Strategies for Effective Communication in a Diverse Workplace
There are different backgrounds among people, as well as different cultures and social norms varying across different places. Employees with different cultural backgrounds may feel out of place when communicating with other employees. This is as a result of the modern workplace environment that has encouraged diversity among its employees. The position of a leader is to come up with strategies to ensure that employees are aware of the cultural differences, and they listen to each other with open minds.
Avoiding Jargon in Communication
Another important strategy the whole staff can use is avoiding jargon. Jargon refers to the terminology that is unique to a particular subject. This may result in misunderstanding among the employees working within the same environment because some of them may use terms that may be incomprehensible to a newcomer, making him/her feel like an outsider. Therefore, during communication, all employees must ensure that the language they use is familiar and well-known to the whole party.
Understanding and Embracing Different Cultural Backgrounds
Another strategy that should be put into consideration is that all employees must understand that they represent differing cultural backgrounds. The world is growing closer each day, and people representing different races, cultures and religions all over the world are coming together to work within the same environment. Therefore, the employee should not be despised, but ought to be engaged instead so as to work with others towards a common goal.
Active Listening and Open-Mindedness
Employees should be active and keep an open mind during the conversation. This strategy ensures that they understand and interpret the message passed to them correctly. For instance, the employee who speaks English as his second language may end up interpreting the message differently compared to those who speak it as their mother tongue. Therefore, this strategy will help the employees understand each other, moving together efficiently in achieving the objectives. The employees are also expected to listen to the others properly because one may hear what the other is saying, but they may not be listening. This may result in failure of the business, especially if it is in competition. Besides, managers are also supposed to deal with problems rather than the personalities of the individuals, which will help the employees. Therefore, employees should be advised to avoid ignorance in listening and pay attention to the conversation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if all the strategies are put in place, then there will be a great improvement in the organization performance because the entire staff will have a close relation and merge towards the achievement of the set goals. They should also appreciate each other, acknowledge different backgrounds and have in mind that communication strengthens the relationship.
