Intercultural Communication in Business: Strategies & Benefits

What’s the secret to collaborative teams, engaged workers and long-term employee retention?

Well, it’s not so secret – research on diversity has once again revealed that companies that prioritise DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) have higher rates of productivity and outperform less diverse companies. Gartner, for example, reports that diverse organisations are 75% more likely to meet their financial targets.

In fact, diversity constantly wins out, with investments into DEI leading to a 48% performance increase when compared to less diverse businesses. That said, businesses can only experience the benefits of a multicultural workforce if everyone is equipped to work together effectively.

That’s why intercultural communication is so important – it provides a structured method of improving cross-cultural collaboration and allowing your diverse teams to perform well at work. Let’s explore the role of intercultural communication in business and how you can improve it in your organisation.

What is intercultural communication in business?

Intercultural communication is the different ways that people from different cultural backgrounds exchange information and collaborate with one another. In the workplace, where you may spend a significant portion of time working alongside someone, understanding differences in cultural expectations can lead to more productive coworking.

In practical terms, you might see a need for intercultural communication skills in

• Hiring managers working with a global pool of applications.
• HR departments onboarding multilingual employees.
• An international sales team that works with prospects from diverse cultures.

Especially as businesses continue to hire for remote positions and look across borders for top talent, improving intercultural communication has never been more important.

Key elements of intercultural communication

While translation into a common language is absolutely a form of intercultural communication, it’s not the only one.

Here are the key components of intercultural communication:

• Tone – How you state something and whether or not you use tact can heavily impact how a comment is received.
• Nonverbal communication – Nonverbal cues may have different meanings in different locations. Equally, certain cultures use body language to a greater extent.
• Cultural context – Different cultures have unique expectations around things like communication styles. Understanding these differences allows employees to better adapt.

While what intercultural communication actually looks like depends on the cultures involved, it typically shares the characteristics above.

Intercultural communication in key business scenarios

Understanding how intercultural communication works and being able to navigate conversations with people from multiple cultures sets up your employees for success. Even just from an employee perspective, a worker within an inclusive company culture is three times more likely to feel committed to the company’s mission.

Here are some areas where skill in intercultural communication can make a major difference to your business.

Negotiations across cultures

Successful intercultural negotiation requires understanding how different cultures approach decision-making and conflict. Some regions may prioritise building a business relationship before committing to a deal, while others are more direct. Employees need to be able to adapt to these differences with confidence.

Meetings and presentations

Global meetings become more accessible when presenters can account for cultural expectations around communication styles. For example, some audiences may expect more upfront discussion, while others prioritise listening and engaging only when asked to.

Written communication and emails

Cross-cultural written communication can rely heavily on tone and word choice. Understanding where language may be too formal or informal for the cultural context will affect how you approach email communication.

Wherever you have employees that work across cultures, a skillful ability to move between them respectfully and with full awareness of how to behave leads to better leadership and collaboration.

Practical strategies to improve intercultural communication

Research by McKinsey suggests that companies with a relatively high level of diversity report a 27% financial advantage over their competitors. When your business creates a diverse workplace, it’s filled with ideas from different perspectives, allowing you to find unique solutions and overcome challenges.

Investing in language skills is the most effective way to improve intercultural communication, as it actively builds employee skills in cross-border relations. With a complete understanding of a language (and the customs behind it), an employee is well equipped to converse respectfully and improve internal communication.

Here are some other practical strategies you can employ to improve intercultural communication:

• Educate yourself about other cultures. Encourage all of your employees to investigate cultural norms and learn more about business etiquette in other cultures.
• Use plain language and avoid jargon. Where possible, use plain language to reduce miscommunications and help make conversation as easy as possible for non-native speakers.
• Check for understanding and feedback loops. Asking follow-up questions to check that a message was clearly received can help ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Listen actively with empathy. In all forms of communication, empathy goes an enormously long way. Prioritising empathy and active listening will help ensure that you always understand the intention behind what someone says, rather than simply judging based on your own cultural norms.
• Be mindful of nonverbal cues and etiquette. An early theory by Albert Mehrabian outlines that 55% of all communication occurs through body language. Be mindful of your gestures and investigate if a culture you work with frequently has specific hand movements that you need to keep in mind.

• Adapt communication for different channels. The style of communication you use should change depending on the platform you use. Wherever possible, match your tone to the channel at hand and lead with clear formatting and brief messages.

With these practices, you’ll be able to improve intercultural communication and build a truly diverse, productive workforce.

And, considering 80% of employees want to work at companies that value diversity, equity and inclusion, these strategies will translate to higher-quality applicants and a better workplace culture for everyone.

Create stronger intercultural communication with Busuu

Intercultural communication starts with understanding but truly builds with language skills. A team that shares a common language is able to operate clearly, move respectfully in the workplace and reduce misunderstandings.

Busuu helps businesses strengthen intercultural communication through flexible corporate language learning programmes. Designed for global teams with options for self-paced study, Live Lessons, and even AI-enhanced feedback, Busuu for Business allows your team to learn in the way that works best for them.

Help teams learn with confidence and understand the cultural connections that bring people together. Get started with corporate language training with Busuu for Business today.

Frequently Asked Questions