07 Jun Top Retention Strategies for a Multicultural Workforce

Employee retention is one of the most crucial challenges faced by employers today. The labor market consists of immeasurable talent looking for better opportunities at each stage of their career, hence placing employers in a difficult state of figuring out methods to retain the best talents for their business. However, a research by Weston Wyatt reported that over 50% of employers do not have an official approach towards retention.

Studies also suggest that the cost of retaining an employee is significantly less than the cost of hiring and training a new one. Consequently, staff turnover can have a considerably negative impact on the performance of an organization as well as its reputation.

The rise of globalization has enabled the growth of culturally diverse workforces across industries. Diversity is defined as the differences between individuals, such as age, class, ethnicity, nationality, cultural background, etc. Diversity in the workforce provides novel prospects for the employer as new, unique ideas and methodologies are being brought to the table, supporting the development of the company. Despite this and the many other advantages of having a multicultural workforce, employee retention remains a sour spot.

Here are the five top strategies to retain your multicultural team for the long haul:

– Learn about the employee’s native culture. Taking an interest in their background and traditions would make them feel welcome into the team and motivate them to build relationships with other team members.

– Learn a few key phrases in their native language. Communicating with them using everyday greetings in their local language would portray the company’s inclusive attitude towards employees from different backgrounds.

– Establish a corporate culture that is inclusive and respectful of other cultures. Encourage people to share more about their culture and answer queries of their fellow colleagues. You could even schedule a themed day dedicated to each culture to make it more fun, while enhancing your team’s cultural awareness.

– Be open to incorporating ideas, customs and methodologies from other cultures, if they benefit the business overall.

– Set a common, official language for conversations in the workplace. While this may seem contradictory to having a multicultural workforce, it diminishes bias and avoids exclusion of people from a different background.

Embrace all the benefits of working with a multicultural team, while consistently retaining employees. Here’s how you can improve internal communication and cultural appreciation within your team.