How To Manage Cultural Mismatches With Clients

In today’s workplace, a company’s culture is bound by many factors like it’s beliefs and values, the vision and mission etc. which defines the way it communicates with clients as well as the customer services they provide. When singling out a partner to take on a tech project, it is important to single out a company that has the same perspective and goal for the project but it is also equally critical to ensure that they share the same cultural beliefs and values to ensure there are no clashes during the run of the project.

Misunderstandings may happen during a collaboration due to cultural differences with the partner and there are a number of reasons that this could happen. A partner may be angry or upset because he feels that his requirements are not being met or that the project is not being given the due diligence it deserves and most of the time, this could simply be because of lack of effective communication. It is important that both parties are on the same wavelength for harmonious collaboration during the project and there are multiple ways that this can be achieved in case of a fallout during the development process. Let’s look at some of them here:

• Maintain etiquette and persuasively communicate with your client to explain your stand to them and keep the conversation as uncomplicated as possible. 
• If you’re working with a client who speaks a different language, set together a team which majorly speaks or is familiar with a few phrases of the same to reduce language barriers. 
• If a client feels that the team on-call is unable to cope up with deliverables, find out what the issue is and communicate the same with the client. 
• If the roadblock is caused by internal dependencies, it is essential to find an immediate fix whereas if the problem is caused by changed requirements, the next step is to strategise an effective plan forward. 
• Understand your team's work schedule and patterns and align the same with the client’s plan for the project to ensure that both parties are in accord with the milestones and the end-vision of the project.

After conducting a thorough research, come to an agreement with your client partner about the details of the project and terms and conditions of the work that will be involved as this will prevent a mix-up later. It also helps to understand whether your partner wants you to be proactive in terms of the input that you provide to the project or they simply want someone who’ll enhance their in-house team by supporting their activities.