Why you shouldn't ignore employees' cultural background in HR internal marketing and communications

Adapting to different cultural backgrounds is one of the biggest challenges organizations with a global workforce face—remote or in-person.

Here is why...

Often, there is a disconnect between the internal marketing and communications messages an organization shares with employees and the cultural background of these employees.

As a result, messages and campaigns to employees are not as effective as expected. Because of this, the employees' cultural background has a direct impact on the effectiveness of HR internal marketing and communications.

Whoever, this has become the status quo among multinational, large organizations.

One-size-fits-all messages don't work anymore

HR teams often use one-size-fits-all messages that align with the company culture, but don't take into account each employee's unique culture, causing them to disregard the messages.

This is why an employee's cultural background can determine the effectiveness of any internal marketing and communications initiative.

While these messages may be slightly relevant, they often fail to connect with the context, needs, and goals of staff members with diverse cultural backgrounds, making them less impactful.

Employees are already disengaged

According to Gallup, 85% of employees are disengaged. Then, a few things need to change.

Can you imagine the same figures if we were talking about customers or clients instead of employees?

Yes, you are right...

It would be devastating for any business.

Basically, it would be like saying... "Look, next quarter, only 15% of our clients are renewing their contracts". Which equals to "we'll be out of business quite soon unless something changes".

One may argue that this could be fixed with better corporate benefits, though.

However, did you know that half of the employees don't read or understand benefits communications? Even worse, brands are currently having a hard time attracting and retaining top talent.

How cultural backgrounds change our perception of value (and our level of engagement)

For example, I have lived in Panama, Costa Rica, Morocco, and Spain. In Spain, over the last 23 years, I've lived in Madrid, Guadalajara, Granada, Cadiz, and Malaga.

One side of my family is from the US.

People in all these countries cherish distinct beliefs, values, and principles.

People in Southern Europe, for instance, value things like quality of life, free time, vacations, and health over long-term money.

In the US, people prioritize long-term financial and personal growth over quality of life, and are willing to make sacrifices to achieve greater returns in the future.

Then, as you can see, people value things and concepts differently. At the same time, our perception affects our level of engagement.

Customer-facing marketers are solving this challenge with a customer-centric approach that helps them build a more granular approach to marketing.

This approach focuses on knowing customers well by gathering and analyzing customer data. Then, using this information to build products and messages that adapt to individuals at scale.

For example, take a look at these personalized video examples and strategies used by the brands we all know. These brands use customer data to deliver a unique experience that helps individuals pay attention and take action.

HR Teams need a "customer-centric" approach

The truth is that companies invest a significant amount of resources into comprehending their customers and enhancing their satisfaction because it pays back.

This customer-centric approach helps them connect with them across the customer journey in more effective ways that bring higher engagement rates.

In fact, 66% of individuals prefer getting personalized messages (McKinsey). 94% of marketers convert more leads into clients with a personalized experience (ActiveCampaign).

For example, customer engagement initiatives have grown remarkably in the last 5 years. In many cases, marketing, sales, and customer experience teams are going after specific KPIs.

I wrote an article and case study about how organizations can and are improving customer onboarding with personalized videos. In the case study, you'll see how a brand got a 78% engagement rate using personalized videos.

This would take us, then, to an employee-centric approach in the way HR communicates.

So, what can HR and internal marketing teams do?

With this in mind, here is something HR and internal marketing teams should remember:

Employees are, in the end, consumers.

Simply put, they are people.

And 76% of consumers get frustrated at organizations that don’t deliver a personalized experience (McKinsey).

People are complex.

A lot of this complexity comes from our culture as individuals.

So, let me ask you.

Are you taking your employees' culture into account in your internal marketing and communication strategies?

To improve the effectiveness of internal marketing and communication strategies, HR teams should take into account employees' cultural backgrounds.

This will help you contextualize relevant messages to the needs, goals, and even concerns of your staff members.

In this article, I explain three steps to creating effective benefits communications in three steps. Read it now to enhance your HR communications and increase employee engagement by considering their cultural backgrounds at all times.