Two Factors for Winning Over Cultural Differences

Are there differences with giving meaningful recognition by people from different countries? The simple answer is, “yes”. Some countries are better at it than others.

The solution is very interesting.

After an 8 country tour of Europe while conducting training sessions there, I started to observe some patterns of behaviour. In fact, by the presence or lack of these behaviours one could predict the level of proficiency in giving effective employee recognition from one country to another.

Now while I cannot generalize from the representatives from one client to the citizens of a country as whole, there is still much that can learned from these two variables.

Are you ready for them?

By the degree of courtesy demonstrated and the quality of leadership displayed one could create a strong correlation as to who had high versus low recognition specific scores from their engagement survey.

Low courtesy and weaker leadership = low recognition scores.

High courtesy and strong leadership = high recognition scores.

These factors did not reside in just one person. They were manifest by the first person met whether at the reception or on the elevator. It seems either everyone reflected these qualities or just a small subset did. The more universal courtesy and leadership were in an office this impacted the kind of scores an office achieved.

So how courteous are your people to those who visit your company? Does everyone display leadership qualities in doing the right thing without having to ask someone?

Two simple ideas for overcoming potential cultural limitations in giving recognition in the workplace.

Oh ...you’re very welcome!!