For a long time, intercultural competence was primarily associated with expatriate employees—those who packed their bags, moved across the world, and received specific support.
However, times have changed. Today, globalization, remote work, and cross-functional projects have profoundly altered work dynamics. Intercultural competence no longer concerns only those who leave… but also those who stay.
Intercultural Challenges at the Heart of Daily Operations
In international companies, intercultural interactions are now part of daily life:
- Project teams spread across several continents.
- Daily video conference calls.
- Collaborations in hybrid environments.
- Mergers and acquisitions between foreign subsidiaries.
These situations demand much more than technical skills. They require the ability to understand different cultural logics, decode varied communication styles, and adapt one’s management or collaboration methods.
For example: At Thales, intercultural competence supports engineering projects. Gapsmoov assists the engineering teams at the French headquarters of Thales to improve collaboration with colleagues in India, Romania, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The objective is to streamline exchanges, avoid misunderstandings, and strengthen collective performance by taking cultural differences into account.
Moving Beyond the “Expatriation” Approach
Despite this reality, many companies continue to reserve intercultural training solely for expatriation programs. This overlooks the fact that even subtle misunderstandings can slow down projects, weaken cooperation, or create unnecessary tensions.
Conversely, integrating an intercultural approach early in projects or within training programs allows for:
- Improved communication.
- Strengthened cohesion.
- Valuing differences as levers for innovation.
A Key Role for HR
HR has a crucial role to play in integrating these competencies into the daily lives of teams:
- By highlighting intercultural soft skills in competency frameworks.
- By including them in onboarding processes.
- By incorporating them into remote management training.
Effectively managing cultural diversity is not just a matter of origin or language; it is a truly strategic issue that serves collective performance.
