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Working through language, time, and cultural differences (Part 1 of 3)
By: Karen Johnson, Bacon's Information, Inc.
1. Introduction
You might be working on a virtual team with members scattered through multiple countries. Or you might be managing outsourced resources in a different country. In my own experience, it has been several years since I've worked on a project that did not include at least one of the following: 1) a virtual team with members located in multiple countries, 2) contracted resources in a different country, and 3) an employee whose primary language is not the same as my own. While I've enjoyed the exposure to different cultures and working in a global community, I've inherited some new work challenges. After reflecting, I've realized that most of these new challenges can be grouped into three areas: differences in language, culture, and time. Following are some insights and guidance on handling these three challenges both as a co-worker and as a manager.
2. Working Through Language Differences
Communication is important but it is not easy. In fact, communication is hard work that requires continual thought and effort. Add a language difference between yourself and another person, and you add complexity to all your communications. Add a language difference and you may be adding a cultural difference and potentially a time difference too. With the increase of virtual teams and overseas outsourcing, communication skills are becoming increasingly important.
You think you are being clear, you think you have clearly stated what is needed, but why don't the results match what you've asked for? Are you sure you have communicated everything clearly? If you haven't communicated each request clearly and ensured the other person has understood what you have asked for, then you cannot fairly assess the other person. Learn how to be clear in all communications and be especially more vigilant about communicating clearly when all three - language, culture, and time zone differences exist.
When you're managing a resource whose first language is not the same as your own, you should pay more attention to how you communicate with the other person. If the other person is located in another city or country, you may not be fortunate enough to have time together in person, so your communications with the person will likely be through phone, email, and Instant Messenger (IM). Never having the opportunity to meet or work together in person requires additional thought in building good communications.
As a manager, assigning work will be one of your most frequent conversations. When you assign work, state that you have work assignments to discuss. Use simple statements. Be specific about the priority of each task. Define one assignment at a time. Define each assignment in it's entirety before moving onto another topic or task. State the purpose of each task. Clarify what constitutes the completion of a task. For example, are you asking the other person to execute a set of test cases that must be executed as written? Or are you asking someone to research how to test a requirement for which more than one solution may exist? Be specific about what you expect to receive as output from the other person that will constitute the completion of each task. For example, do you expect to receive a report from a set of test automation scripts that were executed? Or are you looking for the other person's ideas and want to see one or more suggestions from the other person. State whether those suggestions should be written down formally or summarized in an email or discussed in a later conversation.
Ask your resource to summarize each assignment immediately after you have finished explaining the task. Do not rely on the other person to ask questions. Ask if the other person has questions. Ask if you have been clear in communicating what is needed. And ask in a tone that invites the other person to raise questions. Provide quiet time on the phone to allow the other person time to think and respond. By allowing quiet time on the phone, you're providing the other person time to think, process the information, and to ask questions.
After assigning work, establish expected completion times or ask the other person to review the work, build a time estimate, and to give you a time estimate. For example, tell the other person that you need test cases executed that day or ask the other person to get back to you with an estimate for building test automation scripts you have assigned. You might find that that it is best to state how much time you expect the other person to spend on the task. I've found that deadlines can sometimes help to clarify work assignments since deadlines create time boundaries; a deadline can help to indicate the quantity of work from your point of view. Ask the other person if they see the time estimate as an agreeable amount of time. If not, you may have found a communication gap. Discuss the work assignment until both the assignment and the deadline are agreeable to both of you.
Once you have assigned work, find logical intervals at which to check in with the other person. If the person is located in another city or country, you may want to establish meeting times in advance. I also suggest establishing mini-milestones for larger tasks so that you can ensure the work is progressing. Request frequent status reports. Follow-up after status reports with any questions or to let the other person know when they are on track. Don't forget that positive feedback can be as important as providing negative feedback for everyone who works for you and for anyone you work with. Skipping an opportunity to provide positive feedback is bypassing another time and forum for building communication with the other person.
If you have a co-worker sharing work with someone whose primary language is not the same as your own also requires additional effort. Communicating frequently with the other person improves your rapport and will help you to understand and to learn when communications sometimes fail. Use simple statements. Communicate as often as possible with the other person; do not hesitate to reach out or to share work.
Phone, email, and instant messaging (IM) each provide a means of communicating but each can be misused. Use IM as a manager to be available to answer questions. You can also use IM as a check-in with the other person. Do not use IM to change priorities or to assign new work. Save IM transcripts if necessary just as you would save an email communication. As a coworker, use IM to get to know the other person.
If the person is located in another city or country and you cannot meet in person, the phone is your most personal means of building a rapport. As a manager, consider establishing a regular phone meeting time. For longer phone calls, schedule the time in advance. Allow time on the phone call for questions. Use email before phone meetings to set the meeting agenda and use email after phone meetings to summarize and clarify assignments and deadlines.
As a coworker do not hesitate to pick up the phone to get to know the other person. On shared work items, state your status and share your work. Use technology tools to share desktops such as Live Meeting or Same Time. Then ask the other person to share their work progress as well.
Both managers and co-workers may find the benefit of email. Use email to summarize phone conversations. Use email to clarify work items. But don't use email in place of talking with a person directly. Establish frequent communication using phone, email, and IM to see which communication method works best with each person.
In summary, reach out to your coworkers no matter where they are located or what their primary language may be. And as a manager, don't diminish a person's skill set because you can't communicate as readily with them. It is a manager's responsibility to find the best skills in each resource and to align work assignments to resources as best possible.
In Part 2 of this series, Karen will discuss the extra challenge of working with people in different time zones.
Karen Johnson, the Quality Assurance Manager at Bacon's Information, has 21 years of experience in information technology. She has extensive experience in all aspects of quality assurance in a variety of software applications. Karen has spoken at the StarEast and StarWest conferences. Karen is also a member of WOPR - the workshop on performance and reliability, LAWST - the Los Altos Workshop on Software Testing, and AWTA - the Austin Workshops on Test Automation. |
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