Digitalization and the increasing number of people working remotely enable us to work and live more flexibly and with greater agility – regardless of geographical limitations. However, in addition to the many benefits, this development also brings new challenges. While online meetings open up new communication pathways, new challenges can arise that need to be addressed.
Communication in international teams in particular is becoming more complex due to different time zones, cultures and languages. With the increased use of digital platforms and tools, teams that hardly ever meet in person need to be able to communicate reliably. The team’s cultural and linguistic differences can make collaboration more difficult if they are not actively confronted and managed.
In this blog post, we take a closer look at the explicit communication challenges and want to provide you with practical solutions to work around them.
The Impact of Language Barriers
The survice-level elements of the cultural iceberg are the external, observable aspects of a culture. These include, for example, language, local dishes, literature, musical styles and fashion. They are most often noticeable in everyday situations. Rituals, greetings or holidays and the way people behave in public are also among the visible characteristics of a culture.
Language barriers are often the most obvious obstacles. Misunderstandings easily arise when not all team members share a native language, as this limits the exchange of information, emotions and ideas.
Dialects or idiomatic expressions make communication even more complex. Conflicts arise not only from different meanings of words, but also from cultural differences in non-verbal communication, such as gestures and facial expressions.
Cultural Barriers in International Teams
From the iceberg perspective, however, it becomes clear that cultural barriers are more subtle and can manifest in different expectations, social norms or ways of working. What we perceive of a culture is only a small part of the story. The invisible elements beneath the surface are often the ones that cause misunderstandings because they are harder to recognize and understand.
These are one of the biggest hurdles in international teams and arise when team members from different cultures bring different values and communication styles into the mix. Interpersonal signals communicated through eye contact or ambiguous gestures, through to the different ways we show our emotions, influence social interaction in the workplace.
It is no doubt also a matter of personality as to how someone takes constructive criticism, but from an intercultural perspective there are major differences in whether it is communicated directly or indirectly. Without any awareness of these differences and the necessary intercultural competence, the potential for conflict increases.
What are the Communication Challenges in International Teams?
The communication challenges in international teams, especially in remote or hybrid working models, can manifest themselves in subtle ways.
To solve the explicit communication challenges in your international team, you can organize an open team meeting or workshop to discuss the expectations and challenges of team communication. Encourage each team member to contribute their perspective and explain cultural differences.
Communication challenges in international teams cover a variety of aspects:
- Stereotyping: People tend to stereotype others based on their culture. These prejudices can make collaboration more difficult and undermine trust within the team.
- Unconscious interpretation and evaluation processes: These processes lead to the behavior of others being interpreted and evaluated according to one’s own cultural standards.
- Projecting one’s own culture onto others: If team members judge the behavior of others based on their own cultural practices, this can lead to misinterpretations.
- National grouping: In international workspaces, it sometimes happens that national groups form that isolate themselves from the others. This can lead to disrupted team dynamics and flow of information.
- Different ways of working: These differences include time management and time zones, as well as different approaches to problem-solving and decision-making processes.
- Communication styles: This includes conversational rhythms, body language, negotiation and conflict styles, dealing with feedback and direct or indirect communication methods.
It is important that all team members recognize and appreciate cultural differences. This requires constant reflection on one’s own expectations in different contexts. When in doubt, it is also helpful not to assume that the other person has negative intentions, but to ask questions in a benevolent manner so that misunderstandings can be cleared up respectfully.
Practical Solutions for Overcoming Communication Barriers
A conscious examination of communication dynamics and the development of intercultural sensitivity are therefore essential in order to overcome such communication barriers.
Here, we highlight 8 practical tips for improving the working atmosphere in your international team:
1. Cultural Sensitivity in Communication
It is crucial that teams develop a solid understanding of their colleagues’ cultures. This can be fostered through training and workshops that address cultural differences and their impact on communication.
2. Encourage Intercultural Understanding
Teams should actively work on developing a common understanding and respect for different cultural backgrounds. This can be supported by sharing personal experiences or integrating intercultural celebrations.
3. Establish Clear Communication Guidelines
These guidelines should cover aspects such as preferred means of communication (email, chat, video calls), response times, meeting etiquette and how to deal with feedback. Avoid complicated or ambiguous wording. A written definition in a joint document or a team guide can be particularly helpful.
4. Encourage Inclusive Decision-Making Processes
Involve team members from different cultural backgrounds in decision-making processes to ensure that all voices are heard and diverse perspectives are included in finding solutions.
5. Self-Reflection and Self-Development
Team members should be encouraged to self-reflect in order to recognize and reduce unconscious prejudices. A change of perspective as well as empathy and a willingness to understand are essential in order to avoid cultural misunderstandings.
6. Team Building Activities
Team building activities not only strengthen the sense of community, but also create spaces in which people can get to know and learn from each other. This can be promoted through joint activities that are not directly related to work. Activities such as a high ropes course, outdoor escape rooms or geocaching promote teamwork, communication and motivation. Joint hikes or picnics create a more relaxed atmosphere for getting to know each other.
7. Virtual Team Building Activities
In a remote working environment, there are many ways to strengthen team spirit from home. From escape rooms and online gaming competitions such as “Among Us”, “Skribbl.io” or “Jackbox Games” to joint yoga and fitness events and book or movie clubs. Regular video conferences, in which the teams exchange information informally, help to simulate the social aspect of everyday office life.
8. Ansychronous communication
In times of global collaboration, asynchronous communication has become an integral part of everyday working life. Tools such as objectiF RPM and in-STEP BLUE enable the effective exchange of information independent of time zones via chat functions and notifications.
Another option is a social intranet, which can be used for general announcements and information, while categorization according to relevance for specific groups or departments helps to manage the flood of information. To facilitate exchange and communication in the native language, an automatic translation function of individual messages for international team members can be integrated.
By implementing these suggestions, you help to create a supportive and respectful team environment based on mutual understanding.
Conclusion
Overcoming communication barriers in international teams is an ongoing task that requires both awareness-raising and practical measures. Teams can improve their collaboration through culturally sensitive communication and through specific team building activities. With the right tool, information can be exchanged effectively regardless of location. Ultimately, it is the combination of intercultural training and guidelines with a willingness to work together openly and respectfully that makes international cooperation successful.