Many monolingual employers express their frustration with having to deal with employees who do not speak English. Some pass judgment on whether or not all employees hired should speak English. Whatever one's personal belief, the fact of the matter is that monolingual employees offer a valuable service, otherwise companies would not employ them.
Being able to communicate with a monolingual workforce is very important, not only for positive employee relations but to improve efficiencies, safety and prevent frustration on both, the employees' and the employer's side.
But what if your management team does not master the target language? Many companies resort to utilizing employees whose command of the English language is better than the rest of the workforce. However, this is a dangerous practice being that employers run the risk that the message is not being communicated clearly. Also, when dealing with confidential matters, it is unprofessional and risky to get another employee to be involved in such conversations. Hence, if a disciplinary action, for example a termination, is executed based on a conversation through a non-professional interpreter, it could cost the company. The affected employee can always argue that he or she did not understand what was expected of him.
The utilization of third party interpreting and translations services is the best practice for companies. It ensures that there is clarity and professionalism and it shows employees that the company cares enough about communication to invest money to make sure employees are well informed.
Utilize professional interpreting and translation services, your return-on-investment will prove positive!
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