Karen Han, Technical support
Career

How to make the most of multicultural teams

With offices and plants all over the globe, Höganäs is a truly multicultural company. Karen Han at Höganäs technical centre in Shanghai, China, says passion for the job and close-knit teams are two keys to make the most of this cultural diversity.

Karen describes her own team – and the entire technical centre– as an excellent example of how people with different backgrounds can work together. There are challenges of course and effective communication is one of them. One key, she says, is to maintain a mutual respect for, and trust in, one another.

“We may have different opinions, but if we keep communicating and take time to listen to each other, we will overcome the barriers and find solutions together.”

Passion for one’s work and a strong willingness to cooperate are two other important factors for making a multicultural team work.

An example of good practice, Karen points to Höganäs customer-training programme, for which she is responsible in the region. The basic structure is global, but local adjustments are made to accommodate cultural differences.