Five tips for supporting culturally-diverse clients

Whether the stakeholders are Chinese investors or Traditional Owners, how do you overcome cultural and communication divides to deliver a great project? We speak to three seasoned project managers to glean their insights.

“People often underestimate the depth of understanding required to navigate cultural barriers,” says Turner & Townsend’s senior project manager Bapi Bhattacharjee (pictured left).

Bhattacharjee has worked in Australia and the United Kingdom with a range of cultural groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, multi-cultural stakeholders in London and Saudi Arabian businessmen. He has held client meetings in shimmering ballrooms, prison chapels and under eucalypt trees.

“Communication is at the heart of any successful construction project, but it’s even more so when working on a project with culturally-diverse stakeholders,” Bhattacharjee emphasises.

Alison Smith and Josh Taylor lead teams at integrated property and infrastructure consultancy APP Corporation and work with a growing list of Asian investors on both greenfield and brownfield projects.

“Our Asian clientele has increased considerably over the last five years, and we’ve learnt a lot from these experiences,” says Allison Smith, APP’s executive manager.

What are their top five tips for project success with culturally-diverse groups?

 

1. Understand objectives

   The first task of any project manager is to understand the client’s objectives.

   “We work with a lot of offshore clients and high net worth individuals. We try to understand their core business – which may not be property development – and the culture that surrounds it. If we understand that, we can understand how to do business with them,” Josh Taylor, APP’s project director, explains.

   Bhattacharjee says deep insights into a client’s objectives are found by visiting them in their own environment. This is particularly true for Indigenous community projects.

   “Taking time to visit a community prior to the project’s commencement, and meeting elders or other key community members, will shed light on how the community operates and the people who will ultimately shape the new project,” Bhattacharjee explains.

    

2. Overcome the language barrier

   Breaking down the communication barrier can be a huge challenge for any project manager, particularly at the earliest stages of a project.

   “We need to decode and demystify project matters into simple, interpretable language,” Bhattacharjee says. Visual aids, translators and teleconferencing are all useful tools to support communication efforts, he adds.

   “The old saying about a picture paints a thousand words is also true and can help to demonstrate complex subject matter.”

   APP often builds culturally-diverse teams with people who can understand and speak the client’s language. But “a lot can still get lost in translation,” Allison Smith (pictured right) says.

   “We’ve learnt to explain a lot more earlier on – you can’t assume knowledge, particularly cultural knowledge.”

   While APP’s clients are highly skilled and knowledgeable in their particular fields, they may not have a deep understanding of Australia’s planning and political processes, Smith explains.

   “Many organisations have an Australian office, but the decisions are made in Asia. You might communicate to an Australian entity, who translates that into another language to an Asian-based decision maker.

   “It is well worth the investment to get early documentation translated,” she advises.

    

3. Identify unspoken agendas

   “Our job as project managers is to understand and deliver a brief – and often the challenge is understanding the unwritten expectations,” says Bhattacharjee.

   “Any group may have an unspoken agenda. A project manager’s role is to ensure all agendas are on the table and that everyone has a voice,” he says.

   Smith says understanding the client’s modus operandi goes straight to the heart of managing any unclear expectations. Some cultures are focused on the bottom line, while others emphasise community benefits, she explains.

   “It’s a matter of asking questions to understand where people are coming from,” she says.

    

4. Build transparency and trust
   

   Taylor (pictured right) says the challenge with any project is “to build transparency and trust”. Doing that takes time. “It’s a matter of proving your worth,” he advises.

   “Set reasonable goals and achieve some early wins. Prove to your client that their project will be successful.”

   Bhattacharjee says one of the simplest ways to build trust and rapport is to respect the client’s culture. He suggests embedding culturally-significant days into planning schedules is an important gesture.

   “Mourning days are important in Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander communities, while fasting days like Ramadan are widely adopted Australia-wide. During these times project managers need to be more mindful and respectful of the local communities and adjust programs accordingly.”

    

5. Set reasonable expectations

Expectation management is the biggest potential pitfall on any project with culturally-diverse clients.

Taylor cautions that overpromising, particularly when it comes to planning permits, can cause headaches.

“Often, offshore investors cannot understand how long it takes to get approval to develop in Australia. We need to be conservative – but any estimate we give is too long in their minds. We have to be strong, stick to our guns, and recognise that we can’t tell people what they want to hear,” he says.

Taylor says the industry needs to be consistent with its message. “Everyone wants to win and deliver, but we can’t create uncertainty or unreasonable levels of expectation.”

Smith agrees.

“A positive meeting with a mayor may be considered endorsement and approval by our clients, and we must explain that a two-year journey is still ahead – something that is hard for them to understand,” she says.

Bhattacharjee, too, warns about “the impact of under-delivering on promises”.

“Try not to be a ‘yes person’ and consider all the options before choosing the best course of action.”

While there are undoubtedly challenges, there are also moments of true inspiration, Smith adds.

“Many of our clients are more ambitious than Australians because they are not mired in our planning system. They challenge us to think differently. And that’s surprising and exciting to work with.”