Cultural Considerations during Training Sessions

Telecommunications is an industry that is active in every country around the world regardless of language, religion or culture.  With today’s rapidly expanding technology, knowledge transfer has become more important than ever.

Instructors, who provide training sessions internationally, would be very unwise to use one universal training method and not take the cultural background of their trainees into consideration. 

Geert Hofstede is a Dutch social psychologist, who is very well known for his research of cross-cultural groups and his cultural dimensions theory.  He defines “power distance” as the extent that a society encourages its superiors to exert power, and the society’s acceptance of the distribution of power.

In societies with a high power distance factor, learning revolves around the instructor. Trainees tend to participate less in debate, avoid challenging the instructor and expect the instructor to know everything. When an instructor admits he doesn’t immediately an answer, the trainees are disappointed and lose faith in him/her.

In societies with a low power distance factor, training sessions are more interactive, are based around the trainee and include stimulating debates and case studies.

Some cultures create a relationship between the age of the instructor and the level of his/her expertise. A young trainer can never know as much as an older person simply because of age. Other cultures frown upon an employee openly knowing more than his superior. If an employee passes his exam, so must his manager. 

Humour is a tool that some cultures appreciate and use in a training session. Other cultures regard humour as something that does not belong in a professional environment.

For some, official recognition of completing the training is very important. For others, the knowledge learned during the training session is more significant.

Having the technical expertise in the first place is undoubtedly very important in a successful training session. However, arguably just as important, is customising the training in such a way so that it is received, enjoyed and understood in the way that the local trainees expect it to be.