International Experience, Multicultural Skills Are Critical in a Global Market
November 17, 2008
More Than 80 Percent of HR Community Say Cultural Skills are Crucial, According to New Study from ORC Worldwide and RW³ LLC
NEW YORK—According to a survey of more than 100 senior human resource managers, 81 percent of companies agree that international work experience is a crucial criterion for leadership in a global organization. The survey, “The Importance of Cultural Skills in Senior Managers,” conducted by RW³ LLC, an online intercultural training organization, and ORC Worldwide, a global human resource consulting firm, was designed to measure the importance of cultural competencies and global experience as criteria for senior management.
“During the current liquidity crisis, we’ve seen yet again how the global economy is entirely interconnected and how international cooperation is critical for the world’s economic well being,” says Michael S. Schell, president of RW³. “Understanding and appreciating how things get done in countries around the world is crucial for success. That means gaining an appreciation and understanding of culture. This survey reinforces how important the global HR community believes those intercultural skills are for their leadership.”
Respondents to the survey were primarily from U.S. headquartered companies doing business globally. They represented a cross-section of international businesses ranging from multinationals in Fortune’s Top 10 to smaller companies.
Key results of the survey included:
- Approximately 20 percent of current senior leadership comes from countries outside their company’s headquarters:
- 21.5 percent are foreign born
- 28.5 percent have international experience
- 28.6 percent have worked and lived in another country
- In the next five years, organizations expect that nearly 30 percent (27.4 percent) of corporate leaders will be recruited globally.
- Culture is essential to business success in the global marketplace:
- 75 percent indicated cultural implications of business decisions are sometimes or always considered when making business plans
- 57 percent indicated that culture plays a very important role in the success of the organization’s business mission.
"This survey represents the growing commitment of companies to global talent management," said Ed Hannibal, senior vice president of ORC Worldwide. "Culture is seen as a 'technical' requirement for international leadership, and as more employees take on global assignments, the experience gained is a deciding factor for future career opportunities. Ultimately, culture is a required skill, not a 'nice to have.'”
About RW³ LLC
RW³ LLC provides online cultural training and culturally based country information resources through customized websites that are part of its CultureWizard family of tools. The RW³ suite of tools includes: a complete online cultural training course, culturally based country information on 120 countries, assessment tools for international assignees and global leadership positions, and tools to facilitate the functioning of intercultural (virtual) teams. Its programs are supported with facilitated training and customized web-based and face-to-face programs. The company is headquartered in New York.
About ORC Worldwide
ORC Worldwide is a human resource consulting company, providing its clients with global solutions to their human resources management and compensation concerns through customized consulting and information analysis and through its unique peer network forums that bring together common-interest groups of human resources executives and specialists to share information and experience. ORC, with roots tracing back 75 years, serves large and mid-size companies as well as not-for-profit and non-governmental organizations around the world. Headquartered in New York, ORC Worldwide has offices in Chicago, Dallas, Dubai, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Munich, New York, Paris, Sacramento, San Francisco, Singapore, Tokyo, Washington, D.C., and Wellington.
Order Online
The Importance of Cultural Skills in Senior Managers survey may be ordered online from ORC's survey system.
