In celebration of CPM's brand refresh and new website launch last summer 2017, CPM Barcelona decided to run three employee competitions... Read our "Budding Blogger" winning article from Michelle on working in a multicultural environment at CPM!
Multicultural, Multicolour - by Michelle Figueiras Chen
Looking to your right; an Italian stands up from his chair and gestures in the air while explaining to customers the best and most efficient way to solve their problem. Looking to your left; a Spanish speaker, you are not exactly sure from where, laughs with some colleagues at a random GIF that shows up after successfully closing five cases and making five customers happy.
Your working place is as important as your home, after-all you spend many hours there. Working at CPM you are lucky enough to hear more than 8 different languages and have multiple nationalities converge in a space dedicated to receive calls from every corner of the world. Working in this multicultural environment can be one of the most enriching experiences you can have.
There are some obvious advantages to being in such an environment. As an individual you can learn from other cultures and you will sure be motivated to acquire new skills. For instance, being surrounded by French speakers one day you become interested in the language or you become friends with a colleague from Russia who teaches you how to cook traditional food. Also, there is a component of self-discovery. It is known when we are confronted with different beliefs and customs, we can actually start questioning our own preconceptions and habits.
There are other positive aspects and many of them are related to teams and their performance. Highly diverse environments have the potential to increase creativity. Nothing new comes from talking to people similar to you, it is like hearing an eco. Being in a place where people come from different backgrounds allows teams to bread new ideas. Innovation and diversity are two terms that should always go together.
Problem-solving is another task that can benefit from multiculturalism in the workplace. Different people will have different approaches to tackle an issue and when you find yourself stuck without a solution, asking others that will see things differently can help you find that out of the box thinking or that workaround to a problem.
Also, companies benefit from diversity in the workforce. At CPM, it is key that employees have the ability to connect and communicate with different cultures and languages to give a better customer service. But also sends a strong message of non-discriminatory policies, projecting the culture and values of the company.
Company, employees, customers and teams are all positively affected by a diverse working environment. When you enter CPM the first thing you’ll notice is how colourful the place is, working there you realize their people are just as multicoloured.
Written by Michelle Figueiras Chen,
Airbnb Customer Experience Specialist
CPM Barcelona
1 minute read
