Supervising international employees? Assumptions and your bottom line

Your employees' cultural assumptions may affect your bottom line - if you forget to discuss some of them. In an seminar on American English Pronunciation for Non-native Professionals, an attendee walked in one day shaking his head. "I know the answer to the problem my boss is struggling with - but of course I can't tell him," the new employee said. The entire class chorused, "Why not?" The employee replied, "I'll get fired for insubordination." Thankfully, the group included a manager of another department in the same organization, who assured the man that in this American company, he wouldn't get fired for saving his company a lot of time and money solving the problem. In another case, a new employee had an extraordinary background in her field, but was the newest hired in her department. When a supervisory position opened up, she told the group she wished she could apply. When asked why she wasn't doing so, she said, "I'm the last hired. It must go to the person there the longest," which was the case in her native country. Convinced to apply, she was quickly promoted. Here are three steps to take, with all your employees, to overcome such cultural assumptions. Remember that an employee can be American-born but be bi-cultural. 1. Let all employees know, verbally and in writing, how promotions are determined. If experience, education, motivation, certifications or other factors are involved, make that clear. Factors may be different in other countries. 2. Have supervisors explain repeatedly to new employees that questions are welcomed about procedures. This is not true everywhere. 3. If a person is exhibiting a communication behavior that is unusual to you, such as hesitating before shaking hands or being reluctant to show emotions or use the telephone, ask sincerely if things are done differently in his or her culture. Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in verbal skills, including American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals. It offers e-books such as Coming to the USA:American Cultural Differences as well as others on diction, and more!

Body Language and Caring

Do you really care about your employees and your work? If the answer is "yes", would people know that by watching your body language? I recently took 4 flights. On three of them, the flight attendants routinely (and boringly) gave the safety instructions, but looked at the passengers when speaking. On the 4th flight, the attendant recited the correct talk but looked out the window or at her lap the entire time. She appeared not to even care about what she was saying. If she didn't care, why should we, the passengers?

As a manager or leader, your body language is closely studied by your employees to determine whether you are satisfied, in a good mood, or otherwise approachable. Are you conveying positive or negative body language?

Executive Communication Coaching is a one day intensive seminar to be taught in a rare Open Enrollment class May 12th. The deadline for enrollment is Tuesday, April 27. Learn more about body language, listening skills and other crucial skills today's leaders need! Enroll today at http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler/scripts/category.pl?Classes .