V Skill HF-D2.4-004 transversal 8 skills
Intercultural communication
Adapting communication to differences in culture, language background and social conventions, and recognising and repairing misunderstandings that arise from them in time.
How hrmforce measures this
- Assessment method
- Situational Judgement Test · rho 0.12 (SD 0.11)
- hrmforce instrument
- Communication Styles, 360 Feedback
- Competency (50-framework)
- Sensitivity
- Trainability
- medium
- Demand outlook 2026 to 2030
- rising
Scenario with response options, scored on knowledge or behavioural tendency.
Behavioural anchors
| Level | Behaviour at this level |
|---|---|
| N1 Guided | Asks about the customs of the other party, speaks slowly and simply and checks whether the message has landed. works under supervision and follows instruction · routine, one variable at a time · own task |
| N3 Proficient | Recognises differences in directness and hierarchy within a mixed team and adapts form of address and way of giving feedback. sets own approach and seeks input proactively · several variables, some ambiguity · own team or process |
| N5 Leading | Draws up guidelines for cooperation between sites in different countries and mediates in conflicts with a cultural cause. sets the standard and the policy · strategic, under high uncertainty · organisation, value chain or profession |
N2 and N4 are deliberately not anchored. Raters place them between the anchors, following the O*NET convention.
Underlying skills
These skills inherit the assessment route and the behavioural anchors of this construct.
| T | Skill | Definition | Demand outlook 2026 to 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|
| V | Recognising cultural differences in conventions Cultural differences · Cultural conventions | Recognises differences in greeting, hierarchy, time perception and directness and adapts own behaviour. | rising |
| V | Communicating with a client of another language Language barrier · Communicating across languages | Makes self understood with limited shared language by using simple wording, imagery and check questions. | rising |
| V | Working with an interpreter Working with interpreters · Interpreted conversation | Conducts a conversation through an interpreter with short sentences, eye contact on the client and checks. | rising |
| V | Adjusting directness to culture Adjusting directness · High and low context | Chooses a degree of directness and use of no that fits the counterpart and the topic. | rising |
| V | Repairing intercultural misunderstandings Repairing misunderstandings · Conversational repair | Notices a message was taken differently, names that openly and repairs the conversation without blame. | rising |
| V | Applying cultural dimensions Cultural dimensions · Hofstede model | Uses a model of cultural dimensions to explain differences in cooperation and choose an approach. | rising |
| V | Using inclusive language Inclusive language · Bias free writing | Chooses words and examples that exclude no one on grounds of origin, gender, age or disability. | rising |
| V | Collaborating in an international team International teamwork · Distributed collaboration | Works with colleagues in other countries and time zones and explicitly aligns agreements, language and methods. | rising |