A Diversity Training Case Study

Here's one we made earlier - we showed PME how to work effectively across cultural differences

We recently showed PME how cultural awareness and understanding can enhance their business.

PME part of construction and services company Carillion, is one of the UK's foremost facilities services companies with over 40 years' experience in the provision of specialist support in the operation, maintenance and repair of building services.

What did we do?

The challenge was to equip staff at all levels in PME with Cultural Awareness training to improve customer care and to reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. The workshop aimed to introduce all staff to the complexities of cross cultural communication and the changing demographic realities for the business.

These workshops will be a catalyst for positive change within the organisation. To date 50% of scheduled staff have taken part and 100% are expected to have completed the workshop by mid May.

We tweaked our Diversity training programme for PME , adding some specific tools and techniques focussed on cultural awareness and how to work effectively across cultural differences. The workshop was focussed on the individuals attending, was interactive and directly involved each individual for maximum personal impact.

How did we do it?

What’s in a name?

First impressions and perceptions. We kick-started the session by inviting participants to think about their own name and what it means to them, and also to think about "culture" and what that means.

Setting personal intention

As with all our workshops, we invited participants to think about their "intention" and what it is they really want to get out of the time. By encouraging personal engagement we could deliver individual benefit with participants taking responsibility for their learning.

Delivery techniques - What is culture anyway and why does it matter?

The key to creating a progressive working environment is to really understand what culture is, what factors make up culture and how these factors are constantly evolving. The objective of the workshop was to increase participants' understanding and awareness of the impact of cultural differences on today’s society and how, in order to provide excellent services to our customers, it is vital that organisations understand, appreciate and manage the impact of working across these different cultures.

The workshop explored a range of different models around cultural awareness and examined how values and beliefs can help to define culture and how cultural awareness and understanding can support the business.

Delivery techniques - The iceberg - values and beliefs

We looked at the importance of communication and how if we have limited information about others, we are more likely to draw on our own values, beliefs, stereotypes and prejudices. This tendency to assume things about others without accurate information to back it up can lead to stereotyping which in turn can lead to misunderstanding.

Delivery techniques - Our cross cultural knowledge quiz

Our cross cultural knowledge quiz looks at demographics, religion and culture. The quiz is made up of 24 questions covering everything from the % of the UK’s minority population through to how personal space differs from culture to culture. The quiz is an extremely revealing and educational tool highlighting the gaps in our knowledge.

Top Tips - Cultural Competencies

Next we shared our toolkit of cultural competencies. This is our positive checklist designed to support participants in their ongoing dealings with customers and colleagues from different cultural and social backgrounds. Armed with these tips and with a plan to take them forward, participants decided on the actions they were going to take straight away.

Buddies

Finally we encouraged attendees to partner with a "buddy" who they arranged to meet three weeks after the workshop. Setting up this simple support structure with a pre-arranged meeting time to ask questions and swap experiences promotes action and helps to embed the learning.