Advice: Got a multicultural team? This is how to get the holidays right Written by Annie Makoff-Clark Thursday 12 January 2023 Share Share to LinkedIn Share to Facebook Share via email When planning for the year ahead with a multicultural or international team, how can managers ensure everyone feels included? Consider your annual leave policy and let your staff take the lead Christmas and New Year work parties are big events in the UK work calendar. But that doesn’t mean the celebrations are over until next December. In multicultural teams, your staff will be celebrating many other festivals throughout the year. The question is, how can managers ensure their diverse teams are given equal time and space to mark their own significant holidays? This is a challenge that Ellie Dawes, now acting CEO of the Aplastic Anaemia Trust, is very familiar with from her time as a communications and fundraising manager at Child.org, where she managed two international teams across Nairobi and London. Ellie was careful to ensure that one culture didn’t dominate the other – which, in the context of Christmas holidays and new year celebrations, was vital. “It was never about English culture being the default culture and expecting everyone to celebrate Christmas,” she says. As part of the charity’s wider strategy, it was about presenting cultural differences as equally alien to each other. This included inviting people to give presentations about any aspect of their lives or share a favourite recipe, provided they were happy to do so. “There was an Iranian guy on my team who was keen to share his Iranian culture and food,” Ellie recalls. “We ended up going out for Nowruz – Iranian New Year – which falls in March, and he gave a talk to the Nairobi office about Nowruz celebrations and customs.” A clear business case As Ellie explains, there is a very clear business case for fostering a diverse and inclusive work culture: not only from an attraction and retention perspective but due to diversity of thought. “Managers can and should make this case,” she insists. “They might say, ‘we want to attract people from different cultures, so we’re going to invest in and celebrate everybody’s culture’ – whether that’s celebrating Chinese New Year or giving people time off for Ramadan.” Seven ways to support your staff during Ramadan Keep reading for three easy ways to become less Christmas-centric Login or register below for Free Instant Access Login If you are already registered as a CMI Friend, Subscriber or Member, just login to view this article. Confirm your registration Login below to confirm your details and access this article. Sign in with email Email remember me remember Forget? Please confirm that you want to switch off the "Sign in with email" remember me feature. Yes No Register for Free Access Not yet a Member, Subscriber or Friend? Register as a CMI Friend for free, and get access to this and many other exclusive resources, as well as weekly updates straight to your inbox. You have successfully registered As a CMI Friend, you now have access to whole range of CMI Friendship benefits. Please login to the left to confirm your registration and access the article. Advice Looking for advice and guidance? Whether you are looking for topical tips or information, you can find the latest advice and guidance from the CMI team here. Members See More CMI Members have access to thousands of online learning and CPD resources. Learn more about our membership benefits Join The Community CMI offers a variety of flexible membership solutions, tailored to your needs. Find out more and get involved in the CMI community today.