Why We Need Cultural Brokers in Every Organization

In the summer of 2013, I went to Ghana as part of the ThinkImpact Institute, a social entrepreneurship program that places university students in rural villages within African and Latin American nation-states to create a product or service with local assets, which will benefit the community. After preparing ourselves for the immersion, we were introduced to community organizers, whom the country coordinator recruited to support us on our small enterprise endeavor.

These organizers were more than translators; they were our access to meeting villagers and understanding the culture in the farming community. Furthermore, they advised us on how to proceed in our meetings and informed us of any concerns expressed by a team member or village leader. These invaluable individuals mitigated any misunderstanding and distrust between us, the outsiders, and the people that housed us for eight weeks. Without them, we would not have succeeded in promoting our products and building a relationship with suppliers and potential customers.

Let’s now fast forward to today. Currently, I am the only Spanish speaking Customer Service Representative in my branch office. I handle most, if not all, of the Spanish speakers that desire to know information about their account, want to make a payment, or need loss mitigation assistance in order for them to continue paying their mortgage. Alongside my role of being a debt collector and loan retention specialist, I see myself as an educator for those homeowners that do not understand the terms of their loan or any mortgage lingo that confuses them. I have built strong rapport with them, and they feel more comfortable with me, not only for my linguistic ability, but because they sense that I know where they come from. Subsequently, these customers probably have been shunned or not given the adequate service treatment due to the language barrier or a lack of access to another speaker (or interpreter) that most first-generation immigrants encounter when beginning their homeownership.

Before I continue with this article, I want to say the following statement, which applies to any nation and person. Anybody seeking to live and improve their livelihood in a new home country should learn the native language since it will open the opportunities present in the mainstream society. At the same time, the other language(s) must not be lost and should be passed on to future generations – encouraging descendants to not be scared or ashamed of speaking it to others. By this manner, a language is preserved and maintained in a family. The more languages one speaks, the more doors that are unlocked in life. I say this based on my education in International Politics, the reality of living in a more interconnected world, and acknowledging that we are global citizens.

All organizations – whether it is a private firm, a government department, or a media outlet – should hire people with background knowledge and experience of interacting with a target group of consumers. These potential employees I shall refer to as cultural brokers. They are the people that will link the organization with the groups that could benefit from the product or service that is being sold. Additionally, they will provide the group with a strategy on how to effectively and properly market the item so there is a positive response, increased recognition, and greater presence among those consumers.

Cultural brokers must be integral to any enterprise and can serve in any position of an organization's hierarchy.. They will contribute to an organization’s mission and bring in awareness to conducting outreach towards untapped consumer markets. Concurrently, cultural brokers will have great responsibility for being the direct representatives of the organization: the ones that customers or constituents interact with almost constantly. If you’re a manager or an executive, consider the possibilities that can emerge when interviewing candidates fitting this role. Meanwhile, think through if they will be responsible enough in handling the people and accomplishing objectives. Obviously, someone willing and motivated to work in the available position should be hired.

This piece applies to nation-states housing huge immigrant populations, containing diverse communities which speak different languages based on the regions, and accommodating different ethnic groups through its constitution. Regardless of the culture and language, people are people everywhere, and everyone has needs and wants. Cultural brokers will help an organization reach out to these consumers, making them vital in accomplishing a company’s or government’s stated goals.