All Berlitz cultural training programs address the six levels of culture that impact people’s work-style preferences.
- National/Societal – What many people think of as the only type of culture, national cultures are the result of their country’s social, political and economic history.
- Social Identity Group – Each ethnic, religious, social or demographic group in any given place has its own cultural norms.
- Organizational – Organizations have their own unique cultures, often reflecting the vision and mission of the organization’s founders or current leaders.
- Functional – Within each organization, functions have their own cultures. For example, the IT department might have a different culture than the marketing department.
- Team – Building a team is not an easy task, even if the team’s members are all in the same department or have the same goals. The team leader is often the driver of their team’s culture.
- Individual (inter and intra-personal) – Each person has their own unique culture, the result of their upbringing, education, career experiences, etc.
One of the most important elements of a multicultural workforce is the ability to leverage cultural differences for the good of the organization and its employees. Cultural awareness training is the best way to create an inviting work environment that allows every employee to feel comfortable, confident and empowered to connect with others from different backgrounds.
Cultural awareness training centers around the concept that cultural gaps are behind many of the workplace conflicts, gaffes and missed opportunities that stunt business growth. Providing employees the tools they need to bridge cultural gaps and adapt to different situations can improve relationships, increase communication and reduce frustration in cross-cultural environments.
Similar to cultural awareness training, cultural diversity training focuses on inclusion. It is essential to understand differences across cultures, and it is just as important to make every workplace inclusive for people from these different cultures.
Berlitz’s cultural diversity training is designed to provide supervisors and managers with the skills necessary to create a work environment that can accommodate staff from various backgrounds. These skills allow your business to reach its full potential by embracing the unique strengths of your diverse workforce.
Businesses operate at maximum capacity when leadership and employees have honest, open and respectful communication. For multicultural organizations, keeping these communication channels open ensures operations run efficiently.
Cross-cultural communication training allows your business to streamline processes to avoid miscommunication, create more open channels and help employees feel empowered in multicultural situations.
Cultural Sensitivity Training
Multicultural businesses have tremendous potential to leverage their diversity for wide-reaching success. Cultural sensitivity training ensures an organization’s leadership and employees feel comfortable and empowered in the workplace, increasing engagement and productivity.
Berlitz’s cultural sensitivity training isolates cultural gaps present in the workplace and bridges them through combined learning, including assessment, identification and training, which leads to success both internally and with clients.
Cultural Consulting & Training Services with Berlitz
If you are interested in cultural solutions for your organization, contact Berlitz. Our cultural training programs are custom designed and provide solutions for your specific business needs, including:
- Online instruction
- Face-to-face training
- Cultural consulting
- Cultural assessments
Let us help your organization leverage culture for success.