reactions. Stereotypes often contain a granule of truth, but this tiny truth cannot characterize an entire culture.

Getting the whole picture is being proactive and involves thinking critically about people and their behaviour. We need the desire, information, and the willingness to take interpersonal risks to create value from diversity. An individual's ability to be open to new ideas and new people will go a long way in the process of effective intercultural communication in the workplace. It starts with a smile and acceptance. It leads to an exciting new world full of clarity and connectedness.

To bring about the best performance in people, it's important to be able to really look at a company's specific needs when it comes to intercultural communication and implement a very specific plan to developing the right communication skill set. To find out more about implementing a planned ‘Intercultural Communication in the Workplace' program, click here.