In our increasingly globalized world, there is a growing need for a multilingual workforce. The demand for multilingual employees more than doubled between 2010 and 2015. The workforce has continued to evolve since then, particularly because of the COVID-19 pandemic — as of 2021, there has been a 30% increase in bilingual remote jobs.
Multilingual employees bring undeniable value to the workplace, helping to build a culturally diverse workforce, which in turn allows for fresh ideas and perspectives in creating new business solutions. They also help with the expansion into global markets and the building of employee and customer trust.
Businesses can keep pace with the global market by prioritizing multilingualism. Knowledge of more than one language can benefit employee and business growth. By prioritizing multilingual career advancement, you can ensure employee and organizational achievement.
Why Invest in Multilingualism?
Businesses that prioritize multilingualism can connect with broader audiences. Learning a new language requires a commitment to a new culture. During this process, you adopt new viewpoints and understand different cultural nuances. Your brain adapts to the new language and expands, developing new or advanced skills.
Employers can bring these advanced skills into their workplaces by hiring multilingual employees or providing existing workers with the ability to become bilingual. For example, multilingualism can develop these skills in employees:
- Improved communication: Multilingualism allows people to communicate with larger numbers of people. People who speak more than one language understand the structural components on a deeper level. For instance, they might understand the most effective way to discuss a particular topic. Effective communication is a vital trait for employees, letting them speak with co-workers, supervisors, and clients in an engaging and clear way. They can introduce products, answer customer concerns, or present new ideas.
- Strengthened client relationships: According to data from Statista, more than one-fifth of Americans speak a language other than English at home. By employing multilingual workers, you can connect with a wider client base. You can interact with clients in their preferred languages, which facilitates a closer relationship. Employees become better prepared to meet customer expectations and respond to their needs. The personalized approach increases brand loyalty.
- More productive work environment: You can also boost your workplace’s efficiency with multilingual workers. Bilingual speakers can have increased confidence, which can lead to stronger relationships among employees. A unified workforce can work more efficiently due to increased collaboration. Better communication makes it easier to complete projects and relay information to each other.
Case Study: JetBlue
JetBlue is a prime example of how multilingualism benefits businesses. The airline company allows employees to fast-track their degree programs, making it easier to obtain their credentials. Their Global Scholars Program advances the educational and professional opportunities for all employees, allowing them to earn accredited associate or bachelor’s degrees. Employees can also apply previous courses, certifications, licenses and job experiences to their degrees to build credits.
Multilingual JetBlue employees can also increase college credits by displaying their proficiency in other languages. JetBlue partnered with Language Testing International® (LTI) to provide the opportunity to take language tests. LTI® administers ACTFL assessments, which have significance for proficiency and certification and are recognized by the American Council on Education.
They offer the opportunity for multilingual speakers, readers, and writers to earn college credits or linguistic certifications. “Someone who is a native speaker, or who is at the expert level in a language, can get 9 to 12 credits for a couple of the ACTFL assessments. That is a huge benefit to our crewmembers in the program,” says Nicole Lembo, the Manager of Talent Management/Academic Programs at JetBlue.
The success of the Global Scholars Program is evident for both the employees and for JetBlue. With the help of LTI and ACTFL, crewmembers at JetBlue not only have the opportunity to complete an academic degree without having to return to school, but many ascend to new roles within the company. Employees who complete the program also “tend to be more engaged with the company, tend to be more loyal to JetBlue, and they stay longer,” says Lembo.
Attracting and retaining talent in today’s economy is key to success. Lembo says, “When our crewmembers who already speak another language are able to become certified by ACTFL, it is not only valuable on a resume but even more exciting for us. Our employees have the opportunity to earn credits towards a bachelor’s degree. Ultimately, we are able to provide education to incoming talent, a huge part of the value proposition when it comes to recruitment. If you are going to be the employer of choice in today’s labor market where everybody is fighting for talent as we’re coming out of Covid, you have to offer more than a paycheck.” Recognizing and investing in employees’ multilingual skills can certainly contribute to a company’s competitiveness and ultimate transition to the global stage.
About Language Testing International
Administering ACTFL assessments and partnering with LTI can ultimately serve as the catalyst to help you elevate your employees’ academic and professional experiences, expanding your business. Your employees can earn ACTFL language proficiency certification with Language Testing International.
To learn more about JetBlue’s experience partnering with LTI, listen to our podcast in which Nicole Lembo discusses how JetBlue is leveraging LTI’s Language Proficiency Testing to help the company’s employees further their academic and career advancement.
