By: Yoyo Rita
At ILG, we help clients with multifaceted trainings grounded in decades of our cumulative experience, research, and guiding principles such as mutual respect and professionalism to foster a healthy and thriving workplace culture. Such trainings and HR interventions offered by ILG Strategic include building cultural sensitivity, which is defined by Oxford as “the awareness, understanding, and respect for the cultural differences and practices of individuals from diverse backgrounds.”[1] Inversely, many workplace investigations touch on cultural differences between parties, and the various claims (such as discrimination and harassment) that can arise from these cultural rifts.
However, it is also crucial to understand that workplace investigators themselves come from their own cultural context, which can result in implicit bias. For example, say I’m a workplace investigator from Denver, Colorado, raised as a US citizen from a middle-class background. I’m interviewing a witness who is a recent Canadian immigrant to the US, who was raised in a bilingual working-class family. We are discussing an alleged incident of workplace harassment, in which the witness observed the Respondent point their finger in the Complainant’s face. The witness does not seem concerned about this interaction, so I move on and continue asking other questions. However, I’m missing an important opportunity to dig deeper. Is the witness not concerned because it was an ostensibly innocent interaction that most others would’ve seen the same way? Or is the witness’s cultural background (including race, class, and nationality) such that they perceive this interactions differently than would their coworkers? It is especially noteworthy to understand that other cultures, localities, and countries uphold different standards in the workplace than those we may be familiar with, which should change our approach in digging deeper with witnesses of many cultural backgrounds.
Here are some practical tips for practicing cultural sensitivity in workplace investigations!
- Ask, don’t assume: Regardless of a witness’s background, make sure to ask clarifying/expansive questions when cultural issues around perception, language (both verbal and body language), impact and intent are at play.
- Offer access to language services: If necessary, a trained, professional interpreter is always an asset to a multicultural/multilingual workplace investigation, even if the witness is proficient in English. They may prefer to speak in their language of origin—again, always ask!
- Research: During a particularly complex investigation involving many participants of different backgrounds, job responsibilities, and localities, dig into the Company’s relevant policies (including if they are international), industry standards in the client’s field, and scholarly research regarding norms and expectations in a given workplace.
- Practice humility: Get comfortable with not knowing a party’s intended meaning, especially when they come from a much different background from your own. That’s where the previous steps come in!
[1] https://oxford-review.com/the-oxford-review-dei-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dictionary/cultural-sensitivity-definition-and-explanation/