The modern workplace is increasingly globalised yet international organisations are not doing enough to ensure their employees have appropriate levels of intercultural skills, says a recent report.

The modern workplace is increasingly globalised and competitive. Communicating with customers, colleagues and partners across international borders is now an everyday occurrence for many workers around the world.

Consequently, employers are under strong pressure to find employees who are not only technically proficient, but also culturally astute and able to thrive in a global work environment.

The report – ‘Culture at Work: The value of intercultural skills in the workplace’ was commissioned by the British Council and looks at how multinational organisations value intercultural skills in their employees.

The report is based on a survey of HR managers at about 40 large employers in each of nine countries: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Jordan, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

According to the commissioners of the report, the need for the report was in response to “global economic realities, which are driving continuous change in the workplace, and employers’ needs and expectations are constantly shifting. This means that employers increasingly look for job candidates with skills that go beyond the traditionally defined technical skills and knowledge necessary for a given role.”

“While formal qualifications and traditional skills remain important, employers say that they are looking for candidates who can navigate a workplace that transcends national and cultural borders, particularly for positions that require interaction with individuals and organisations from nationalities and cultural backgrounds different from their own. What is perhaps less understood – and the impetus for this research – is the question of why employers value these skills. Which specific skills are they seeking? What do employers define as intercultural skills? What is the business benefit of having employees with intercultural skills, and what are the risks of not having them? Which skills are most valued? How are these skills weighed against the necessary technical skills and formal qualifications?”

To answer these questions, and to better understand how intercultural skills are considered, assessed and developed in the modern workplace, the British Council,
Booz Allen Hamilton and Ipsos Public Affairs conducted a survey of HR managers at 367 large employers in nine countries: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Jordan, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US).

The findings from the research have shown, said the authors, that “there is real business value in employing staff who have the ability to work effectively with individuals and organisations from cultural backgrounds different from their own.”

Given that most of the organisations’ employees frequently worked with foreign nationals, the clear majority saw intercultural skills as important. Indeed, their importance was amazingly ranked just above that of relevant qualifications and expertise. The UK employers came third, after Jordan and Indonesia, in how much they valued intercultural skills.

In particular, employers highlight the following as important intercultural skills, the ability to understand different cultural contexts and viewpoints, demonstrating respect for others, and knowledge of a foreign language. The authors argue that, in international contexts, these skills are a fundamental part of our ability to ‘make fruitful connections’ and that there are clear risks in having employees with underdeveloped intercultural skills. The benefits are seen to lie ‘not just in smoothing international business transactions, but also in developing long-term relationships’ inside and outside the organisation.

The study also reinforces the link between diversity and innovation: ranked equally important to qualifications and expertise was being ‘open to new ideas/ways of thinking’. Employees with these skills are seen to benefit organisations through their ability to bring in new clients, work within diverse teams and support a good brand and reputation for their organisation. Conversely, employees who lack these skills may leave their organisations susceptible to risks including potentially losing clients, damaging an organisation’s reputation or creating conflict within teams.

And yet, there is a mismatch in the value the interviewees placed on intercultural skills and what the organisations do in response. Although well over half of the employers surveyed saw intercultural skills as ‘very important’ notably fewer employers feel they adequately screen for these skills at recruitment or encourage employees to develop these skills.

The report posits the case that international organisations are not doing enough to ensure their employees have appropriate levels of intercultural skills. The next questions – most notably, why is this and what needs to change? – are left unanswered, but the report puts a clear spotlight on the issue as an area for improvement.

The findings suggest that policy makers and education providers could do more to contribute to the development of a workforce with the necessary intercultural skills through interventions, such as prioritising teaching communication skills and offering foreign language classes, as well as increasing the availability of opportunities for students to gain international experience.

While few employers report actively screening for intercultural skills, they do actively observe candidate behaviour in order to identify attributes closely associated with these skills. The research implies that employers would benefit from formalising and improving the ways in which job candidates’ intercultural skills are assessed through the recruitment process.

For job seekers the research findings suggest that they must pay attention to the intercultural skills needed by employers. Job seekers would also benefit from presenting evidence of strong communication skills, foreign language abilities and international experiences when competing for jobs.