Working in international teams, travelling the globe, speaking multiple languages – for many people today, this is the norm. But working in a foreign language such as English is not easy for everybody. “Changing the working language from German to English is a major step and difficult for many employees,” says Miya Komori-Glatz, a researcher at the Institute for English Business Communication at WU Vienna. “Introducing English as a common corporate language requires careful planning. The consequences – and the costs – of language-based problems in a company can be severe.”

Developing a common language as the path to success

Komori-Glatz’ research combines perspectives from business and linguistics to develop a framework that highlights common issues and potential problem areas when implementing English as a corporate language. “The most important thing is to ask whether information is reaching all your employees and where language may be blocking information flows,” says the researcher. Communicative competence in English – or the lack thereof – has considerable implications for an employee’s position in the company’s power structures. “At the same time, multicultural teams can develop their communication jointly,” claims Komori-Glatz, referring to her own study, where she observed and interviewed multicultural student teams working in English as part of their master programme at WU. She found that, over time, the groups developed a shared repertoire of technical and team-specific vocabulary as well as more general communicative practices, strengthening their own learning processes and a common team identity. “They not only adapted what they said, but also how they said it,” Komori-Glatz reports. “When teams make an effort to find ways of achieving smooth and inclusive communication, they are also making a major contribution to achieving their joint goals.”

From the chatroom to the boardroom

However, keeping all communication channels open – between colleagues or management hierarchies or across a multinational concern – is a challenge. The key is to remain flexible and aware of how language can cause barriers. “Only issuing information in English doesn’t always make sense – especially if there’s a range of proficiency levels across the company. If managers want to keep information flowing between employees – from the chatroom to the boardroom – it’s essential to remain flexible and find the language, or languages, that will be most effective to encourage those information flows. This might mean continuing to offer certain information in German to prevent employees missing out on key information or to avoid the creation of shadow hierarchies,” says Komori-Glatz. “At the same time, it’s important to ensure that new colleagues are not excluded by using the local language.”

Language as a challenge and an opportunity

Establishing a common corporate language requires having a well thought-out policy: where, with whom, and why should English – or other languages be spoken? Implementing a new company language is highly resource-intensive. Multilingual employees are often used as language “nodes” to facilitate communication across language boundaries, which can lead to the development of shadow hierarchies and unsustainable levels of dependence on certain individuals. Yet a shared language makes it possible to gain new insights and take advantage of a wider range of resources. Multilingual employees taking on the role of language nodes also have access to information through formal and informal channels, and often thus have a competitive advantage. Adaptability is key, and our graduates are expected to be able to use language(s) flexibly and competently. As an university, we give them the communicative skills to do so.

Optimising communication in the multilingual and multicultural workplace

Language and languages can be an asset or a risk for a company, states the researcher. “To optimise information flows in an enterprise, identifying potential barriers and opportunities is key. What language competences do your employees have? How can language “clusters” evolve through groups of employees with a shared language, and how can that lead to problems or benefits for the firm?” Additionally, it’s important to consider the following:

• Change needs to be thought through carefully. If, for example, English is to be the common corporate language, various aspects must be considered, such as when it makes sense to use English and what language(s) will allow you to communicate most effectively with different stakeholder groups

• Implementing a new common corporate language is extremely resource-intensive. Documents need to be translated; everything needs to be checked or confirmed; languages simply take a long time to learn. Unfortunately, general language courses are often inadequate; effective language training needs to be tailored to the industry, the company, and sometimes even the job in question, which requires time and money.

• Language “nodes” are a resource, but also a risk. Multilingual employees are hugely valuable as they can communicate information directly across language boundaries. However, difficulties can arise if a company becomes too dependent on individual employees, or their linguistic competences often allow these employees access to power which goes beyond their function, creating shadow hierarchies.

• Information flows need to be monitored and supported. It is crucial to keep checking that (the right) information is reaching the people it needs to reach. Asking for written input before a meeting or brainstorming in small groups based around language clusters can help to obtain contributions from colleagues with weaker language skills, who might need more time or language support to formulate and express their ideas.

• Speaking languages other than English is always an advantage. Even when English is the lingua franca, speaking other languages contributes to smoother information flows at the informal level and helps to develop positive business relationships. Several studies have shown that even minimal knowledge of your business partner’s language helps to build trust and thus create a basis for a long-term partnership.