Cultural diversity in companies: Expat factor

Free trade agreements, expatriation, the opening of international projects, the advancement of technologies and the need for new young talent have been some of the main factors that have been demanded not only from countries, but also from companies to adopt new standards that protect and respect the variety of tastes, customs and cultures.

More and more companies are betting on the internalization of their businesses and transactions between countries. There are numerous studies and examples that support that one of the best ways to grow in a globalized market is to have a cultural diversity within the same company.

Apart from multiculturalism, which aims to unite a work team with different ideas, different ways of thinking and different values are exchanged. Their heterogeneous composition, being formed by people from different countries, cultures, experiences, languages, age groups and genders, requires new forms of cooperation, including in the field of conflict management.

Several studies highlight the benefits of managing cultural diversity, which can be grouped into:

• Strengthening the culture of the organization.

• Improvement of the reputation of the company.

• Contribution in attracting and retaining talent.

• Increase in motivation, commitment and, therefore, the efficiency of the workforce.

• Increase in innovation and creativity throughout the organization.

• Agility in international projects.

However, cultural diversity should not be considered exclusively as a means to achieve such valuable benefits, but must emanate from a genuine interest on the part of the organization to create a diverse organizational environment where different personalities are valued, such as end in itself.

What is the function of Human Resources?

As we have commented in other posts, the mission of this department is to implement and manage new models of recruitment and talent management, in a way that benefits both the staff and the company and it is important to know how to manage it to generate new ones employees can adapt to the company and that the rest of the staff can integrate these new team members.

Another alternative to hire young talents is through student exchange programs, higher education abroad. Companies must consider that this group of workers want to face challenges and learn something new every day and that is achieved largely by having the opportunity to interact with colleagues from different backgrounds.

When generating a dynamic work environment, gamification techniques are usually very productive.

In the case of an expatriation, it is highly valued that the displaced employee has prior intercultural training and during their stay to achieve adequate integration.

Multiculturalism is a competitive advantage and favors global leadership in companies.