Culture in Russia: How To Overcome Communication Challenges Within A Global Company

“I have no idea what you mean” or “I don’t know why he reacted like that” — sometimes these thoughts occur when you’re working and communicating with people from different countries.

It’s happened to me in the past, so I’m going to share my tips on breaking down communication barriers. Three years of working for a global Russian-American company has taught me quite a lot about cultural differences in the corporate environment. Here’s what you need to know.

Understand the culture in Russia.

First things first: You have to understand how people from different cultures speak or communicate and how they perceive the world around them, as this impacts how they act in any given culture. In my case, I’m Russian in origin. As you may know, Russians are pretty direct and straightforward when expressing ideas and opinions. But coming from this culture in Russia, you should consider directness in speakers as sincerity and cordiality, rather than an imposition on your freedom of action.

Another example: Russian employees don’t always inquire about consent. They do whatever they feel is necessary in order to achieve goals. Americans are expected to follow management’s direction even though employees often ask questions about their duties and collaborate with supervisors.

The point is that in order to effectively understand someone from another culture in Russia, you always have to step into their shoes, get into their mindset and look at issues through their eyes.

It might seem a little obvious, but the first thing to do is just to Google “U.S. business culture” or “Russian office culture” — or whatever culture you are working with. Learn the basics about why people from different cultures communicate differently at work. Also, there are plenty of books on this topic (if you know a good one, please recommend it in the comments below).

Simplify communications.

From here, try to keep your spoken and written language very simple and avoid jargon and slang. Employees from outside of the U.S. (like me) may have difficulty understanding culture-specific idioms.

For U.S. employees: Aim to write in simple phrases and short sentences. Get to the point quickly. Be as concise as possible. Being simple and clear will make the translation process faster and easier for your colleagues.

Have face-to-face meetings.

Face-to-face meetings allow participants to go over issues and explain more fully, so they are often more productive than communication via email. They also help build mutual trust that technology can build on later. That’s why it’s critical that the first few meetings of a global business team happen face to face.

At Ecwid, we understand the importance of face-to-face meetings for cultivating trust. We address this in two ways: First, every top manager from the U.S. office visits the Russian office. It’s actually a lot of fun and we always have a good time together. We introduce that person to Russian food, architecture and general culture. These activities help us get to know each other and get a level of comfort and trust with one another. Second, this year we started a program where every quarter we randomly pick two people from the Russian office to travel to our office in California and spend two weeks with the U.S. team.

On the one hand, building a productive workplace with employees from many backgrounds isn’t easy. It can be difficult, time-consuming and an ongoing learning experience. But on the other hand, cultural diversity can truly enrich your life and company culture on many different levels. You become better at solving complex problems, appreciate alternative viewpoints and recognize that it takes effort. The pain produces the gain. As a whole, it helps us change, grow and innovate — as individuals and as team members.