Many international businesses aren’t aware of the huge benefits to be made by translating important HR documents alongside internal communications for international teams into their local language.
But you really can boost your employee motivation and engagement levels with language translation services. By providing documents and information in their own language and cultural style, you can ensure everyone feels included through accessible HR documents and internal communications.
Read on to discover how you can motivate your team with translation.
The importance of translating for HR
In many countries, it’s a legal requirement that all foreign businesses translate their important HR communications and documents, especially for the on-boarding process, into the local language of employees. Foregoing this step could not only result in legal action but it could also reduce motivation and engagement in your international employees.
When you translate your internal HR documents, communications, business goals, targets and achievements, you will be taking a positive step towards helping your foreign employees to feel included as a key part of the organisation. It’s easy to see how employees can feel side-lined if they can’t access or understand the valuable HR documents and communications that their employer sends their way.
Should you forget to make translations of your HR material, you will run the serious risk of alienating an important part of your workforce. It’s important to remember, especially when doing business on a global scale, that your international employees are also your internal customers.
These internal customers have a close relationship with your company even though they may not be actively purchasing your product or service. Your internal customers will also include any partners, consultants or third-party contractors. Including all of your internal customers in your global business will be greatly helped by providing them with accurate information in their native language.
Put yourself in their shoes
How would you feel if you were going into work every day and you felt excluded from most of the company information that many of your colleagues could access? By putting yourself in your foreign employees’ shoes, you can help to create a better, less intimidating work environment that can boost company productivity.
This is even more important when you’re working in a high-risk environment like medicine, construction or security. HR documents such as health and safety guidelines, employee handbooks, employment contracts, company newsletters and intranet often contain essential information to help keep your employees safe.
Translating these core documents is a great start to help motivate your employees and ensure they feel included.
Translation under the arches
McDonald’s has successfully implemented another great idea with their ‘English Under The Arches’ initiative, whereby any McDonald’s employee can improve their language skills in order to move up the career ladder into positions of higher responsibility.
The results speak for themselves, as 88 per cent of participants on this scheme stay at McDonald’s for one year on average once they complete the programme and 78 per cent stay for over two years after they finish the programme.
In McDonald’s case, the ‘English Under The Arches’ learning and development program was set up to help immigrants in the US better integrate into their business and help to eliminate the language barrier at work.
Is one language enough?
Remember, language isn’t always determined by country; you need to get into the nitty gritty details of your global team demographics. Depending on these demographics, society and region your overseas offices are located in, you may have employees who grew up with a different mother tongue to the “official” language of their country.
A clear example of this is America where a large percentage of the nation’s workforce is comprised of Hispanics who speak Spanish as their first language and English as their second. Depending on the business, it might make sense here to provide your HR documents and internal communications in English as well as Spanish to make sure your entire workforce feels understood, motivated and engaged.
Take some time to seriously consider the demographics of your foreign employees and partners and which languages they predominantly speak. The professional language translation services team at Bubbles Translation are here to help advise you on which approaches will work best for your target regions. Get in touch to find out how we can help your business translate your HR material today.
