Open registration training: We also offer our 7-week Cultural Awareness training as an open registration training where individuals can register themselves. You can find more information here.
Our intercultural competence training focuses on three pillars: knowledge, mindset, and behavior. If you complete the full 9-week training, you will develop all competencies and learn to recognize and navigate culturally challenging situations effectively. Opting for a 4 or 8-hour workshop primarily emphasizes knowledge development and cognitive skills.
Knowledge Development:
The initial step in intercultural competence involves acquiring theoretical knowledge. What does culture entail, and how does it influence you? Why is understanding cultural differences important? A questionnaire maps out your personal cultural profile, helping to make implicit aspects explicit, such as communication style and sense of hierarchy. It provides insight into the cultural differences you may encounter in a multicultural work environment.
Cognitive Skills:
The second step in intercultural competence is understanding how another’s cultural behavior influences you. After learning in step 1 how behavior can be determined by culture, you delve into your own feelings about it. Intercultural competence training emphasizes focusing on positive intentions. Everyone communicates and acts in a way they perceive as correct. By seeking the positive intention of others, you can avoid a lot of frustration.
Behavioral Skills:
The final step in intercultural competence is regulating your emotions and responses. You recognize moments where cultural differences come into play, understand them, and no longer let them distract you. Is a Dutch colleague straightforward? Does a British colleague beat around the bush? Does a French colleague contribute nothing during a meeting with the management team? Or does a German colleague want all possible facts before making a decision? You know that cultural differences underlie these situations, and you can work without letting them hinder your collaboration.
Cultural Profiler: Discover Your Personal Cultural Profile
All our cultural training begins with the Cultural Profiler. A questionnaire creates your cultural profile, which you can then compare with the average cultural profiles of different countries. This tool provides insight into the differences you might encounter in a multicultural work environment.
A Cultural Awareness Workshop as a Teambuilding Activity
If diversity in your team is important, and you are working on inclusion, opt for a Cultural Awareness workshop. A 4 or 8-hour workshop is ideal for team building. Our trainers challenge your team, stimulate discussion, and expose interpersonal differences.
Using a questionnaire, a personal cultural profile is created for each participant. Which differences are immediately visible within your team? Where is collaboration effective? Is there ever miscommunication? This workshop promotes mutual understanding and is full of “aha moments.”
Intercultural Communication as a Key Skill in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Diversity is a given in most teams today, where people from different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences collaborate. In an inclusive culture, every employee feels safe, valued, and engaged. Creating an inclusive culture takes effort but is undoubtedly worthwhile. Employees feel better because they can be themselves, their abilities are trusted, and their contributions are appreciated. This leads to less stress, reduced turnover, and increased commitment to the organization. Employees are more willing to collaborate and generally perform better when they feel good at work.
Intercultural competence training aids in creating a sense of unity and trust within a diverse team.
