Positive Indicators

• Works effectively with people from all backgrounds.
• Treats all people with dignity and respect.
• Shows respect for, and understanding of, diverse points of view and demonstrates this understanding in daily work and decision-making.
• Examines own biases and behaviours to avoid stereotypical responses.
• Does not discriminate against any individual or group.

Negative Indicators

• Is unable to relate to people from other backgrounds.
• Is insensitive to the needs of individuals with different perspectives.
• May offend people from different background.
• Is unable to view issues from the perspective of people with diverse viewpoints.

Sample Questions

What experience have you had with working with people from diverse backgrounds?

• Describe a specific situation where you have had to relate to others from a different background from yours?
• How could you improve how you interact with people from different backgrounds?
• Based upon your experience, what advice would you give to someone having difficulty working with people from different backgrounds.

Describe an occasion when you found it difficult to work with someone from a different background.

• What caused the problems?
• How did you respond?
• What was the outcome?
• What would you do differently next time?

Describe a situation that required you to consider a different perspective from your own when exploring an issue.

• What did you learn from the experience?
• How do you think you could improve your ability to see issues from a different perspective?
• How do you rate your ability in relation to your peers?
• What do you see as being the key to effectively viewing issues from an alternative perspective?

Give me an example of a situation where you have pursued a course of action which had to take into account the sensitivities of external (different) parties.

• What were the issues?
• What did you specifically do to handle these?
• What was the outcome?

What opportunity have you had to examine your own biases and behaviours when dealing with people?

• What observations have you made?
• Describe an example of when you have attempted to avoid a stereotypical response.
• What did you do that was effective?
• What feedback did you get from the person/people?
• How could you be more effective in this area?

When you are liaising with colleagues or others from different cultures, what sorts of issues do you need to take into account?

• When did this knowledge help you to get your job done more efficiently?
• When did you overlook something?
• How did you handle this?