5 Reasons Why Your Employees Should Learn a Foreign Language

Whether you want to take advantage of the global market, reach new customers both at home and internally, or just build a stronger workforce, giving your employees the opportunity to learn a foreign language is by far the most effective strategy.

After all, making an effort to communicate in someone’s native language is always a sign of respect and will help you stand out in a crowded market.

As business magazine Forbes says; “With the evolving business landscape, and thinning borders. It would be a huge disadvantage for you as an individual or business-person to be limited to just one language.”

So let’s take a look at five of the most compelling reasons why you should encourage your staff to learn a foreign language.

1. Learning a foreign language can improve your employees’ confidence

When your employees learn foreign languages, they are forced to get out of their comfort zone. While it may be difficult at first, in time, they will become more willing to make mistakes and take risks in order to succeed. This can give them a huge sense of achievement and personal growth as well as a massive boost to their confidence.

As a result, they’ll be more willing to contribute with their ideas to the business, build relationships with important clients and interact more effectively with customers and clients. In short, they will become a bigger asset to your team.

2. It also helps boost their communication skills

When they will start learning a new language, your employees will also begin to improve their communication skills. Even if they never become fully fluent in their chosen language.

They’ll become more sensitive to other people’s body language and non-verbal cues. They’ll develop better listening skills. They’ll also become more culturally aware and find it easier to connect and build relationships with people whose backgrounds are different from their own.

These skills are priceless in a modern global business environment and can help your business interact more effectively on all levels. For example, your customers will receive higher quality customer service, misunderstandings will be minimized, and interactions between customers, clients and colleagues will be significantly improved.

3. It helps international business efforts

Of course, including language training as part of your corporate benefits package makes it easier to embrace the global market and expand your business overseas if you choose to do so.

With this powerful skill, your entire team will be able to conduct international business negotiations more efficiently and you won’t need to hire expensive translators to perform as you should.

Because you’re using your existing team members, you’ll be more likely to achieve a positive outcome and could even discover exciting new opportunities that you hadn’t previously.

4. It’s better for your customers

Your customers are much more likely to connect with your brand and become loyal customers if you can offer them customer service in their mother tongue.

After all, we all prefer to communicate in our mother tongue, understand new information, leave feedback or even ask for help in our mother tongue. Having foreign language skills helps your staff break down any barriers to communication and provide the level of service that your customers deserve.

This is especially useful for operating a business in a country where there are several native languages spoken or immigration from across the world.

5. You’ll attract a stronger workforce

By providing your employees with the opportunity to learn a foreign language, you’ll make it obvious that your business cares about its staff and is willing to invest in both their professional and personal future.

As a result, your employees will feel more like valued members of the team and will be happier, more motivated and even more productive when they’re at work. They’re also more likely to stay loyal to your company, reducing your staff turnover and helping your business rely on these strong team players.

Additionally, when it comes to recruiting new staff, having foreign language training as part of your benefits package can help you stand out as an employer, especially to a younger crowd who expect more. This makes it more likely that you’ll attract brighter talent and exceed your business goals.

Improve your team’s performance today

Language learning is a key way you can improve your team’s performance, stand out in the global market and better serve your customers. That’s why it’s one of the most effective components of your corporate benefits scheme. And who knows? Maybe you’ll discover your own inner polyglot too.

Discover more about our corporate language packages by reaching out to us at business@mondly.com.