Diversity and inclusion are more than trending topics—they’re the foundation of today’s most successful businesses. With an increasingly diverse workforce and the rise of remote work, companies can broaden their hiring practices and build multicultural teams that span borders, capturing a range of skill sets, talents, and perspectives.
Workplace diversity doesn’t only reflect the world around us. Diverse teams are more productive, engaged, and competitive in their industries. Harnessing cultural differences in the workplace can push your business to the next level. Here’s how.
What is cultural diversity in the workplace?
Diverse teams bring together workers of varying ages, ethnicities, sexualities, gender identities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and abilities. But building a diverse team is more than checking off boxes. Authentic workplace diversity avoids biases and shows respect for the value different team members bring to the table, creating a sense of belonging that empowers broad perspectives, trust, and creative collaboration.
The importance of understanding cultural differences in the workplace
No two people think alike, even when tackling identical tasks. Great leaders of global teams understand their team members’ unique workstyles based on their personalities, cultural experiences, and backgrounds.
Awareness of distinct problem-solving, communication, and collaboration approaches enables leaders to manage teams with compassion and practicality. When leaders foster empathy and openness, they equip inclusive teams with the tools to collaborate and thrive. This is crucial to the success of any business, especially global organizations with team members distributed worldwide.
How to manage cultural differences in the workplace
Language barriers, time differences, contrasting workplace expectations—managing a global workforce presents many challenges. Here are five methods to lead your team—no matter what corner of the globe they log on from.
Get to know each member of your team
Successful leadership requires managers to build genuine connections with their workforce. This is especially true with culturally diverse remote teams, where distance can transform cultural differences into isolating work experiences.
Consistently schedule one-on-one check-ins and all-ins to learn about each team member’s professional journey and personal story. This will foster a sense of belonging and help you gauge each individual’s strengths, skills, and personality.
Set up cross-cultural awareness programs
Cross-cultural teamwork presents unique—and often invisible—challenges. Cultural competence training sessions are a great way to teach team members how to interact with one another respectfully and effectively. Cross-cultural awareness programs might address etiquette, greetings, and communication styles.
Organizations can incorporate cross-cultural awareness programs into their onboarding packages. These programs help challenge biases that might arise from cultural differences and teach team members to harness valuable soft skills, such as open communication and empathy.
Consider different communication styles
Your communication style reflects your unique life experience. Generational differences, cultural upbringings, racial backgrounds, and gender identities all impact how we express our ideas. In a distributed workforce, different languages and work cultures add extra layers of complexity to communication dynamics.
Clarity is achieved through adaptability to individual communication styles and preferences. Whether you’re using email, video chat, phone calls, or instant messaging, respecting preferred communication methods can facilitate smooth, productive interactions. Likewise, embracing empathy and giving team members the benefit of the doubt can prevent miscommunications and mitigate conflict.
Be mindful of time differences and holidays
Respect your workforce’s time to promote a healthy work-life balance. A remote team spread across different time zones, holiday calendars, and work styles presents an enormous management challenge.
Automated communication systems are one way to respect everyone’s schedules. Encourage shared calendars to anticipate time off and adopt a messenger app that allows team members to silence notifications when they’re off the clock.
Likewise, be aware of how different cultures prioritize punctuality and time. During onboarding, be explicit about policies regarding deadlines, meetings, and general responsiveness.
Listen and adapt
To truly reap the benefits of diversity, leadership must nurture a company culture that makes everyone feel valued, comfortable, and included. Company leaders and managers should make it clear that they’re always available to talk, whether about workflow or concerns regarding diversity.
Remember, listening is only half the commitment. Take action to promote a safe, open, and equal-opportunity workplace to signal respect and encourage team members to embrace their whole selves.
Types of cultural diversity in the workplace
Diverse teams support a range of identities and backgrounds that shape individuals’ unique experiences and perspectives. Acknowledging and embracing intersectional diversity fosters an inclusive and respectful workplace culture.
Here are four types of diversity that contribute to a team’s overall identity:
Age
A 60-year-old executive and a 25-year-old new hire will approach technology, work ethic, and career goals in vastly different ways. Teams that understand where everyone is in life can benefit from the wisdom and experience of older employees while harnessing the fresh and forward-thinking ideas of younger generations.
Gender and sexuality
Hiring managers, directors, and co-workers often overlook the impact of gender identity and sexual orientation on workplace culture. Women, nonbinary people, and the LGBTQ+ community frequently face hurtful stereotypes, insensitive questions, and bias about their abilities. Diversity training should promote awareness and sensitivity to gender equality and cultivate a workplace where all individuals can thrive professionally and personally.
Race and ethnicity
Conversations regarding diversity and inclusion often center on race and ethnicity. Starting and ending with discussions of racial diversity can make people feel tokenized or othered—like they were recruited from diverse cultures to fill a quota.
Despite good intentions, this approach to building a cohesive company culture can backfire, causing division or resentment among team members of different ethnicities. Robust diversity training broadens the conversation, ensuring that every type of diversity is valued and recognized in the organizational culture.
Disability
Disability comes in all shapes and sizes, including physical impairments, learning abilities, and chronic illnesses. Many disabilities are invisible, which can make employees feel marginalized. A proactive approach to hiring, retaining, and supporting disabled workers (e.g., unlimited PTO, robust healthcare coverage, and accessible work environments) signals care and respect.
Benefits of cultural diversity in the workplace
A diverse workplace where people of all cultural backgrounds feel comfortable being themselves drives creativity, teamwork, and innovation. Here are five ways diversity and inclusion will transform your workplace:
Improves recruitment and retention
Building a culturally diverse workplace stimulates a chain reaction. The more diverse your workforce, the more likely you are to tap into a wider talent pool. Celebrating unique differences in a supportive environment encourages people to plant roots, strengthening organizational knowledge and retention.
Increases creativity and innovation
Workplace diversity naturally encourages varied opinions, perspectives, and workstyles. Likewise, open communication and mutual respect create a culture of learning that inspires novel ideas and innovative solutions. This dynamic environment drives continuous individual and organizational improvement, which might become your business’ competitive edge.
More resources for problem-solving
A hive mind is the enemy of creative problem-solving. A culturally diverse workforce brings a wealth of innovative solutions to the table when people feel comfortable sharing ideas. This diversity of thought fosters creative brainstorming, thorough analysis, and fresh approaches, empowering teams to tackle challenges effectively.
Creates new work and management styles
Leading a globally distributed team requires constant flexibility. Managers who adapt to their team members’ unique needs become super managers who can switch up how they communicate, delegate, and collaborate to get their desired results.
Promotes a collaborative spirit
It’s exhausting to act like another version of yourself at work. When people feel comfortable engaging authentically with their co-workers, everyone learns something new. That means deeper collaboration and new ways of thinking, which can improve productivity and heighten employee engagement.
Build a diverse global team with Oyster
Employee diversity is a win-win. Embracing cultural differences in the workplace makes employees feel welcomed and valued, reflects positively on your organization, and fosters creative problem-solving. Most importantly, it encourages your workforce to take pride in the place they work.
So, how do you reach top talent from around the world? With help from Oyster! Our guide to hiring global talent makes it easy to build a continent-spanning workforce. Get your free copy today and develop a business without borders.
About Oyster
Oyster is a global employment platform designed to enable visionary HR leaders to find, engage, pay, manage, develop, and take care of a thriving distributed workforce. Oyster lets growing companies give valued international team members the experience they deserve, without the usual headaches and expense.
Oyster enables hiring anywhere in the world—with reliable, compliant payroll, and great local benefits and perks.
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