The Hindu Business Line : A good fit, culturally speaking

Cultural integration has been a buzzword in corporate circles ever since India opened its business borders, but its importance has never been more apparent than it is now.

The skyline of Indian business is changing, with the steady flow of foreign companies setting up office in India; Indian companies too are spreading their wings in foreign markets. These changes have thrown up issues of talent management and culture f or companies.

It is not uncommon to hear of employees quitting due to a cultural ‘disconnect’ with their organisations.. An Indian joining a multinational, for example, has to understand and adjust to the culture of the organisation to be successful. Likewise, when an expatriate comes to work in India, cultural issues assume equal significance.

What is cultural integration? By definition, it is an amalgam of national, religious, social and professional culture.

When you enter an alien environment, a combination of or all of these impact your functioning. While some adapt intuitively, others seek the help of consultants and experts to integrate themselves better, and still others flounder and fall by the wayside.

Culture often influences relationships between business partners; how conflict is dealt with; and even how a meeting is conducted and participated in. Such attitudes affect the individual’s motivation and expectations of work and group relations.

Cultural integration has a practical impact as well. A technically competent manager may be reduced to nought if he or she is unable to fit in culturally.

For instance, how will an Indian manager, used to centralised decision-making and not a consensus-driven approach, adapt in an environment that needs him or her to manage a team of mixed nationalities used to varying degrees of autonomy and operating freedom? Such a crisis can also develop when an expatriate manager takes up a position in India. He could be a plain-speaking person who promotes the collaborative approach, initiative and autonomy in functioning. How will he manage a team that is used to being told what to do and rarely voices its opinion?

This is a common issue highlighted to us by expatriates managing plants in Bangalore, Chennai and Pune. Such situations could lead to negative perceptions of one’s attitude and capabilities, impacting relationships and even business.

With a firm foot abroad

Several Indian companies have established a firm foot in the West through buyouts and expansion projects. In order to justify these investments, not only do they have to succeed in an alien environment, they also have to have the right team in place to steer them through. It is, therefore, imperative that the managers assigned to these tasks are culturally sensitive and amenable to adapting themselves in foreign environments. In fact, one of their important tasks would be to culturally align the foreign staff to the values and systems of the Indian mother organisation.

Cultural aspects cannot be played down when a cross-border team is being formed. Some key points here: Are the members culturally aligned to the organisation and to each other? What are the key cultural issues that can impact their functioning and how are they positioned vis-À-vis these issues? What alternate strategies should you devise to overcome these issues?

We have come across instances where Indian firms, having acquired units in the West, face resistance from the adopted workforce — wariness and suspicion of intent, language issues and style of management.

While some organisations have managed to wade through with reasonable success, others have faltered along the way, leading to botched up acquisitions.

Corporate values and beliefs

Our experience shows that one can overcome such hurdles by clearly communicating corporate values and beliefs to the acquired team so that there is clarity on what the organisation stands for and what is required of the employees to align themselves with the corporate.

In a relevant case, an Indian manager assigned the task of aligning units taken over in Europe, was faced with the challenge of understanding very different cultures, a situation complicated by language barriers.

He had a tough time convincing the foreign employees of the intentions of the Indian company. Simple yet effective communication strategies with a sensitive touch helped him overcome the barriers in at least one of the units.

A survey conducted jointly by Mercuri Urval in 2008 in Europe underlines the importance of ‘people issues’ in M&A deals. Many respondents (senior executives who were part of M&A deals) commented that a better understanding of the other organisation and of the people involved, a stronger focus on cultural integration and frequent and wholesome communication aid the merger process.

It can be safely said that getting the right team on board is not easy, but it is a good challenge. In a dynamic business environment with a global accent, the talent catchment area has extended beyond national boundaries. This situation of plenty can only warm the cockles of employers who would do well to keep cultural issues in mind before going fishing!

Culturally aware employees

While the norm is to screen candidates for their education and experience, it would be wise to also ascertain their fit with the corporate culture.

By defining key roles and the relevant personality profile, companies can pick candidates best suited for alignment and delivery on the job. Also, having a fair idea of how a person would react in a given future scenario can help employers de-risk their selection process and look forward to long-term retention.

In such situations, corporate values and beliefs assume significance as the role definitions have to be aligned with these stated principles.

In one such case, a client had sought our help in selecting a candidate from a shortlist of two technically qualified candidates for a senior operational position. The client company had a strong corporate culture based on employee growth and empowerment. Our selection process found both the candidates wanting in terms of personality profile and we were certain that they would not fit in with the client’s corporate culture.

Despite our advice, the client hired one of them hoping that his experience would prevail over his behavioural and attitudinal limitations. Unfortunately, the gamble did not work out. Ultimately, the client had to remove the manager and corrective measures had to be put in place with the result that the client lost more than a year in the bargain.

Similar selection criteria can also be used to select internal candidates. Assigning employees to new roles abroad, for example, should be done only after checking their personality and ability to adapt culturally, apart from being a role model for their beliefs and values.

To conclude, balancing cultural variations is a key challenge facing corporates with global ambitions. A good team with the right mindset and approach to culture can be an invaluable contributor to its organisation. Needless to add, how the organisation recognises this need and approaches team formation will have a bearing on the success of subsequent efforts!

(The writer is a Management Consultant with Mercuri Urval India, a global business advisory firm engaged in people-related consulting. She can be contacted at Sukanya.badri@mercuriurval.com)