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Being proficient in more than one language has never turned out to be a disadvantage, has it? It always pays to know more than one language. On the professional front, businesses nowadays are looking to grow and enter new markets to stay competitive as well as increase profits. And hiring bilingual employees happens to be one important piece of the strategy to achieve desired goals.
Bilingual employees are instrumental for businesses to looking expand nationally and internationally, as they can communicate in more than one language, if necessary.
But hiring bilingual employees isn’t an easy feat for recruiters. Especially hiring candidates who are fluent in languages like the Japanese language. In such circumstances, you can engage an expert like Alp Consulting.
Alp Consulting is an HR services company with 25 years of experience in recruitment and staffing and a subsidiary of Outsourcing Inc., a Japanese company and is a world leader in providing outsourced services. At Alp Consulting’s Hire for Japan Drive, we provide graduates and working professionals trained in Japanese.
8 Benefits of Hiring Bilingual Employees
Let’s take a look at how bilingual employees can help take your business to the next level.
1. Expand Global Reach
If your business is looking to expand into international markets, then its important that you blend well with the other countries culture, ways of working and communicate with them in their language. Bilingual employees are instrumental in helping you break the cultural barriers that separates your business from effectively communicating with foreign clients.
Their ability to communicate efficiently in more than one language ensures effective, profitable communication for your business. They are instrumental in providing insights into the client’s needs and wants to give your business a chance to bag the deal as well as expand successfully.
2. Money saving
So, how exactly does having bilingual employees cost effective? Suppose you are a business in the US but have recently expanded your business into China but aren’t familiar with the language. To maintain effective communication with your client, you may need to hire a third-party translator, which can cost you quite heavily. On the other hand, if you have a bilingual employee, not only will they fill in the shoes as your translator. It gives you the benefit of having two employees in one. You not only have a skilled interpreter but also have an excellent communicator that can help you grow your business. Additionally, they can handle all the queries better, leading to fewer misunderstandings and miscommunication.
3. Presence of a diverse environment
A diverse environment is enriching. Bilingual employees not only bring in an additional language to the table but also a unique experience and background, a whole different culture and an entirely different perspective on things. A workplace environment that is diverse and inclusive does not just feel safer but also demonstrates its commitment towards DEI values, attracting better employees, leading to a productive environment.
4. Unique, fresh perspectives
Bilingual employees can incorporate the best of two worlds into their thinking and decisions as they can draw from their unique experiences and come up with the best ideas at work, that’s thoughtful, creative and innovative. The fresh perspective leads to better decision making, operational outcomes and higher productivity levels.
5. Allows you to build a better online presence
A digital presence is very important for all businesses alike. But especially for businesses looking to make themselves visible and connect with potential international/foreign clients/businesses. Bilingual employees on your team can help you develop the right content that can attract the attention of international clients and give a good chance of converting them into your clients.
6. A workforce with enhanced, better soft skills
Did you know that bilingual employees also have much better soft skills than a regular employee? This is one of the reasons why they are such a big value-add to the organization. Some of the ways these enhanced soft skills can benefit your workforce are-
Multitasking abilities
Studies have revealed that bilingual employees are not just great communicators but are also great at multitasking. They are super-efficient at switching between tasks and multitasking facilitates increased efficiency and work flexibility.
Smart learners
Being bilingual also gives individuals the ability to learn better as they can process information faster than the others.
Higher creative thinking abilities
Increased multitasking and information processing enhance bilingual employees’ ability to solve problems in innovative ways. This out-of-the-box thinking can lead to new workflow processes for your company and unique solutions that distinguish your business from the competition.
7. Top notch customer service
A diverse workforce, specifically, that includes bilingual employees means you are a lot more ready to cater to a larger, more diverse customer base.
Research on the benefits of bilingual employees reveals that over two-thirds of consumers prefer to interact with brands in their native language. If your company serves non-English-speaking clients, hiring bilingual customer service representatives can be highly advantageous. These representatives can effectively communicate through phone calls, online chats, or in-person interactions.
Bilingual employees are often more empathetic toward these customers, ensuring they leave the experience feeling understood and valued by your company.
8. Higher retention rates
A report by Harvard business review found that companies with a diverse workforce were likely to perform better. The sales margins also were around 10% higher than companies with a less diverse culture. So, hiring a bilingual employee not only improves your understanding of how other cultures impact your market share but also offers the opportunity to build a workforce of bilingual employees who feel encouraged to stay with your company long-term.
Do you need help with Bilingual hiring?
Now that you are aware of the benefits of hiring bilingual employees, your next task is to hire them. But where do you start?
Alp Consulting specializes in bilingual hiring. With an industry experience of over 26 years, we have mastered the art of staffing and recruiting. Talking specifically about bilingual hiring, we have specialist recruiters with experience in hiring candidates from various backgrounds, for different industries and roles. Specifically, if you are looking for Japanese-speaking talent, here is where your search ends.
At Alp Consulting’s Hire for Japan Drive, which provides graduates and working professionals training in Japanese, placing them in Japanese companies in India or abroad in Japan.
