Communication is the key to successful business relationships, especially nowadays when the reality of the working world and the globalized professional market has forced a metamorphosis and language skills can no longer be taken lightly. Post-covid, physical location (city, country, or even continent) is no longer a constraint. Employees in the same company are in contact with each other daily, both virtually and in person. Therefore the energy should be focused on the realization, implementation, and success of the project rather than on the efforts invested and time wasted to ensure a good understanding and overcome language barriers. Communication, whether oral or written, should therefore not be a constraint.
To be effective, it is essential to diagnose the language strengths and weaknesses within the organization. A language standards assessment allows an organization to define the specific language skills profiles required for its positions to ensure that employees can communicate in foreign languages. Language assessments are the solution: candidates’ language skills are assessed to certify their level in the language in question. The question is: Will a person who is rated as intermediate (B2) really be able to perform well in a given position? Do they necessarily have the skills required to perform the specific duties properly? Is the professional jargon of the position in question familiar to them?
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The linguistic audit allows us to identify and define the needs of the company and its components and evaluate the teams’ foreign language potential.
Thus, the needs of the position are analyzed by language experts in agreement with the managers to define, by mutual agreement, the level required. This determination is based on an objective assessment of the duties and responsibilities of the position. Candidates are then evaluated based on this description.
The 4-step language standards assessment:
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The Benefits
The main advantages of the language audit are as follows:
The linguistic audit allows us to identify and define the needs of the company and its components and evaluate the teams’ foreign language potential.
Thus, the needs of the position are analyzed by language experts in agreement with the managers to define, by mutual agreement, the level required. This determination is based on an objective assessment of the duties and responsibilities of the position. Candidates are then evaluated based on this description.
The 4-step language standards assessment:
- Discovery of the company, activities, needs, customer/supplier/partner
- Job tasks to be evaluated.
- Detailed phone interviews with managers to learn more about these positions and requirements and identify related oral and written communication needs. Discuss departmental responsibilities and determine areas of communication with foreign.
- Detailed evaluation of these language skills to establish the level required for each skill according to the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) levels.
The Benefits
The main advantages of the language audit are as follows:
- Help you gain a more accurate and nuanced understanding of the language standards required for a given.
- Long-term financial savings knowing that the candidates you hire already meet the language requirements of the position.
- Improve productivity and retention.
- Detailed expert evaluation of all language skills required for the position in question: conversation, listening, grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing, to establish the level required for each skill, following the CEFR.
- This is followed by an individual language assessment of the candidates in light of the targeted needs and established.
