Effective Global Communication

As JTB Global Network continues to expand globally, many of us will communicate with colleagues and stakeholders more than ever in different parts of the world. JTB Network consists of 35 countries, 82 cities, and 162 offices across the globe with over 18,000 Global employees.

How easy or difficult do you think it is to communicate?

For all of the intrigue, excitement, learning experiences and adventure that they provide for our customers, the inherent language barriers, customs, and time zone differences can make communication a great challenge for us as we work across our global network.

Keeping the following tips in mind when embarking on intercultural-cultural communication can help ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible. ?

Get Accustomed to Differing Customs

In a world as vast and diverse as ours, there are bound to be differences. Some are obvious, like language barriers. However, many are much more subtle. In Japan, it may be rude to say "No," even in business. So, if you are communicating with a colleague in Japan, don't be surprised if you feel like the conversation drags on; putting an abrupt end to a conversation is seen as impolite. But in some other countries, communication tends to be more formal. It's more acceptable to discuss personal issues and opinions.

I have learned that to be successful in a global world; it's critical to be patient and understanding, especially regarding the business etiquette of other countries. If you need help communicating with someone from another country, try to observe and mirror the person with whom you're communicating.

Be Mindful of the Challenges of Others

Communicating by email can sometimes feel like just interacting with a computer screen rather than a human being. This can lead to unrealistic expectations. There have been times when I was working on a critical project with an overseas colleague and I expected an overnight reply to my email. My frustration would turn to shame when I discovered they were dealing with other challenging situations such as work stress, health problems or personal issues. These were utterly understandable reasons why they could not reply to my email as promptly as I would have liked. I learned to manage my expectations by realizing that I communicate globally with genuine people with various issues in their lives.

Keep Your Team In the Loop

Much can get lost in translation, especially globally. Keeping your managers or colleagues in your home country or office copied on the correspondence can help, especially when we need help understanding something. Our manager and colleagues might have more experience; if we need help understanding what an email means, they can explain it better. Suppose everyone in our home office needs help understanding a particular subject. In that case, the best way to have a clear communication path is to pick up the phone and have a telephone call or video conference to clear the air.

Get Involved and Show Interest

Collaborating with global offices means learning more about other countries simply through our work. You can benefit greatly from taking the time to research the countries and people that you work with regularly. Getting to know global regions beyond our work interests can also provide opportunities to get to know our colleagues more personally. Learning from and getting to know others worldwide is one of the most rewarding and fascinating elements of working in global business.

JTB University (Global) is our Key to Communication

In times of isolation during COVID-19, telephone calls (TEAMS, ZOOM meetings) and social media became fantastic ways to stay close to people and to bring them relevant and reliable information. To share the information promptly and stay in contact with all of our colleagues, JTB University (Global) migrated to an internal cloud-based system that, under perfect risk management, allows all employees to learn without environmental restrictions.

In addition to our live, in-class training courses and original e-learning modules, we have added a wide variety of internal and external learning content, giving JTB's global employees greater opportunities to learn and develop in even more disciplines - something that is so important for the changing times in which we live.

The core purpose of adding the new features was to create awareness of JTB University (Global) 's excellent educational programs, highlighting and sharing JTB's worldwide Group companies' businesses and information through our new U Campus Learning Management System.

Let’s explore.

Our goal is to gather and share news, views, best practices and the rich diversity of knowledge and experience from across the JTB group companies.

Communication and our leveraging of our skills and relationships will be the bedrock of our success in the years to come. We thrive on communication. It is, after all, our lifeblood.

So there is no time like the present. Come and explore the site for yourself.

We encourage all of our JTB Group companies colleagues to sign up to discover the benefits of learning and development at our ‘one-stop-shop’.