As the saying goes, “First impressions leave a lasting impression.” Every business, especially in the hospitality sector, expects to obtain customer reviews on social media and respected travel and leisure platforms that are positive such as, “The food is delicious,” “I highly recommend,” or “The service was exceptional.” Whether it is in the tourism, entertainment, or food and beverage industries, having bilingual or multilingual customer service professionals on staff can help your business stand out and expand your target audiences. Are your current employees or prospective candidates linguistically prepared to meet the needs of your diverse customers?

As noted in an article entitled The Hidden Benefits of Bilingual Customer Service Reps, there are many positive outcomes of having multilingual staff, some not obviously apparent. Some of these benefits include having the ability to welcome clients in their preferred language, attracting new customers, getting free word-of-mouth advertising (customers will recommend your business to family and friends), expanding businesses to new markets (domestically and internationally), and maintaining the loyalty of current clients. Disregarding language and cultural barriers is not an option if one your organization’s goals is to build strong and long-lasting relationships with customers in a multicultural economy.

A 2019 study conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for ACTFL entitled Making Languages Our Business: Addressing Foreign Language Demand Among U.S. Employers, reports “A majority of U.S. employers (58 percent) say that their employees use their foreign language skills to communicate both internally with colleagues and externally with customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders.” Most U.S. employers also expressed that the demand for foreign languages has grown over the past five years, especially in the customer service and sales departments. These are the top two areas calling for multilingual personnel that are most likely facing a deficiency in language proficiency, causing organizations to avoid pursuing business opportunities or simply to miss out on them.

Research shows that the ability to speak more than one language has become one of the top skills required in many industries. In the hospitality sector, as well as in any business where face-to-face interaction is a daily and fundamental task to succeed, hiring employees capable of commanding two or more languages is crucial. The main goal is to provide the best service experience possible, and a competent bilingual and multilingual representative can deliver a clear, accurate, and compelling message to your diverse customers.

If you need to provide your current or future employees with dependable and legally defensible language proficiency assessments, contact Language Testing International (LTI), an exclusive provider of ACTFL assessments. Decades of research support the validity of each assessment, and LTI makes the remotely proctored testing process simple. We can assess the language skills of your team in over 120 languages anytime, from anywhere.

 

References:

Cura Resource Group (CRG). Joe Craparotta. “The Hidden Benefits of Bilingual Customer Service Reps.” July 24, 2018. https://www.curagroup.com/blog/the-hidden-benefits-of-bilingual-customer-service-reps

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

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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