Cultural Competence in Customer Service

Module 1: Introduction to Cultural Competence

Lesson Title: Understanding Cultural Competence in Customer Service

Lesson Objective(s):

Define cultural competence.
Explain what we need to take into account when dealing with people of different national origins and cultural background in order to be more efficient.
Discuss the impact of cultural competence on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Assess case studies of effective culturally competent customer service.

Materials Needed:

Slides or handouts with definitions and case studies
Videos or real-world examples
Flipcharts or Whiteboard
Case study documents

Introduction:

Engage the participants by asking: “What does cultural competence mean to you?”
Tell a story illustrating how important it is for customer service to be culturally aware. (5-10 minutes)

Instruction/Content

In the presentation, define cultural competence.
Discuss the significance of cultural awareness in business today.
Explain how cultural competence has an effect on customer experience and loyalty. Give a real-life or a role-played case study to show a time when being culturally sensitive led to either a success or failure. (15-20 minutes)

Activity:

Ask small groups to have a quick chat about how a lack of understanding and awareness of that customer’s culture might improve or make it more difficult for interactions with customers Then, have your groups share a brief summary of their discussion topics with the entire class. (10 minutes)

Assessment:

Quiz or reflection at the end to check the new knowledge and understanding of the subject: “Why is cultural competence so important?” “Can you identify any advantages of culturally competent customer service?” (5 minutes)

Closure:

Summarize the key points and review the key resources in the material. Give a brief introduction to the next module. (5 minutes)

Module 2: Recognizing Cultural Differences

Course Title: Name and Recognize Cultural Differences and How This Can Directly Impact Customers

Lesson Objective:

To outline some common cultural dimensions that frame customer interactions.
To recognize examples of cultural misunderstanding.
To recognize the importance of language, gesture, and tradition in solving cultural misunderstandings.
To practice assessing scenarios that involve cultural situations.

Materials Needed:

Summary
Small charts or handouts on cultural dimensions (eg, Hall’s high- and low-context cultures)
A customer service video in which the brass pole reads: ‘People from other cultures’
Customer scenario cards or role-play scripts
Videos showing cultural misunderstanding
A list of cultural comparisons
Scenarios of cultural differences

Introduction:

Icebreaker: Say a cultural difference that you have observed or have experienced. (5 mins)

Instruction/Content:

What are cultural dimensions when it comes to communication? (ie, communication styles, level of personal space, time, wearing customs and certain beliefs)
Customer service misunderstandings and cultural dimensions
Why would you need to be aware of different languages, gestures and traditions when it comes to customer interactions. (15-20 mins)

Activity:

Role-play/scenario analysis: Using the customer scenarios provided, acting out or analyzing the scenarios where the miscommunication took place and what the underlying cultural dimension was. This is a group discussion. (15 Mins)

Assessment:

What is an example of a potential intercultural conflict that could occur whilst working in customer service?
How can this be avoided? (5 Mins)

Closure: Talk about the importance of understanding cultural inference. Keep this technical and relate back to understanding cultural dimensions. Hint at the next module, which is on communication skills. (5 mins)

Module 3: Effective Cross-Cultural Communication

Lesson Title: Mastering Cross-Cultural Communication Techniques

Lesson Objective(s):

Know how to effectively apply active listening and probing questions.
Ability to present information clearly and simply.
Clearly respond to non-verbal cues.
Display knowledge and status of LATAM to adjust communication technique
Ability to role play communication scenarios

Materials: Sample scripts or dialogues, videos of positive/negative communication

Introduction: Commence class with a brief video clip of a communication barrier resulting from differing cultural backgrounds. (5 minutes)

Instruction/Content:

Teach active listening and probes to identify the message and encourage recipients to expand on information until they can predict the message being conveyed.
Explain the reasons behind speaking to a level everyone will understand – lacking any slang or industry jargon.
Clearly expose the factors affecting non-verbal communication, such as eye contact and gestures and proximity. (20 minutes)

Activity:

Role play, whereby students practice adjusting communication to meet conversations with customers from all cultural backgrounds.
Conclude with peer feedback on clarity and respectfulness of sentences. (20 minutes)

Assessment: Discuss the following open-ended reflection question: How would you modify your communication when addressing a weak customer from the perspective of a culture outside the United States such as the Japanese (a culture in which indirect, less direct communication is favored)

Colleges and Institutes. (2020). Effective Cross-Cultural Communication.incarestaff.com. https://collaborate.com.au

(5 minutes):

Closure: (5 minutes)

Review important communication methods.
Ensure students realize the importance of completing this task in real-life.

Module 4: Overcoming Cultural Barriers

Lesson Title: Strategies to solve the situation and overcome cultural challenges

Lesson Objective(s):

Learn challenges that impair cross-cultural communication.
Solution and resolve cultural misunderstanding.
Smart work skills in many cultural problems.

Materials needed:

Scenario story worksheet.
Generate idea tools (whiteboard, sticky notes).
Case study.

Introduction:

Present challenging scenario with intercultural problems.
Invite participants to think only of scenarios, or actual challenges they may have experienced. (5-10 min)

Instruction/Content:

Illustrate what are most commonly recognized barriers in regards to any cross-cultural communication – language, stereotypes, biases, and misunderstanding.
Discuss unfamiliar ask strategies that can be used to navigate and communicate different parts of the world – Leading question, simple language, cultural mediators etc… (15-20 min)

Activity:

Group activity: Develop action items for other example scenarios that have barriers to resolution.
Share it with each other, from your observations and best practices. (10 min)

Assessment:

Reflection prompt: “What is one new strategy you can apply to overcome cultural misunderstanding?”

(5 min)

Closure:

Write down the techniques used in the lesson.
Patience, openness, and empathy will help in most of the times. (5 min)

Ways of Teaching Strategies

UDL:

Provide choices such as captions, transcripts, and engagement modalities to account for a variety of learners and abilities

Interactive Scenario & Role-Play:

“Participants will go through simulated customer interaction (cultural context) applications to demonstrate the use of culturally sensitive communication techniques.”

Digital Tool:

Kahoot is an interactive quiz website where learners can create or answer quizzes. The instant feedback allows learners to interrogate their understanding and rectify any misunderstandings in a quiz/competition-like environment. It was chosen for its anonymity feature which eliminates the shame of a wrong answer. Anonymity encourages all learners to try without fear and promotes equitable participation.

Assessment Techniques:

Formative Assessment:

Engage in scenario role-plays and quizzes on Kahoot! to ascertain ongoing knowledge.

Summative Assessment:

Reflective short essay to analyze a hypothetical customer interaction, highlighting and proposing solutions for cultural considerations.

Equity-focussed evaluation:

Gather consent to collect demographic information, pre/post assessment scores to evaluate learning targets across different audiences.

Problems in Education Technology and Equity Potential:

- Digital Divide:

Some students may have restricted internet access or technical limitations in terms of compatibility with certain programs (e.g. Kahoot! etc.), negatively impacting the level of participation.

- Technical Literacy:

Different levels of familiarization with technology (very or not familiar) may affect how well students engage with the activities and tools of a classroom setting.

- Language Barriers:

If a student is not a native English speaker, he or she may have issues with following the rules of explaining or providing information, which is provided in English only.

Plans to Act:

Provide offline activities (printed materials, discussion sessions).
Instruction on using digital tools shortly before the course material.
The course is translated in most cases that it will be better for all the geographical areas.
Use visual aids and simple language.

Equity-Centered Instruction Impact Measures

Data Collection and Indicators:

Participation Data: The number and diversity of participants who are participating fully with each activity when and where appropriate are collected.

Pre/Post Knowledge Assessments: The improvements across different demographic groups will be measured.

Feedback Surveys: They will provide qualitative data regarding the extent to which content is perceived as inclusive and relevant.

Behavioral Observation: Trainers will record the frequency with which participants apply Culturally Responsive skills to their role-plays.

Effectiveness Evaluation:

Comparison between assessment and engagement scores across different groups to identify imparity, if assessment scores are getting similar after score gap closing and increased engagement in traditionally underrepresented group, shows improvement.

Equity Component(s):

- Use of Universal Design principles ensures learners with disabilities or diverse learning needs can participate.

- Use of Kahoot! allows for anonymous participation, reducing the fear of judgment and helping those who are shy to also participate, and in particular engaging learners in ways that they might be less willing to in face-to-face environments.

- Scenario-based learning reflects real-life from a variety of cultural viewpoints, promoting empathy and reducing bias.

Rationale:

The use of these equity components is tackling universal impediments accessibility, language, and participation anxiety that may differentiate against some groups. By creating an inclusive learning environment, the scope of what all learners can achieve is extended equally.