The age of globalisation swiftly moved from a phenomenon to ‘business as usual’ and has taken a permanent place in the broad spectrum of a progressive and future-oriented enterprise. In parallel, soft skills and cultural awareness axiomatically grew in importance. A new plateau of Millennial and Gen Z consumer society had placed its permanent mark on how businesses and the economy are expected to conduct their affairs, closing the disparity and gap between profits, sustainability, and social responsibility.

As global consumers changed, it painted a compelling picture to anyone able and willing to adapt and recalibrate, ensuring that their core values, products or services align with the standards of the progressive world. For many, especially more conservative institutions, such rapid changes may have felt like something far removed from the realm of their expectation. Most of us know, however, that not being willing to alter does nothing to mitigate the inevitable. Ayn Rand, in her unique blend of enigmatic curiosity and ‘blinders off’ attitude, said it best: “We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.”

Switching one’s vocabulary and demeanour depending on the audience is the most important soft skill anyone can possess and cultivate in the modern world. Social and Business Etiquette is a crucial and imperative skill for growth, competitiveness, talent acquisition and retention. It is a delicate, subtle, but indispensable art which is increasingly becoming a common denominator of all successful, recession-proof businesses. Whilst globalisation, in its essence, should mean the standard set of rules and simplified approaches to the operational procedures, it is rather evident that Japan and Brazil, Kuwait and Iceland or Malaysia and Namibia have some fundamental cultural nuances, which, if acknowledged and embraced can become a building block of long and prosperous partnership or talent acquisition.

Modern Business Etiquette learned, continuously developed, and applied properly not only erases the vast margins for faux pas and errors but also cultivates a skill of foreseeing key facets of any given situation. The art of conducting oneself properly and appealingly around any given culture of an individual of any professional or academic level moves far beyond a list of dos and don’ts or any other rigid convention of the upper echelons of society. It moved beyond proper handshakes or dress codes, engulfing a wide range of soft skills, emotional intelligence, and social responsibility. It would be respected if I was to summarise Social and Business Etiquette and Business Protocol in one word.

Respect, easy enough to define and comprehend, means and is perceived by different individuals and vast segments of society in a very another way; hence in modern society, one must be able to navigate swiftly in this ever-changing climate. Social or Business Etiquette is an outdated concept and not a helpful tool to address these matters. On the contrary, Etiquette, just like medicine or technology, develops, adapts, and refines with each wave of change. A thorough knowledge of Etiquette and protocol and a proper application of that knowledge is an elevation tool for individuals and the organisation. In the post-pandemic world, connected by the internet, where human recourses increasingly work from home, it provides the blueprint for communication over the telephone, emails, Zoom, Teams or any other virtual platform. The proper and respectful behaviour during virtual conference meetings with colleagues, clients or business partners was hardly noted pre-March 2020. Today, however, not only international but also a staggering proportion of domestic business interactions are exclusive via virtual platforms. Precisely here is where Etiquette levels the playing field. Real-life interactions and vastly different to virtual or electronic ones; hence even if one has exceptionally developed face-to-face skills, this may translate into something other than digital communication. How we express ourselves and come across to others is a fundamental particle of how others perceive us.

All being said, one may be under the impression that Etiquette and Protocol can be a long-term learning curve, trial and error experience, rather than something that has to be learned, digested and studied as its separate discipline. A hallmark of a polite, well-brought-up, professional and refined person is that these people will never correct if one makes a mistake, but very seldom to never at all will give the same opportunity or business offer if both written and unwritten rules were not adhered to. At a certain level in business, and any other aspect of life for that matter, there is no room for mistakes or errors in the areas where one is expected to know what, how, who and when. In the information age, ignorance is a choice, and not knowing will not absolve anyone from negative impressions. This applies not only to conducting business at the corporate level but also to recruiting the best talent. As human recourses increasingly pay attention to the culture within the organisation, the core values must be lived not only outlined to attract the best talent. Staying one step ahead of impending change or uncertainty is not easy but necessary and paramount.

Utilising Etiquette and Protocol across the entire spectrum of business and corporate is an integral pre-requisite to personal progression and organisation prosperity. Etiquette has to be learned and embraced as often as we champion technological changes, as in any given change and innovation, there are rules surrounding that transition. The efforts or recourses spent on learning rules of Etiquette and Protocol will always far outweigh the risks or consequences that can be incurred by not knowing. Above all, progressive and future-oriented individuals or organisations are proactive entities, not reactive. Taking proactive steps and delving into the art of Etiquette and Protocol yield far-reaching and long-lasting results.

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