Penetrating barriers: communicating clearly in the international organization

Communication World, June-July, 2003 by Keith S. Collins

The gap between English speakers and non-English speakers is one of the most subtle and insidious forces of disunity a company can face. The solution? When time is a factor, headquarters should send out messages pre-translated. And companies should make sure all expatriates are learning the language of the country where they are working, even if English is commonly spoken there.

GROUP DEVELOPMENT

Appreciating the importance of cultures and languages is a necessary foundation for good international communication, but building corporate unity requires more. It involves creating an environment in which communication seems effortless (although it never is), transparency and inclusiveness are "in the air," and working collectively is as natural as working alone.

BP has worked hard at communicating well. A few years ago when BP purchased Amoco and other corporations and set about integrating them, it decided to take the opportunity to unite the company through an approach to communication it called "radical openness." Specifically, BP set out to be "transparent, questioning, flexible, restless and inclusive." According to one manager, BP's approach has made it "a very collaborative place."

BP's five categories of radical openness are good starting points for understanding what it takes to create an international organization that communicates effectively.

Transparent: When an organization creates an environment of transparency, employees know where they can find the information they need. Information fortresses become information streams, and communication becomes productive, creative and constant.

Not all companies get it. An internal consultant for a major high-tech corporation reports that the company's obsession with secrecy makes it difficult to develop unity. Management isolates employees from other countries and rarely even shares corporate strategy with them. Important documents are purposely not translated from the company's native language, which is one of the most difficult in the world. As a result, non-national employees--even high-level managers--believe they never have enough information to make decisions. The company has lost business because of mistrust between international subsidiaries and headquarters.

Questioning: Nothing about the organization's way of working should be exempt from examination, and there should be no repercussions for pointing out problems. Fear is an enemy of good communication. At BP, "People are free to ask painful and searching questions of each other," says Michael Croton, a communications manager. But managers need to be sensitive to how some cultures approach the questioning of authority.

For example, during its early efforts to enter the Russian market, Johnson & Johnson had to work for a long time with its Russian marketing staff to get them to feel comfortable proposing better ways of launching products in their country.

Flexible: Communication thrives when employees feel appreciated. Different cultures have different needs, and the savvy company adapts its policies appropriately to the people it hires.