Section 3 activities
Contents
Workplace activity: Meeting cultural expectations
Activity: Needs of diverse clients
Activity: Mapping cultural groups in your community
Workplace activity: Workplace signage and symbols
Workplace activity: Guidelines for engaging an interpreter
Workplace activity: Meeting cultural expectations
How does an organisation meet the expectations of clients and co-workers from diverse backgrounds?
Provide examples of how your organisation is meeting the expectations of clients and co-workers through the factors listed. (eg.hosting a cross-cultural event where refugee groups can meet and socialise with others in the community.
Don’t forget clients can be both external and internal.
Factor / Specific service exampleDemographic factor(s)
Income
Psychographic factor(s)
Life cycle stages
Cultural background
Feedback
Your organisation may provide services such as those listed below.
Factor / Specific service exampleDemographic factor(s) / Example: High ratio of older citizens ─ provision of aged care facilities, respite care support, community activities such as gardening, book clubs, etc.
Income / Example: High ratio of unemployed ─ job support programs, advisory services on budgeting, provision of social services.
Psychographic factor(s) / Example: Rural areas ─provision of a range of regular support services such as health, counselling, aged care. Assistance with travel to larger towns for community and health services.
Life cycle stages / Example: high ratio of families with young children ─ assistance with childcare; support systems for one-parent families.
Cultural background / Example:
High ratio of immigrants ─ provision of interpreter services, English language courses, multicultural community events.
Activity: Needs of diverse clients
Complete the following table with what you may think (or have experienced to be) the specific needs of the client groups listed.
Clients / SpecificneedsDisadvantaged youth
Persons with a disability
NESB residents
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders
Gender specific
Single parent families
Other
Activity: Mapping cultural groups in your community
Here are some ideas of how you can ‘map’ the cultural groups in your community. This activity is ideal for workshop groups but could be easily adapted.
- Lists: make a list on butcher’s paper of all the cultural groups you can think of in your community. Place a coloured dot beside the groups you see yourself belonging to.
- Mapping links: Construct ‘maps’ by placing a circle around each of the cultural groups and then draw links between the groups with words or images that depict the nature of the relationship. This canbe done as an extension of the above activity or as a separate exercise.
- Symbols: Place on the map symbols, words or pictures that, to you best sum up each of the cultural groups.
This exercise helps you to see how many subcultures of a culture we have in our communities.
Workplace activity: Workplace signage and symbols
Locate examples of signage in your workplace that is specifically designed to communicate with CALD clients or that does not rely on knowledge of English.
Make a list of the signage types and for each describe how or why it is appropriate for CALD clients. For example, signs on toilets use male and female symbols rather than words. All cultural and linguistic groups understand these symbols.
Workplace activity: Guidelines for engaging an interpreter
Find out about using interpreter services that are available through your workplace or in your area.
- Locate and print a copy of your workplace guidelines and/or procedures regarding the use of interpreters.
- Locate and print a copy of the interpreter request form used by your workplace.
- Collect examples, such as brochures or instructions describing workplace or community interpreting services, or identify links to online information that could help.
Keep a copy of this information for your Resource Folder for future reference.
© The State of Queensland (Department of Communities and Disability Services Queensland) 2007.