Driving Employee Engagement Through Cultural Competency

Cultural competency is becoming essential to a company’s ethos, especially as diversity, equity,  and inclusion (DEI) initiatives evolve.  The concept of cultural competency is a bit different from DEI policies.  However, it preserves the essence of these values while ensuring relevance in an ever-changing workforce and varied corporate environments.  As we embark on Diversity Month this April – a time to recognize, understand, and honor our differences – let’s explore exactly what cultural competency is and how it can shape the future of DEI. 

Cultural competency is understanding, communicating, and interacting effectively with people from diverse cultures. It involves being aware of different perspectives, developing positive attitudes toward cultural differences, and gaining knowledge of various traditions and worldviews. It’s about respecting the differences that make a difference. Cultural competency is fast becoming an essential asset to businesses large and small, especially those operating globally. Fostering cultural competency is a three-way win: it enhances the customer experience, bottom-line results, and employee engagement and workplace harmony. 

I began my journey helping companies embrace cultural competency nearly a decade ago. Today, I work with business leaders around the globe, training them to understand, appreciate, and authentically engage with people from diverse backgrounds.  As human resource professionals, you know that embedding these values into your business culture is also a journey. Fostering cultural competency directly impacts talent acquisition and retention by enhancing employee engagement.  

Consider this: within today’s new talent pool, 50 percent of the Generation Z population is people of color. (Source: US Census Bureau) To recruit the best talent, companies need to understand culturally diverse individuals.  The new generation cares deeply about their employer’s corporate social responsibility programs and impact, for which cultural IQ now plays a significant role. 

Fostering cultural competency within your organization is also essential for talent retention.  Once you hire great talent, you want to keep them. Showing genuine interest in each team member’s career goals and success starts with a deeper understanding of their diverse backgrounds.  

Five Steps to Begin Adopting Cultural Competency

Here are five simple and proven strategies for helping your company adopt cultural competency as one of its core values. 

1. Increase Your Cultural Literacy:  Seek out resources from diverse backgrounds through podcasts, movies, books, and news sources. Host a “Lunch & Learn” or webinar to share these insights with your team.   
2. Talk to Your Colleagues:  Engage in conversations with colleagues from different cultural backgrounds.  Show genuine interest in their heritage and traditions. Perhaps they’ll invite you to lunch at their favorite ethnic restaurant, a great way to engage with someone and learn more.  Share your experience and learnings at your next staff meeting; this is an easy way to create connections. 
3. Understand Cultural Perspectives on Success: Success looks different across cultures.  Understanding how various cultures perceive success will give insight into what motivates employees and increases their job satisfaction. In Western cultures, success is often tied to individual achievements and wealth, while in Middle Eastern cultures, collective accomplishment, balance, and education are more highly valued. Take the time to ask each team member what success means to them.  These learnings can help you improve employees’ performance, engagement, and overall job satisfaction. 
4. Be Mindful of Communication & Etiquette Barriers:  Different cultures have their own communication styles — from body language to written messaging.  Be mindful of these variations when engaging with colleagues from other backgrounds. If someone’s first language isn’t English, speak more slowly and enunciate clearly. Also, cultural preferences in business etiquette should be considered, such as whether to begin emails with a personal message or keep them more formal. 
5. Recognize Cultural Holidays:  Celebrating holidays with colleagues is a great way to build connections.  Whether they are recognizing the Lunar New Year, Ramadan, Diwali, Rosh Hashanah, Kwanzaa, or Christmas, participating in these traditions shows that you value their culture. During staff meetings, encourage employees to share the meaning and customs behind their holidays.  

Whether it is race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, Diversity Month encourages us to appreciate the differences that make a difference, notably, our similarities.  Suppose your company is not already fostering cultural competency. In that case, Diversity Month is the ideal time to introduce this concept to management and ask them to sincerely commit to promoting cultural competency as a core company value.  Doing so will drive employee engagement by creating a more inclusive workplace.