The start of a new year is a great time to think about your plans for the year ahead – to set goals and implement strategies that will see your business succeed and your employees thrive. After all, business success is best achieved by driving business opportunities while developing your team.
Learning a new language is a fantastic new year’s resolution for any organisation to consider when making long-term business plans. This blog considers the benefits of learning a language alongside your colleagues.
Expanding your business’s horizons
Learning a new language can open many doors for your business, providing you with the opportunity to expand into new markets and negotiate deals in your clients’ languages. Even an affinity with some language basics can make a great first impression with new business partners – they will appreciate your commitment to speaking their language, and they are unlikely to mind if you need to rely on English or the help of translators to finalise the deal.
Finding personal and professional fulfilment
Mastering a new language is a great personal and professional goal. As well as the many benefits it will bring the organisation, your colleagues will find that a second language improves their skillset, increases their confidence and provides them with new and exciting career development opportunities. It may even lead to increased staff retention, as happy and valued staff are more likely to want to develop their careers with you.
Team-building towards success
Today’s modern businesses may need to communicate effectively with both overseas clients and overseas colleagues, and this can expose an in-house language barrier – one that it is valuable to overcome. Your overseas colleagues will welcome the chance to converse in their local language rather than defaulting to English, and it will provide everyone in the team with a chance to connect on a more personal level.
Even the shared experience of learning a new language can help to build camaraderie across your organisation. Perhaps you can arrange training and team-building exercises that integrate language learning strategies, such as role-playing in different languages?
Learning a new language at work can be an excellent motivational tool – one that establishes long-lasting relationships and creates a community of mutual professional commitment. Contact Simon & Simon today to find out more about how you can introduce your team to language learning in a way that is fun and inspirational, and which will lead to new opportunities for personal and professional success within your organisation.
