- 07 Feb, 2021
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Communication in Diverse Workplaces
Juggling an organisation that has employees of different gender, generation, ethnicity not to forget personalities and all the other things that make us up as people can be really challenging. For a ‘culture of acceptance’ to run through an organisation it needs to start at the top. Policies (in line with current regulations to begin with) through to an excellent induction to systems that ensure a diverse business can be managed exceptionally well, understanding your people should be mandatory.
The more we learn about ourselves and how we like to be related to the easier it is to relate to others. This can reduce the amount of miscommunication in a workplace, which then in turn decreases time lost in repetition and reduces stress.
If you think of yourself as a jigsaw puzzle. Just a simple one, only a few pieces. They might be big, they might be little. Once made up you can see a picture of you. Fun. Here’s the pieces – gender, age, ethnicity, values, learning style, personality type, communication style, strengths. Plus, IQ and EQ.
You will find a multitude of tests online to discover who you are, you may have already done some but have you passed this information onto your boss or colleagues? As an auditory learner I find noise challenging when I’m trying to focus. Loud voices talking on the phone, people’s ring/text tones, certain music, is all very distracting and either one of two things will happen. 1. I’ll get really frustrated and have to find a quiet place to work and if it’s an open plan space with no quiet rooms I have to go home (to work!!) or 2. Distract others.
Do you know your learning style? How do you learn best? This can go a long way to discover your best working environment, how you like to receive information, your colleagues and how to present information to them. Knowing this information can increase productivity due to less misinterpretation of instructions and poor performance because conditions are helpful to that particular learning style. (Poor performance could also be wrong skill set wrong job so check out a strengths based test for that.)
We all learn differently, we are all made up of different ‘stuff’ but we’re all people. The oft quoted ‘Golden Rule’ is the principle of treating others as you want to be treated stands true in every sense and situation.
This week I’m delivering a workshop to staff of Millbrook Resort, just out of Queenstown. The topic is on ‘culturally diverse workplaces’ but all pieces of the jigsaw will be used to create the big picture of how to communicate openly and honestly within the workplace no matter who we are or where we come from.
With only 4 training spaces left for February and you have been thinking about training with Miriam either book a time to talk to her or send an email to find out how she can help you Find Your Voice, Find Your Words. If you or your business qualifies for a voucher under the NZTE voucher scheme you may be eligible for funding to help towards your training costs.
Ask Miriam for more information. Email Miriam.
Click here to take the VARK test, it’s free and will take a matter of minutes. The most important part is reading the definitions. VARK questionnaire