Is your organization grappling with a significant discrepancy between the language proficiency skills of your employees and the language needs your company relies on to do business? Offering language support to employees, especially when language proficiency plays a critical role in your company operations, is a vital step that can greatly impact the organization’s productivity. Lengthy task completion times caused by misinterpretations of instructions or communications, whether written or verbal, are challenges that must be addressed to enhance economic performance.

Certify Your Employees Today

“With the myriad of things that are out of the control of businesses, learning foreign languages to speak to your employees, suppliers and customers need not be one of them,” (Selko).

Addressing language skill gaps

A survey conducted for ACTFL reveals that many U.S. employers conduct business in languages other than English. However, the study also highlights that numerous employers are unable to meet their organization’s foreign language needs resulting in missed opportunities and business losses.

findings from the survey for ACTFL on the importance of foreign language skills in business
Source: ACTFL

To improve language skill gaps, the study recommends that U.S. businesses assess employees’ linguistic proficiency and offer tailored language training to both prospective candidates and current staff with the method that best fits their role in their workplace. While translation tools and technologies are convenient options, the study states that over two-thirds of employers rely on external language service providers (LSPs) to meet their organization’s language needs. “Every language has its specific nuances and cultural references that machines have trouble fully understanding or articulating,” (Polaszewski-Plath).

Language skill gap and its effects on productivity

Limited language skills in the workplace can lead to unnecessary rework of certain tasks and time wastage, especially in group projects. Effective collaboration hinges on clear communication among team members. When the channels of communication are unclear, the ability to work together effectively decreases. From a Human Resources standpoint, bilingual or multilingual employees who do not identify English as their primary language may be faced with inadequate language proficiency support in their workplace and may need more time to adapt and fully comprehend their roles and job duties. This situation may lead to reduced confidence in their capabilities and make them reluctant to take on new or certain tasks. It is important to mention that decision-making processes can also be affected, especially among monolingual English-speaking leaders within the company who might misinterpret communication gaps as lack of professional competency.

When bilingual employees struggle with language learning or improving their linguistic skills while on the job, the impact on productivity is not only during the initial stages of employment, such as the onboarding process, but during subsequent training, where extra time and effort may be required. Likewise, in roles involving customers or clients, linguistic barriers can negatively impact the establishment of long-lasting relationships due to mishaps or serious errors.

You can be proactive in finding solutions to the linguistic challenges that your company may be facing. Contact Language Testing International® (LTI), a reliable language assessment provider with over thirty years of experience supporting the corporate sector, and bolster your employees’ confidence by assessing and certifying their speaking, writing, listening, and reading abilities in other languages. As the exclusive licensee of ACTFL, LTI administers valid and reliable language credentials in over 120 languages. When you verify your employees’ and prospective employees’ language skills with ACTFL language proficiency assessments, you can hire bilingual and multilingual talent with confidence.

Sources

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and the Lead with Languages Campaign commissioned Ipsos Public Affairs, with the support of Pearson LLC and Language Testing International. (2019). “Making Languages Our Business: Addressing Foreign Language Demand Among U.S. Employers.” https://www.leadwithlanguages.org/report

Polaszewski-Plath, Annett. “How Companies Can Overcome Language Barriers To Tap Into Global Talent Pools.” Forbes Business Council. Sep. 10, 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/09/10/how-companies-can-overcome-language-barriers-to-tap-into-global-talent-pools

Selko, Adrienne. “Are you Losing Business Due to Lack of Language Skills?” MH&L. Material Handling & Logistics. April 6, 2020. https://www.mhlnews.com/labor-management/article/21128014/are-you-losing-business-due-to-lack-of-language-skills

Madeline Martínez is a Multicultural Navigator Specialist at URBANDER, a Woman and Minority Business Enterprise (WMBE) specializing in transforming businesses to advance humanity. URBANDER’s role is to serve as an extension of Marketing, Diversity, Human Resources, Procurement, Community Relations, and Social Responsibility teams, providing innovative approaches in the areas of strategic marketing, content development, workforce development, community outreach and IDEAS (inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and sustainability). Madeline holds a both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Communications from the University of Puerto Rico and is an experienced copywriter and content developer dedicated to amplifying the voices of URBANDER’s clients. From blogs and articles to social media posts and interviews, Madeline is a skilled writer across diverse topics integrating her marketing, business and academic acumen. Though her earlier work as a Publications Officer at the Inter American University in Puerto Rico, and her most recent performance as a Spanish Interpreter, Substitute Teacher, and Instructional Assistant for English-language learning elementary school students, Madeline has impacted countless families as they have navigated migrating to the U.S. from Spanish-speaking countries. As a bilingual professional, Madeline is also proficient in translating written documents from English to Spanish, and vice versa. She has received LTI issued ACTFL Language Proficiency Certificates in Spanish as follows: Advanced Writing, Advanced Listening, Advanced Reading and Superior Speaking. During her downtime, Madeline loves spending time with her family, and enjoys dancing, movies, photography, and coffee. She considers herself a continuous learner. “A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers”- Helen Keller

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