Communicaid Assists Crossrail to Communicate Effectively with Local Communities in London
Crossrail engages Communicaid to help develop the cross cultural skills of its staff working to engage successfully with local London communities via targeted cross cultural training programmes.
Following Royal Assent of the Crossrail Bill in July 2008, Crossrail Ltd was keen to continue in its objective to raise awareness of the project and its benefits, and ensure that the local communities had the opportunity to discuss in detail how this project would affect them. The multicultural nature of London meant that Crossrail staff would be in contact with a diverse population. As an equal opportunities employer that embraces diversity, Crossrail Ltd commissioned Communicaid to develop the cross-cultural skills of its staff involved on this project.
Crossrail Ltd understands the importance of its employees being able to manage sensitive situations and questions from individuals from those communities more effectively in order to present a positive public image of the planned construction. They were particularly concerned about the opinions of residents of the Spitalfields area in East London.
Declan Mulkeen, Marketing Director of Communicaid comments: “We were delighted to be chosen to assist Crossrail on this very important project to engage the local communities of East London. Crossrail understands the important role that culture plays when communicating with the culturally diverse communities that London comprises. The cultural awareness training was designed very closely with Crossrail in order to address their unique requirements and help employees communicate successfully with members of the public.”
The training was delivered to small group to maximize delegate participation and interaction. Delegates were encouraged to evaluate their own attitudes and behaviours and the impact of these on local communities. The training was highly interactive to encourage delegates to challenge their cultural assumptions and experience the impact of different communication styles and cultural behaviours.
To read a detailed case study of this cultural awareness training please click here Crossrail Case Study.