3 Ways Investing in Language Training Will Make Your Company Money

Ultimately, any investment made in your company is for the purpose of bringing in more revenue or cutting costs in order to save money. Investments can make or break a company. Some investments bring in quick revenue, and others have more long-term benefits. Companies should be careful not to get lost in the hustle and bustle of trying to make a quick buck and must consider long term investments in order to be successful. Smart companies make investments in three main areas: their employees, communication, and business connections. One of the best ways to invest in your employees is providing professional development (PD) that allows them to grow as a person as well as an employee. One type of PD that develops personal growth as well as professional is corporate language training. Such training also encompasses the other two areas of investment of communication and making business connections. Keep reading to see 3 ways investing in language training will make your company money.

Increases Employee Retention

Every employer knows that higher employee morale goes hand in hand with higher employee productivity. Not many things make an employee feel more valued than the realization that their company takes a personal interest in investing in them individually. By giving employees the gift of language learning, they will feel not only valued, but also valuable. Being able to effectively communicate with two customer bases brings a sense of confidence to an employee that cannot be found elsewhere. Knowing that they have achieved an edge that others in the same field likely do not have will boost employee confidence and in addition, their morale. 

Savvy employers know that a positive work culture definitively impacts employee retention. Language learning naturally creates a positive work culture through cultivating collaboration. Employees must work together during language training sessions. Quality language training looks like partners or groups of students working together to communicate in the target language. Communication in any language requires collaboration of two parties to arrive at a common understanding of what is being said. Doing that in another language takes collaboration to a whole new level. As employees work together to construct meaning in another language, they will find many differences from their own language and way of saying things. They will be faced with the need to allow for differences in order to achieve a common goal of communication. As employees learn how to accept differences between the two languages and cultures, this open-mindedness can help them be more willing to accept differences they encounter elsewhere in their work environment. 

Avoids Outsourced Communication  

Companies need to make money, but they also need to cut costs in order to get ahead. By investing in language training for your employees, your company will eliminate the need for interpreters for international business calls or in-person visits from current or potential foreign business partners. No more frustration of technology not working or an interpreter not being available when your company needs them. No added variable when trying to schedule a meeting in two different time zones. Company employees are at work already, and now they can be an added asset when it comes to communicating with international clients and business partners. The same goes for written communication. There is no more need to outsource these communications to another company and wait 24-48 hours for them to return the translation of an email and another 24-48 hours to reply. Translation is at your company employees’ fingertips because they now have that language ability through corporate language training.

By keeping communication in-house, your company can avoid prying eyes. Sensitive information will be seen by the owner of the information and the one to whom they wish to communicate it. No NDAs necessary. All through one long-term investment in your company’s employees’ language learning training.

Makes More Connections

Every company wants more customers. Most companies seek out new customers through advertising, cold calls, or their established connections. Innovative companies realize that although the lingua franca in the business world is English, learning the native language of their potential clients, customers, and business partners will give them the edge they need to seal the deal. One’s native language can also be called their “heart” language. Meaning that when trying to speak to their emotions rather than their intellect, communication in their native language will always be crucial. Nelson Mandela elaborates, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” Getting the emotions involved opens the customer’s wallet a little wider. Advertising has proven that time and again. Connecting with the emotions also helps in building rapport with a potential client or business partner. Knowing that your company cares enough to invest in learning their heart language and culture will speak volumes of your commitment to the needs of your future clients.

More languages known in the company also means broadening the company’s horizons. Scores of countries’ markets can be unlocked upon learning Spanish, for example. Twenty-one new countries, to be exact. English may be the lingua franca in business, but that does not mean the average man outside of the US speaks English fluently. Gaining language fluency means gaining access to a larger customer base, and thereby increasing revenue. And that… is doing smart business.

CORE Languages exists to provide superior language training. Our clients select us because they are looking for the most effective delivery and outcomes in the language service industry. Ask about our Corporate Virtual Language Training.