With globalization and the rise of multinational companies, the workplace has become increasingly diverse.

Knowing how to organise, communicate and lead employees from different cultures is more important than ever.

Doing business around the world means your product or service has to be suitable for lots of different cultures.

If it’s not, your chances of success are reduced.

Employers today require Cultural Competence in their organizations more than ever.

In the age of globalization, diversity, inclusion and engagement, it’s critical to have employees capable of working with people from different cultures.

If you’re a business professional working in an international setting, then you’ll understand the importance placed on cultural competence.

Whether it’s recruitment, promotion or performance development - the need for cultural competence is of increasing importance in business.

If you provide services or sell products, you’ll know how important a positive Customer Experience is.

Positive interactions and experiences retain customers and drive repeat business.

Let's look closer at a few examples of cultural awareness.

They come from the real-life experiences of our clients as well as more high-profile examples.

What would you draw to illustrate the meaning of 'culture'?

This is a little exercise we commonly use in cultural awareness training courses to get people thinking about how culture works.

The training world is evolving at an incredible pace.

Indeed, discussions of blended learning by L&D professionals have quickly moved beyond ‘why do we need it?’ to ‘how do we do it?’

Self-awareness is fundamental in raising cultural competence.

If you are unable to understand yourself, it will be very difficult to understand another.

Sporting its own fair share of industry models, my favourite cultural model has to be one which outlines the steps between cultural ignorance and cultural savvy.

This model resonates with me on a personal note.  Why?  Well, working in the Oil and Gas industry overseeing project delivery across international teams, I thought I was great at working across cultures.

In this article, we look at how a lack of cultural awareness can have big cost implications for a business.

Western businesses that believe their approach to business is 'the only way', are losing out on contracts and productivity when it comes to interfacing with foreign companies.