In the past, individuals looking for jobs in the tech industry were those with top-notch technical skills. However, the requirements of the industry are gradually changing. For instance, speaking a second language has become an added advantage for people applying for jobs in the tech industry.
This trend is replicated in other industries. As a result, there is an increasing number of professionals learning a second language. For instance, online English tutors and teachers for private lessons have reported an increased number of students who want to perfect their English using apps.
Why Is The Tech Industry Looking For Bilingual People?
The global business space is multicultural, meaning bilingual employees are priceless to any organization. Studies have confirmed that individuals that speak more than one language possess remarkable communication skills. Additionally, most are usually well-traveled and have been exposed to different cultures.
Businesses are also aware that their competitors are hiring bilinguals and wouldn’t want to remain behind. So, why is the tech industry looking for bilingual candidates?
Business Is Global
The global nature of business is forcing the tech industry to improve its workforce. Many tech companies have expanded their operations to the global marketplace reaching different cultures. Moreover, tech companies don’t have walls or country boundaries regardless of the products and services they offer.
This means that they reach a wide range of clientele that speak different languages. However, the importance of speaking a second language is not just for engineers and programmers. Employees working in other departments such as customer support also need to speak more than one language. This will make it effortless for them to answer customers’ needs from different parts of the world.
Apart from that, bilinguals are essential when it comes to machine translation systems. These products have become trendy in recent years, and engineers in this field depend on human translators.
It Becomes Easier To Reach The International Market
Businesses targeting regions outside their region need bilingual employees. This is particularly true for international employees. Individuals who have grown up speaking more than one language appreciate the communication challenges whenever two different cultures or languages interact.
In this regard, a bilingual workforce can help a business handle linguistically or culturally sensitive operations. Additionally, the organization can smoothly interact with foreign clients thanks to the bilingual employees’ specific language and cultural expertise.
Customer Service Becomes Holistic
Employees that speak more than one language are usually more confident when dealing with clients who speak their language. For example, you are likely to offer more satisfactory customer service to non-English speaking clients if their communication is channeled through an employee that understands their language.
A bilingual employee establishes a comfortable and familiar environment for the client, making service chats, phone calls, and in-person interactions more effective. Additionally, employees that speak more than one language are more empathetic. They can effectively monitor culturally diverse environments and quickly discover social cues to switch languages. Moreover, they know relatable topics they can discuss with clients, something a unilingual employee wouldn’t be able to do.
In the tech world, customer support has become a key component of businesses. This is because most of the tech products and services are offered to a more global audience hence the need for a diverse workforce to handle customers from different regions.
Diversity Inspires Innovation
Studies have confirmed that teams having members from diverse cultural backgrounds are a great treasure, especially in a creative environment. In the tech industry, innovation is what distinguishes a company from its competitors. For example, a team brainstorming the usability of a gadget or app interface should comprise employees from different backgrounds. Such individuals can pitch ideas inspired by their unique, individual cultural experiences.
In such cases, bilinguals become a critical asset to any organization. This is because, before you learn a second language, one is usually encouraged to immerse themselves in the second language’s culture. So, when you have such people in your team, they understand more than one culture meaning even their thinking is diversified.
Apart from that, bilinguals can help expand your company’s portfolio to include new projects that appeal to different cultures rather than your traditional target demographics. In short, your employees are likely to be more innovative if the teams comprise more diversity.
Final Thoughts
The tech industry offers numerous solutions that help humans solve many problems. Moreover, the recent pandemic forced many local companies to start looking beyond their borders. This approach has made the industry more global, having a global audience.
In this regard, the companies are forced to create a workforce that can cater to the changing business environment. Therefore, tech companies are no longer looking for individuals who have technical skills only; they are also interested in people that speak more than one language.
So, if you are interested in working in reputable tech companies, it would help to start learning a second language. Fortunately, you can find online platforms that offer online language learning services.
