The challenges of multilingualism in the workplace

In industry, an increasing proportion of production workers speak foreign languages, especially in maintenance shutdowns and projects. If language skills are insufficient, special attention is needed to ensure that, for example, safety instructions are understood.

Pia Vuorinen, HSE Manager at SSG Finland, gives advice on how to deal with multiple languages in the workplace.

Instructions can always be translated into different languages, but are written instructions the most effective and surest way to communicate? Visual means, pictures and videos, and sign language often work best not only in an orientation situation but also in daily work in a noisy production environment.

Some companies have a video presentation of production facilities and routines, such as wearing work and protective clothing. A good way to verify what has been learned is to ask the employee to show how, e.g. lifting is done ergonomically correctly. In multinational communities, cultural clashes also occur and are resolved. The main principle is that work is carried out according to the laws of the country where you work. In the most difficult situations, when it comes to health or the terms of the employment relationship, it is good to use an interpreter for legal protection of the parties involved.

So how to prepare in advance?

• If it is a subcontractor's (employee) team, one way is contractually require that the team leader/supervisor has a common language both with his team members and with the responsible supervisor of the client organization (often English).
• An other example could be when a company hires a group into its own organization that is not yet familiar with the language and possibly the work culture of a foreign country. Then it is useful if someone tells both the group members and the representatives of the receiving company in advance about the backgrounds, expectations and customs.
• The most important instructions should be translated into the required language in advance. If the organization already has a person who knows the language, he or she can be used as help in the orientation or various applications that can be used, e.g. instructions or messages can be easily translated.
• The company must remember to train and guide its own front-line employees in advance, what is expected of them, how to include the employee in the team and train them, e.g. to familiarize with a new way.
• The work community should be encouraged to ask questions about daily news and talk about things other than work during coffee breaks and meals.

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