Performance of multicultural teams

The aim of this part is to understand the performance of multicultural teams compared to single cultural teams. Concerning the overall level of performance of international teams, the results are quite divided. The majority of the respondents, that represent four interviewees, said that the performance of multicultural teams is about the same as national teams. No real difference can be seen and the cultural diversity itself does not have any influence on the overall performance of the team. It has been explained that if the outcome is similar for single cultural teams and multicultural teams, the ways to achieve the same goals vary a lot according to the cultures. In addition, the level of performance is similar between national and international teams providing that all team members are located in the same place. Indeed, if some team members are not in the

same location, then it becomes more complicated especially when it comes to respect a certain time frame. Some additional difficulties are encountered such as different time zones, language barrier and difficulty to meet face to face. Consequently, the performance may be affected. Otherwise, the level of performance depends on the individuals.

“Compared to single cultural team, I would say it’s average minus, so it’s a little bit below average sometimes and sometimes it’s average plus. I should say it depends on the team and the communication and how well they understand each other. If all team members are in the same location, then I can’t say that single cultural team performs better than multicultural team. Not necessarily, not really any differences. After, it depends on the individuals. It doesn’t depend on the level of cultural diversity. But if we have team members somewhere abroad and other here in Finland, when they don’t share the same location, then, we can have some difficulties. It can be the time, the schedule or something else.”

Three interviewees explained that cultural diversity influences the performance of the team in a negative way. The performance is hindered by cultural diversity. A team with all members sharing the same culture works better and is more time efficient. It was also explained that working with a single cultural team is easier particularly when dealing with less concrete issues such as branding, company corporate cultures and values. People from different cultures are also more likely to understand the same thing in different ways. This creates misunderstandings and more efforts on communication have to be made.

“I think it’s easier in single cultural team, it’s more time efficient, and also when you work with branding issues and that kind of things that are not really concrete, sometimes, it’s a way of understanding a brand, then it’s easier to be on the same level on the same culture. When you try to explain, thinking in a different way, sometimes it’s hard for me to understand what they think and also when you try to get the message trough and they translate it into something else than I can expect. Then it takes more time.”

Two of the interviewees think that cultural diversity influences performance in a positive way, particularly when working in an international environment. Cultural diversity brings strength to the team as well as new ideas. For example, when dealing

with customers from diverse cultural backgrounds, it is an added value and a big advantage to have already in the team, members from different cultures. Especially the body language can be better understood. Thus, they can help each other to better understand their counterparts and customers and meet their expectations.

“We have different experiences, standards, cultural backgrounds, so it brings some strength to the team. By having three different points of view each time, we can more or less find the right one. For example, we have an Algerian customer, he is in front of us, talking, then I can read the signs that are not directly said, and tell the others. It’s not only about the language, it’s also about the signs, the body language; it’s a strength when you can understand those signs.”

It was observed that the respondents with the highest level of international experience were more likely to see, in average, a positive influence of cultural diversity on performance. The respondents with the lowest level of international experience were more likely to think that cultural diversity has a negative effect on the performance of the team. Most of the respondents, with a medium level of international experience stated that cultural diversity does not have a particular effect on performance.

Most of the interviewees have not noticed any variation of performance during the stage of the international teamwork and the project. They are four among the persons interviewed.

Some of the respondents recognised that the performance is getting higher as long as they get more experience on the work they are doing. In effect, learning from mistakes is an efficient way of improving the performance. It has also been mentioned that teams perform better when members get to know each other well, therefore rather in the end of the teamwork or after a certain time. Moreover, members have more difficulties to perform in the beginning of a project as they may not understand well the task, the process and the other members. Finally, the level of difficulty encountered during an international teamwork, usually drops over time with practice and cultural understanding.

“It was better performing in the end of each team and also after few years of experiences doing that. I learnt from the previous cases and implemented it as procedures or clear guidance for the new projects.”

“It works also better after some time in the team, because you need time to adapt when you’re put in a new team. Everyone is different and you never have the same group of personalities.”

A respondent mentioned that it is easier to perform well in the beginning of the project as it is less time sensitive. The end is more complicated with the deadline getting closer. That is usually when you see if someone has not understood well his role and that is also when you need to get everything together and be efficient.

To conclude, there is no significant difference between the performance of multicultural and single cultural teams. International teams are more appropriate and better performing than national teams when dealing internationally with other cultures as particular language and cultural skills are required, whereas they are more likely to face difficulties and have a lower efficiency in communication and with abstract and not concrete matters such as brand image. The level of international experience of individuals determines their ability to overcome such difficulties and optimise the performance of multicultural teams.