On queuing, deodorant and cultural intelligence

In January, just as I was preparing to leave on my camping / kayaking holiday, the Federal Parliament representative for Brisbane, Julie Gambera made some statements about migrant assistance and in particular that migrants need to better adapt to Australia. Her initial recommendations were that employers who sponsor migrants into Australia on temporary visas (such as the 457) should be required to provide mandatory cultural awareness training.    

She gave examples of what the cultural awareness training could include and specified teaching migrants to “wear deodorant and wait patiently in queues”.  To be fair it appears that this statement was taken out of context, but of course the headline was too good to ignore and discussion around “queues and deodorant” were subsequently taken up by television, radio and social media sites. The debate was further compounded by Gambera’s attempts to defend her initial explanations around personal hygiene and proceeded to make her appear even worse.

She was lambasted! One of the twitter comments that stood out to me was “Julie Gambera needs cultural intelligence.”

And this is where I disagreed.  Actually I think she already has some! 

My colleague Leonie Elphinstone who is based in Gambera’s electorate of Brisbane was interviewed on ABC radio and spoke brilliantly about our work in providing cultural briefings for new arrivals on behalf of their employees.

What Julie Gambera was trying to say was that adapting to another country can be challenging and some assistance can help. She implied that most Australians want migrants to adapt to Australian ways of working, and from my perspective of working with Australians in the workforce that is a valid comment.  It would be nice to think that we are all completely accepting of people operating from different cultural perspectives but for many people, who may not have travelled outside of Australia, another cultural way of operating can appear very different.

It is also valid to say that almost every migrant I have worked with has been eager to learn new things that will enable them to relate well and build relationships with locals in their new country.

We're not talking about total assimilation to an Australian way of life, where all new migrants are required to change their names and become “true blue ockers”.  But what we are talking about is providing helpful cues and information about Australian culture that migrants can choose to embrace in order to adapt and relate better to the locals. Providing cultural information about things that may not have been a part of the migrant’s home and family experience can also help ease the transition process into Australian culture.

For example, knowing the beliefs that Australian’s hold about status and power can help a newcomer to avoid feeling offended because they weren't treated with the same status they were accustomed to back home.  Similarly, by following Australian social cues, migrants can avoid being perceived as offensive when they communicate. For example, by learning that we do not differentiate (as much as some cultures) between classes of people and that you are expected to speak as politely to the EA as you would to members of the Senior Management Team.

In Australia there is an accepted etiquette around queuing up in lines and people who queue jump are perceived as rude. However, to many people who have come from synchronic cultures where things happen in no particular order, they may not even realise that a queue exists!  Discussing these aspects from an informed and non-judgemental perspective helps.

It takes a recognition that all cultures are acceptable but what works best in one location will not necessarily work well in others. That implies not just a willingness to be flexible but also the ability to change behaviours when it is appropriate.

And that is real cultural intelligence!

Cultural intelligence is not being in denial that differences exist and nor is it pretending that everyone is open to and accepting of differences - some people will interpret different behaviours as wrong or impolite.  

Cultural intelligence means recognising that differences exist and that it may help to be open and curious about those differences; to learn about them, and where it is necessary, to adapt behaviours and ways of doing things so that relationships are enhanced and not damaged.