As organisations adapt to ever increasing globalisation and interconnectedness, a multicultural workplace is becoming the norm rather than the exception. This is particularly true when it comes to wealth structuring, where high-net-worth clients, and their assets, are more diversified than ever.

An integral role of a trustee is to build relationships with clients based on mutual trust and a comprehensive understanding of the clients’ objectives. Where qualified and skilled practitioners is a given in our industry, the growing global recognition of the value of life experience – not only within business but also in educational settings and the charitable sector – is one which I welcome. I am proud that the diversity of our team has always played a role in our client service Whilst employing teams of highly qualified and skilled practitioners is a must have – professional qualifications cannot replace the knowledge gained through experience.

From communicating in a client’s first language to understanding values and familial expectations, the benefits of having a multicultural team are easily identifiable. At the same time, we recognise that inherent challenges come hand-in-hand with managing a multicultural team.

Switzerland is a recognised hub for international cooperation, governance and diplomacy, where almost 40% of the resident population come from a migration background. Therefore, it is not surprising that across our Swiss offices, our team members speak 16 different languages and originate from or have lived or worked in a vast range different countries across the globe. I can count myself in this trend.  After living and working in Guernsey, I then travelled extensively,  immersing myself in several cultures, before settling down in Switzerland.

I couldn’t help musing about the effect this fact has had on our management team at a recent management training session, when the organisers overlayed each team member’s strengths and weaknesses on a spider-graph. As the spider-legs of the graph crawled across each and every personality point, I could see in visual terms how this multiculturalism manifests in our varied approaches.

And this is a good thing, in my view. A workforce which brings together individuals with unique perspectives, experiences and knowledge helps sparks innovation by encouraging the exploration of different approaches to client service.  I am not alone in this view. Research has shown that diverse teams possess a wider range of skills, expertise and problem-solving strategies, resulting in an environment which fosters critical thinking as well as creativity. However, it needs to be sensitively managed.

This was never more evident than when we created our three-year vision during our management training session. Following hours of work and guidance, the vision statement we had painstakingly created seemed to all to be unremarkable – a bit boring. A tsunami of viewpoints ensued, and so too did the potential for endless discussion. Somewhat frustrated, our trainer (fearing disruption to his schedule) challenged us to come up with something better. Enthused and feeling heard, within 15 minutes of putting our heads together, we had motored to new wording. The result was ultimately  the same vision but expressed in way which represented us: brave, dynamic and creative – and we were back on schedule.

As demonstrated touched on above, getting the best out of diverse human assets is not always easy. A mosaic of approaches could lead to endless discussion and a lack of action. To counter this, it is important to implement strong but flexible processes which allow creativity and innovation to flourish whilst channelling the energy forwards.  I see a parallel between the values central to managing such teams and those we lean on when looking after our diverse clients, these being honesty and transparency, self-awareness, flexibility and empathy.    

As with families, alongside the cultural heritage of each individual, the core values of the firm are strongly shaped by the strong heritage of the company. It is my responsibility to ensure that our multi-cultural Swiss service is not only continually exceeding client expectations, but in doing so is conducive to an emotionally safe collaborative working environment, and that everyone feels, and has, equal opportunities to speak and, more importantly, to be heard.