Overseeing the HR function across many countries of a global business comes with all the challenges of an executive leadership role—plus the additional complication of potential cultural disconnect.
As the CHRO of Acuity Knowledge Partners, who also leads the global organization’s corporate social responsibility activities, Avadhesh Dixit is familiar with the trials and triumphs of leading across borders and cultures. “It is important to acknowledge that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is deeply flawed,” says Dixit. He shares his advice for creating an equitable workplace, as well as other best practices for HR leaders.
What are the cultural challenges and differences that come from leading HR at a global business?
The key challenge is maintaining a balance between globalization versus localization of policies and practices. It is important to avoid cultural disconnect by imposing a global standard to the exclusion of local leaders. When companies take what I call “extreme control” and look at their global HR approach through one prism, this can lead to friction when process and policies do not align with the cultural values in a specific market.
Performance management is a great example, where various parts of the world look at performance outcomes differently and that makes it a culturally sensitive aspect of HR. Hence, it is crucial that all such cultural differences are respected while devising and implementing HR programs.
What are the best ways for a CHRO to manage those challenges to create an equitable workplace?
It is important to acknowledge that a “one size fits all” approach is deeply flawed. Each jurisdiction has different cultural values and those need to be respected to build inclusive and equitable workplaces. Every policy and program must be subjected to a cultural review, especially if it is to be implemented in multiple global locations. Involving local voices and leaders in crafting such programs is a crucial element to building an inclusive culture.
One way that companies can do this is by creating employee-led groups that promote and celebrate cultural diversity. These groups include inter-generational, multi-cultural, women, parents, etc. The focus of such groups is to promote the rich cultural diversity that exists within the company through networking and other initiatives.
How does the recruitment process differ across geographies and, more importantly, across generations? What are younger generations looking for in a workplace that’s different from 10 or 15 years ago?
Recruitment across various locations varies depending on local laws, local markets and culturally accepted processes of hiring candidates. There are no major differences when it comes to hiring process across generations.
Still, the expectations from the job and associated benefits with the offer may differ from generation to generation. However, some things such as flexibility in terms of working days and hours is a common expectation across generations now. At the same time, younger generations may be less concerned about health and retirement benefits as compared to older generations.
Any generalization based on generations is very tough to make. The best value prepositions for employees are those which cut across generations. Over the years, all generations are expecting more flexibility and more meaningful jobs which has been further accelerated due to the pandemic.
How can a CHRO stay in touch with the needs and wants of various generations—not just through recruitment but also employees—to create the right type of experience for everyone?
We have multiple mechanisms by which we capture the needs, expectations and feedback of all employees. These platforms include global town halls, employee satisfaction surveys, candidate interviews and social media posts like Glassdoor by staff and candidates, and various other management and staff connects.
Being a “best to place to work,” we also get a lot of external data points on what the trend is when it comes to expectations of various groups of employees. Once we have assimilated and analyzed both internal and external data, HR teams have a good starting point to improve existing processes or introduce new ones. The ultimate objective is to create an excellent experience for all our employees.
