Oshkosh, WI - (March 6, 2018) -- Businesses and
organizations in Oshkosh and the surrounding communities are recognizing the
importance of intercultural competence to their mission and bottom line, and
are taking concrete steps to further their efforts.
Fit Oshkosh, Inc., an organization dedicated to improving
racial equality and building a welcoming and inclusive community, offers a tool
to assess and improve intercultural competence. The Intercultural Development
Inventory™ (IDI) has been used since 1998 in corporate, academic, and other
settings in more than 30 countries around the world.
The IDI, conducted by a qualified administrator, is a
50-item questionnaire that takes 15-20 minutes to complete. It measures an
individual’s capability to shift cultural perspective and appropriately adapt
behavior to cultural differences and commonalities. This intercultural
competence is a critical skill for more effective interaction in a culturally
diverse setting.
The completed inventory is then used to focus individual
coaching and action planning, to build real and virtual multicultural team
development, to generate needs analyses for targeted developmental training,
and to conduct program evaluation and other research. Fit Oshkosh can provide
the full range of services, from initial assessment to program evaluation.
Tracey Robertson, co-founder and executive director of Fit
Oshkosh, and an IDI qualified administrator, has worked with groups having a
wide range of competency. “It’s not unusual for participants, even those with
years of experience in diversity, to realize more opportunities through the IDI
to reach their goals after implementing the assessment and subsequent
programming,” she says.
Associated Bank used the IDI with a select group of leaders
involved in their diversity and inclusion efforts, with the intention of
rolling out to additional key leaders over time. Although they are in the early
stages of deployment, Darcy Pierson, Director of Inclusion, Engagement and
Change Management Leadership, stated that “the IDI has helped the group
identify specific and practical actions that we can take to advance our
intercultural competency that go beyond traditional training classes.''
In engaging in the IDI process, Adam Jackson, culture consultant
for Humana, wanted to get a deeper personal assessment of key leaders’ cultural
awareness. The intention was to use that group’s scores to indicate what their
larger organization may look like, and to work collaboratively on opportunities
to make a difference together. A year into the initiative, Jackson says, “We
have had leaders actually step up and lead some of these ‘real talk’ sessions
where we explore inclusion and diversity topics. We made great progress on our
action steps in 2017 and have a solid plan to continue this work in 2018.”
For more information on the IDI and other services offered
by Fit Oshkosh, visit www.fitoshkoshinc.org/services.html
About Fit Oshkosh
Fit Oshkosh is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that seeks
to promote social transformation through Color-Brave conversations, education,
advocacy, and research in order to achieve race equity and justice. It believes
in the importance of a multicultural community and strength in diversity. It
values a community where people of color fit in without having to conform to
the dominant culture. www.fitoshkoshinc.org
