Martina Möller
The ability to assess international talents fairly and accurately is becoming increasingly important – both for companies and for society. This is linked to the challenge of taking cultural differences in verbal and non-verbal communication into account in the assessment process in order to recognise the right talent and thus ensure innovative strength and corporate success. HR departments therefore need tools to constructively assess cultural differences, recognise unconscious biases and minimise them.
Studies show that recruiters base their decisions in personnel selection heavily on non-verbal cues such as accents, eye contact or gestures. However, there is a lack of systematic research on which of these cues are really decisive for the final
assessment – especially from the perspective of experienced HR experts themselves.
This master’s thesis starts here and examines the extent to which cultural differences influence the perception and evaluation of applicants in job interviews, both in analogue and digital settings. The latter is a highly topical subject that has been little researched to date.
To this end, nine qualitative interviews were conducted with experienced HR professionals. The aim was to work out which communication features are perceived as particularly relevant, which challenges arise in the assessment of international applicants and which solution strategies can be derived from this.
With its practice-oriented and interdisciplinary approach, the work contributes to the optimisation of HR processes and the strengthening of skills that are crucial in globalised labour markets.