Regrettably, I am unable to speak another language and I have long wondered about the impact this will have on my career. You may be wondering how I graduated high school without learning a foreign language. I will reveal my age and share that when I graduated in 1991 mastering a second language merely required that I earned a C in my two years of study. I took French and managed to meet the minimum requirement to pass, but that does not mean I learned the language. Fast forward to today and I am now faced with the daunting task of learning a foreign language as an adult if I desire to be competitive in the job market when applying to companies that operate globally. Studying the European Union (EU) reinforced the concerns I have over my foreign language deficiency.
Currently, the EU is comprised of 27 member nations (Moran, Abramson, Moran, 2014) and serves as a prime example of multilingualism with twenty three official languages (European Commission Directorate, 2011). Conducting business with another multinational enterprise in the EU means that a globally oriented leader would benefit the organization if they spoke the language of their business partners. You may be asking what about using translators which is typical for Americans conducting business in foreign countries? Research suggests that while English is the still the primary language in meetings and interviews in some countries, multilingual employees are preferred (European Commission Directorate, 2011). There are also potentially harmful financial implications for companies whose employees are not multilingual.
Businesses either headquartered or choosing to operate in the EU value diversity within their ranks particularly when it comes to language proficiency and France is a great example. Their love and appreciation for their own language is evident in the fact that everyone is expected to speak it (Moran et al., 2014). France also happened to be the focus in one of the case studies conducted by the EU Commission Directorate.
EU Commission Directorate Study
This study presents compelling evidence that multilingualism is becoming more vital for companies who conduct business not only locally in the union, but globally as well. One company, GDF Suez, which operates its headquarters in France, routinely uses six different languages during daily operations in over 60 countries (European Commission Directorate, 2011). If you are an American expatriate working for this company in any of their subsidiaries, it would be common to see documents, view websites and converse with people spanning many languages as it is encouraged for employees to speak in their native language. The negative financial implications mentioned earlier were experienced by GDF Suez which reported that a lack of language skills and the associated costs for translators and interpreters was viewed as a harmful weakness (European Commission Directorate, 2011). The study further revealed that 11% of respondents had lost contracts due to a lack of language skills (European Commission Directorate, 2011). The report went on to cite many other benefits companies receive as well as the incentives they offer to attract multilingual employees.
A multicultural workforce is increasingly more common as employers have begun to recognize the many benefits gained through diversity and multilingualism is just one of them.There are numerous other companies from the European Union profiled in the study and many that have offices within the United States. The chance of securing employment with one of these companies is real and you increase your odds and marketability if you can speak another language. I do not know about you, but I intend to learn another language and increase my odds.
European Commission Directorate-General for Translation (2011). Studies on translation and multilingualism: Mapping best multilingual business practices in the EU. Retrieved from http://www.termcoord.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Mapping_best_multilingual_business_practices_in_the_EU.pdf
Moran, R.T., Abramson, N.R., Moran S.V.(2014). Managing cultural differences. New York, NY: Routledge.