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How is the return on investment of intercultural training programs explained? What is learned during an intercultural training program? How are the learning outcomes of soft-skills training programs explained in a tangible way? Lima and Rowe answer these questions, which often are posed by clients and future program participants.

It is clear that intercultural training has long been established as an effective way to reduce expatriate failure and facilitate cultural adjustment. What is not so clear is what exactly participants do during a training program that enables them to become more culturally competent. What specific skills or “competencies” are acquired during the training, and how are these tied to intercultural effectiveness? A competency-based model can provide the needed clarity to answer these questions with confidence.

Why Competencies Matter

Competencies are behaviors or learning outcomes needed to accomplish a specific goal. A competency model can help organize these learning outcomes and dictate how they should best be facilitated during a training program.

For example, if a participant will be managing local nationals in his or her upcoming international assignment, he or she would need to acquire specific competencies such as understanding key management practices of the host culture, as well as an ability to see things from different perspectives. While understanding management practices can be accomplished partly through discussion or listening to a country expert, seeing things from a different perspective requires more interactive methods as trainers must help participants step out of their own cultural bubble and realize everything they do to a greater extent is culturally determined. A competency model provides clarity to all parties regarding tangible learning outcomes of programs:  

• Clients—can see the tangible learning outcomes that enable participants to increase intercultural interaction effectiveness and minimize assignment failure.
• Participants—can understand in advance what they will learn from an intercultural training program, as well as the skills they will need to be interculturally competent and get the job done.
• Providers—can design effective training, better measure training effectiveness and trainer performance, and develop more effective training tools and materials.
• Trainers—know the specific competencies in which the program must be based and the best methods to facilitate them.

The Three Competencies

We use a simple, yet effective competency model to frame our intercultural training programs that provides us with an integrated platform for communicating our objective of delivering the best value for our client’s training investment. The model is based on three main areas: knowledge, awareness, and skills. It is through these that we can take a detailed look at what participants learn from an intercultural program, and its relationship to intercultural competency.

Knowledge-based Competencies

Effective intercultural interactions require specific knowledge of the culture and, in the case of an overseas assignment, of the new country. Knowledge-based competencies answer the questions, “What do I need to know to live in my new location?” and, “What do I need to know about the new culture?” Some of these include everyday life information such as schools and the educational system, business and social protocol, etiquette, and the like. 

Knowledge-based competencies lead to greater awareness and understanding of why things are done differently in the new culture. Learning about the forces that shape culture such as history, climate, geography, and religion can give insight into why people think and behave the way they do in everyday business behaviors.

Awareness-based Competencies

These are the most important competencies in an intercultural training program. Awareness-based competencies are concerned with developing a participant’s consciousness of their personal and cultural make up, and how it influences their interaction with people from different cultures. Examples of specific learning outcomes include recognizing ethnocentrism, developing cultural sensitivity, and learning about the effects of culture shock.

Awareness-based competencies answer the question, “What do I know about myself that enables me to adapt to the new culture?” Participants typically experience the “aha” moment when they come to the sudden realization of the effect culture has on their adjustment and everyday life.

Skill-based Competencies

Skill-based competencies are those that require practice and application to master. Examples include the ability to resolve conflict, communicate effectively in a culture that uses an opposite style of communication from your own, how to give and receive feedback with subordinates in the new culture, and relationship-building skills.

It is important to note that most learning gained in a cross-cultural training program contains elements of each competency. The acquisition of intercultural conflict resolution strategies for instance, consists of participants gathering specific knowledge, awareness of potential conflict and the participant’s own way of handling conflict, and practice using these strategies. The key factor for determining which competency this learning is assigned is by answering the question, “How can this competency be facilitated to have an effect outside the training room?” From this perspective, knowing about conflict-resolution strategies is not as important as the application of these strategies. Thus, a trainer will try to provide as much practice as the length of the program allows.

Participants sometimes attend an intercultural training program expecting to receive a list of dos and don’ts about the new culture. However, an effective program provides not only knowledge-based information, but equally raises awareness and develops skills. Participants end up learning more about themselves and how their cognitive instruments—such as personality factors, emotions, and reasoning—influence their cultural adaptation.

Following is an example of how we worked with a client to design a training program using the competency model to ensure all training objectives were met. 

INTERRELATIONSHIP OF CRITICAL COMPETENCIES 

Global Leadership Program: a Client-case Study

One of our clients approached us with a particular challenge—to develop a global leadership program to be delivered in a series of phases during two years for 40 of their high-potentials selected from their U.S. and German divisions. At the program’s completion, the client expected participants to be:

• solid or stellar performers in the global arena;
• equipped with competencies to perform successfully as a global player;
• prepared to plan, lead, or execute global projects successfully; and
• able to find culturally synergistic solutions to international challenges and be able to spot opportunities thanks to a newly developed global mindset.

Fifteen learning objectives were identified through the needs analysis process, and through the application of the competency model we were able to categorize these objectives and develop a program that truly focused on them.

The program consisted of six one-day, group-training programs delivered during a two-year period. An important consideration in developing the program was how we were going to develop the necessary competencies in the participants, as well as how to keep their learning momentum going throughout the breaks between the six workshops.

The solution was to weave the six classroom-based training programs with an ongoing skills-development virtual team project. Participants’ competencies were developed through each phase of the program not only through the content of the classroom-based training but also through the knowledge, awareness, and skill building that was gained throughout the virtual team project and process of working together.

It is worthwhile to describe the virtual team project and how it helped develop the necessary skills and awareness in participants so that we can see how integrating a competency model translates into more effective training solutions. The virtual team project involved participants in the design of specific complex intercultural scenarios currently affecting their projects. It also allowed participants to use their newly acquired intercultural skills and make them accountable for their own learning, and to provide the team with practice in multicultural team building.

The virtual team project consisted of the following steps:

• creation of multicultural virtual teams working together throughout the training program’s duration;
• teams worked to create case studies based on their current work experiences of working on global leadership projects;
• case studies exchanged and teams developed solutions for the issues presented by the other teams;
• teams delivered presentations outlining their solutions and global competencies used. Presentation delivery took into account the proper presentation etiquette of the specific culture of their choosing; and
• participants’ experiences were compiled into a reference manual for use as an ongoing resource.

As the teams worked virtually throughout each phase to develop a case study, find a solution, and prepare their presentation, they needed to work not only with each other but also with participants outside of their own team.

This brought the project closer to a level of complexity that is typical of real-life international projects where various parties are needed and must be able to work together to find an optimal solution.

As demonstrated in the case study, using the competency model to frame the global leadership program helped us build a more effective program for this project. It not only allowed us to develop participants’ knowledge-based competencies but also allowed us to focus on raising their awareness and building skills. In the end, it ensured high participant satisfaction and met our client’s stated objectives.

Using a competency model provides not only the framework for an effective training program but also clarity to all parties—clients, participants, providers, and trainers—as was demonstrated by our case study. When investing in intercultural training programs, clients and participants can see the tangible learning outcomes upfront clearly demonstrating its value. It helps providers ensure the most effective program is delivered so participants are successful in multicultural situations. And last, a competency model helps trainers by providing them with specific competencies in which the training needs to be based, and the best methods to facilitate them providing overall program integrity through transparent methodologies that can be easily explained, understood, and taught.

Louis Lima is director of training, Prudential Relocation Real Estate and Relocation Services Intercultural Group, Scottsdale, Arizona. He can be reached at +1 800 433 8672 or e-mail PRERS.Intercultural@prudential.com.

Jennifer Rowe is intercultural business development specialist, Prudential Relocation Real Estate and Relocation Services Intercultural Group, Scottsdale, Arizona. She can be reached at +1 800 433 8672 or e-mail PRERS.Intercultural@prudential.com.