Lessons learned on how global companies can adopt the lingua franca of business: English
A very interesting article was published a few weeks ago by the Singapore-based publication TODAYonline.com that referenced a Harvard Business School study by Tsedal Neeley, Pamela Hinds and Catherine Cramton about a German company that adopted English as its “official” language. The mandate was fairly strict and the company went so far as to require all employees—even Germans working with other Germans—to communicate in English at all times. Although the intent was strategic—the company was clearly trying to ensure it was able to meet the challenges of modern global business—there were a few side effects from their “top down” enforcement approach. The article reports that native-German speakers would:
Avoid speaking in meetings, left native English-speakers out of discussions and sometimes “code-switched”—drifted back into speaking German—during a conversation or an email thread to more efficiently make a point. Meanwhile, English-speakers interpreted their German colleagues’ avoidance of English as rude and exclusionary.
Unfortunately, heavy handed approaches can sometimes backfire and cause employees to show resistance against adopting new company-wide policies. So even though the German company had positive intentions performance-wise—and certainly understood the strategic imperative of Business English—they missed an important point. That is, the majority of global employees already recognize the need for proficient Business English skills! Research we completed earlier this year showed that employees already think of Business English as both a requirement to do their current job and a major factor in career advancement:
- 92% of multinational employees agreed that English was required or important for their job
- 93% reported that English was required or important to receive a promotion
- Only 7% surveyed felt their current proficiency level in Business English was sufficient
Clearly employees want to improve their English skills. But what would have been the missing link between the mandate from headquarters to communicate only in English and employees who desperately want to improve their Business English skills? The actual methods and tools that allow development of course! So instead of just passing a mandate and hoping it all “works out, companies must provide enterprise-based tools that support the development of Business English skills—anytime and anywhere. In fact, the three professors who authored the study were in favor of “keeping English as the lingua franca, encouraging empathy on both sides and supporting non-native speakers in practicing English in low-stress situations.”
Business English proficiency is clearly a foundational pillar to your success but the tools that support your workforce should be selected and chosen wisely. Mandates aside, the German company should have also provided the proper tools, training and support to their employees in a way that allowed employees to develop their skills in Business English and the context of business.
Successful companies we work with already know proclaiming English as their lingua franca doesn’t have to feel like a strict mandate to their workforce. You simply need to choose the right enterprise-focused tools to support such a mandate—like those in the GlobalEnglish product suite. And when you roll-out the best tools in the world, your teams will thrive and you’ll witness a “bottoms up” blossoming of your employees—and they might just come to your asking for more.
