How Hiring Bilingual And Multilingual Staff Will Help Your Company Thrive In The Post-Covid Era
February 17, 2022 2023-03-13 7:27How Hiring Bilingual And Multilingual Staff Will Help Your Company Thrive In The Post-Covid Era
How Hiring Bilingual And Multilingual Staff Will Help Your Company Thrive In The Post-Covid Era
LEARN&CO | LANGUAGE AGENCY 
- Connect with international employees, clients and contractors
- A cost-efficient way to communicate internationally
- Increase customer satisfaction and brand loyalty
- Professional development opportunities are important
- Diversity in the workplace
- Having multilingual staff can be a boost to all staff members
- Should your business hire multilingual staff?
Connect with international employees, clients and contractors
Communication amongst your employees is crucial in running a successful and ambitious business. Hiring multilingual staff can expand your client base exponentially. This increases your ability to present your company to the global market and communicate with them easily. Hiring French-speaking staff for example would allow you to communicate with clients and employees in France, Canada, Belgium, and many African countries.
During the Covid pandemic, many businesses were forced to adopt the ‘Work from Home’ strategy. This meant that staff worked more frequently from home via email and video calls. This also meant that businesses could hire staff from other cities and countries, as all communications are now done online.
According to recent ‘Annual Population Survey’ data (APS, 2019), “On average in 2019, 27% of the workforce worked from home”. This is said to have increased to 37% in 2020. As working from home becomes more popular and global issues such as the Coronavirus and climate change become more prevalent, businesses are forced to adapt at a quicker rate. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) states the following data:
“Data from the Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) showed that of businesses that had not permanently stopped trading, 24% intend to use increased home-working as a permanent business model going forward, while 28% were not sure.”
The data provided by the ONS shows that moving forward working from home may be a more permanent solution for businesses. This will likely increase the availability and use of digital platforms for communication and increase exposure to foreign markets as a result. The demand for bilingual and multilingual staff will increase as the transition to working online leads to more efficiency and adaptability in the workplace.
A cost-efficient way to communicate internationally
Hiring multilingual staff across all sectors and teams is a cost-efficient way to broaden the reach of your business globally. It allows you to communicate with other companies, clients, business partners, and investors without having to pay for external services to do this for you. Multilingual staff can be extremely valuable when your business requires documents and emails translated. They can act as an interpreter when one is required on short notice and offer many other conveniences to the running of your business.
Bilingual and Multilingual staff are efficient and highly skilled, they are usually strong communicators, listeners, and organisers. Studying and learning multiple languages to a high level of fluency is a sign of great organisational skills and work ethic. The skills brought to the business are invaluable, so actively searching for multilingual staff is crucial in expanding your business’s reach globally.
Increase customer satisfaction and brand loyalty
Customer service is a huge draw for potential future clients. By hiring a diverse team with bilingual and multilingual staff you can share the expansion and ideas of your business. The process of localisation, or integrating your business into a new region, is easier to accomplish with existing bilingual staff. The expansion of your business can be made smoother with a workforce that excels in multiple languages.
If customers see the business’s ability to provide excellent service and its ability to be as inclusive as possible, then the business will earn loyal customers. Brand loyalty leads to returning customers who stick with the business regardless of what the competition may offer. This is especially true if your business has a representative that speaks their language and makes their experience pleasant and simple.
Professional development opportunities are important
Most businesses insist upon furthering the personal and professional developments of their employees. Whether it is financial competency or management training, learning a new language is just as important. With language tuition available for private, personal development like here at Learn&Co, learning a new language is easy convenient. The option to learn one-to-one with a highly experienced tutor allows for an efficient and personal learning experience. The added bonus of online classes means that you can learn conveniently without the added time and travel costs. Not only that, but lessons can be booked to fit around your working hours.
Giving your employees the option of further self improvement will give your business a competitive edge. A great way to do this is through professional language training opportunities online and at Learn&Co.
Diversity in the workplace
A forward thinking business will make sure to have a diverse workforce with multi-talented individuals. One such talent is being able to communicate effectively in multiple languages.
As globalisation is a fundamental aim for many businesses, it is crucial to build a team of capable, creative and open-minded individuals who will naturally drive the growth of the business on a global scale. Globalisation begins at home. The UK is already an incredibly diverse country with cultures, religions and languages from many nations being represented. If a UK business wants to connect with an international audience, they must begin with the multicultural community present nationally. Implementing diversity in the workplace will naturally lead to having a more diverse audience for your business.
Having multilingual staff can be a boost to all staff members
Hiring multilingual and international staff can have profound knock on effects. One such positive effect is that other employees may be encouraged to take up learning a new language or hobby. They may see the benefits of having a broader skill set or be inspired to explore other cultures and countries. The presence of bilingual and multilingual staff could provide a shift from a stagnant point of view to a more diverse and open way of thinking and working.
As stated above, people who speak more than one language are usually better at multitasking and working more efficiently. If the overall efficiency of the workplace is increased, then the staff would experience a morale boost and seek further improvements.
Should your business hire multilingual staff?
In a post-Covid world, where interconnectivity and global communications are crucial for businesses to expand, the benefits of hiring bilingual and multilingual staff are immensely positive. Bilingual staff are known to be efficient, well organised, and have a great work ethic. The boost to your business will be seen in the office and online. Communication with international clients will be simpler and more effective than without multilingual staff on board.
Many professionals and businesses in the UK benefit from learning or improving their knowledge of another language. There may be difficulties for both new and experienced learners throughout their language learning journey. However experienced language tutors such as those at Learn&Co have a proven record of teaching languages effectively, regardless of age, experience, or profession.
