Translation and communication: Clear communication with employees requires speaking their language!
Business Translations
By Manuela Zuleta Gómez Published On: January 12th, 2024
As a team leader, it’s crucial to maintain open and transparent communication with your employees, even if they speak a different language. This is where translation and communication go hand in hand. Suppose you have hired someone who speaks a foreign language or your employees are in other countries. In that case, one practical way to communicate with them is by translating your messages.
Speaking the same language as your employees has several benefits for your company. It impacts the culture and the results.
A well-informed employee understands the context of the company, its challenges, and its position on specific issues. When employees know what they need to do, they are more likely to do it efficiently and motivated. This leads to better results for the organization as they can prioritize tasks and allocate resources effectively.
A good idea is to have a translated copy of the internal protocols, policies, and procedures. Thus, employees only have to consult the translation when they have questions.
Additionally, when your employees understand company messages, it facilitates sharing ideas, knowledge, and resources, allowing teams to work together toward common goals.
Some companies are implementing the practice of sending internal communications, such as emails, translated into your employees’ language. You can have a broadcast list for each language or send the main message in the company’s language, followed by the translation into the language of those who receive it.
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Clear translation and communication help align employees with the company’s mission, vision, values, and goals. This information must always be translated and available in several languages to be understandable. This alignment fosters a sense of unity and purpose among employees, improves employee retention, and reduces turnover.
In times of change, crisis, or organizational transitions, conveying a unified message becomes even more critical.
When this happens, the procedure to follow is to issue statements with the official point of view or write documents with answers to people’s most frequent questions. (Questions and answers)
Having these documents translated helps manage expectations, address concerns, and provide clarity to employees. Keeping everyone informed and involved minimizes resistance to change and makes the transition process smoother.
In short, translation and communication with your employees in the same language promotes collaboration, engagement, and a strong company culture. Doing so can benefit your company immensely and be as simple as translating your internal documents.
Additionally, it speaks highly of you as a leader who has essential communication skills and uses them for the success and growth of your organization.