Cross-cultural awareness training objectives come in different shapes and sizes. Some, like helping learners develop cultural appreciation and awareness are easy to spot. Others, like making learners aware of their own unconscious biases and prejudices are hidden gems. In this post, you’ll meet all the important ones. We’ll also show you which cross-cultural awareness training objectives you should take for your specific training, depending on your audience and your company’s needs.
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Main Objective—Help Learners Function Better with People from Different Cultures
Cross-cultural differences can negatively impact interpersonal relationships and communication. In our increasingly diversified and remote-first world, where individuals from various cultures work and interact as a team, this happens every day. Hence, your key cross-cultural awareness training objective is to increase the learners’ cultural appreciation and awareness.
Developing cultural awareness and appreciation between individuals who don’t have a common cultural framework promotes trust, better relationships, and more clear communication. This way, your learners develop attitudes and skills that help them work, communicate, and adjust to people from various cultures.
Train a Diverse Workforce
Globalization of business activities is present more than ever. Global exports and imports represent 60% of world GDP. More and more work opportunities are available around the world. Multinational businesses employ talents from different nations and cultures. Because of this, the workforce has become significantly diversified. Dealing with a diversified workforce can be an uphill battle for management.
This is where training for a diverse workforce as one of the cross-cultural awareness training objectives comes in handy. Here, you’ll train management to develop awareness around culture:
- Patterns
- Behaviors
- Mechanisms
- Elements
- Values
This kind of cross-cultural awareness training is particularly beneficial for HR management. With adequate knowledge of employees and their cultures, the HR manager is able to properly handle individuals from different cultural backgrounds. This in turn helps maintain and develop good relationships at the workplace.
Make Learners Aware of Their Own Misconceptions and Prejudices
Interestingly, more hidden cross-cultural training objectives provide more curious results. The first one is helping learners be more aware of their unconscious prejudices, preconceptions, and world views. Exposing learners to hidden, deep information about others and their own culture helps their personal awareness and growth.
This kind of training highlights various techniques, methods, practices, and strategies that exist in workplaces in different countries. Make the learners aware of them and how they can employ them in future work. Explain the challenges cultural diversity produces and how to deal with them.
Since you will present various cultures in an objective light, you will help learners break down cultural misconceptions and biases. This in turn develops more trust and open communication. When we can see our own cultural patterns and mechanisms, we are able to consciously change our perceptions and behaviors. This way we can fully participate as creators of our destinies.
Train in a Particular Country
Training in a particular country is a cross-cultural awareness training goal that’s based on the particulars of your business. If your company has business in a specific country, it needs to understand the culture of that nation only. Hence, your training is based on developing awareness and appreciation of that nation only. Be sure to include climate, geography, economy, behaviors, values, and attitudes of people from that country.
This kind of training helps your managers and employees work with and communicate better with individuals from that country. Otherwise, they face cultural obstacles that may even completely ruin your business in that country. Use this kind of cross-cultural awareness training for managers or employees who’ll work or visit a specific country.
Train to Improve Management Practices
Employ this kind of cross-cultural awareness training objective when your managers have to deal with business activities around the globe in a diversified workforce and cultures. Highlight various practices, techniques, methods, and strategies management teams in different countries use. Create cultural awareness they can apply in project management around the world.
Training to improve management practices is a cross-cultural awareness training goal that allows your management to comprehend management activities in global markets. Also, to guide, supervise, and manage cross-cultural projects and teams. This in turn helps them perform tasks smoothly and without cultural difficulties.
Conclusion: Select Goals Based on Needs
Select your cross-cultural awareness training objectives based on what your company needs. If your employees or management needs to work in a particular country, train in that particular country. If your managers need to lead cross-cultural teams or projects, train them on that.
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