Best Practices

How HR Software Translation Can Help You Bridge Cultural Differences

Today, an international, multicultural workforce has become a prominent component in most big-name companies.
Stefan M.
5 min
Table of Contents

Today, an international, multicultural workforce has become a prominent component in most big-name companies. However, with respect to all the benefits it provides, having a varied employee demographic does come with certain difficulties for the HR department.

Today, we will be going over how you can use HR software translation to bridge cultural differences in the workplace, and achieve maximum workflow efficiency.

Communication with a Capital C

Since the dawn of time, communication has been a defining factor in human relationships, whether at home or in the workplace.

Realizing that a company is, at its core, a network of people cooperating towards a shared goal, it follows logic that effective communication is essential to workplace productivity and enterprise success.

Having your employees and business associates feel like they are respected members of a prospering team, regardless of their cultural or ethnic background, comes as a prerequisite to a healthy, productive work environment.

But how do these principles apply to a 21st-century corporate setting?

The Multicultural Meta

The rise of the internet has given us a global network of talent to choose from, and most companies have taken great advantage of the fact that their immediate geographic location no longer binds their pool of potential employees.

However, having an abundant pool of competent people to choose from comes at a particular cost. Oftentimes, the individuals best suited for a job are native to a different language and culture.

Building an international, multicultural team can bring out the best in your company. But before that happens, finding an effective way to bridge language and culture barriers is a must in today's competitive landscape.

Luckily for us, there is plenty of translation software specifically designed to help us overcome these obstacles.

The Importance of Translation Software for HR

For any company with a global workforce native to multiple languages, the use of human resources translation services is an unavoidable prospect. Still, for many human resources translation projects, the choice of tools can be a make-or-break variable.

Having your HR department rely on simple tools like machine translation not only damages the quality of the translation process but is also likely to produce errors in your workflow that cost precious time and resources to correct.

Additionally, abstaining from the usage of human resources translation services altogether can lead to the deterioration of workplace ethics and employee morale.

Having reliable software ensures that you are always prepared with an accurate translation of your human resources materials in the native language of every employee.

What do the Stats Say?

While our collective experience may point us towards a certain conclusion, it's even better solidified by empirical evidence.

According to research done by Linguix in the United States, out of almost 1600 non-native survey respondents, 90% of them believe that English writing skills directly affect their career.

Furthermore, 54% of those respondents reported experiencing a language barrier in the workplace. This fact is indicative of possible underperformance caused by a lack of fluency in the company language.

To back this up even further: according to a study by Fluency CORP, the lack of language fluency on the part of employees can cost a company as much as $69,900 in the span of 5 years.

With that in mind, we can easily see that, in addition to obvious practical benefits, showing cultural sensitivity and understanding of cultural differences makes for a much healthier work environment, resulting in happier employees and greater company results.

Practical Applications

As already illustrated, having reliable human resources translation software can, without a doubt, make or break your company's path toward success.

But what are some of the practical applications of human resources translations in the workplace? Well, the translation software is mostly used for translating various human resources materials such as:

  • Courses and Training Programs
  • Letters and E-Mails
  • Newsletters
  • Instructions and Briefing Material
  • Human Resources Documents
  • Corporate Websites
  • Workplace Safety Documents
  • Employee Manuals
  • Employment Contracts
  • etc.

All of the mentioned materials are used in day-to-day office operations. Being prepared to communicate and exchange information regardless of an employee's native language shows professionalism, and is likely to champion employee loyalty and respect.

How to Pick the Right Human Resources Translation Software?

Each business has its particular needs and wants. But how do you know whether or not a particular piece of software will get the job done for you and your company?

Here are some characteristics indicative of reliable HR translation software.

Batch File Translation

A batch file translation feature allows you to queue up all the files that need translating to a particular target language. This lets you focus on other tasks while the files finish translating, resulting in a more efficient workflow.

Dynamic Machine Learning

Dynamic machine translation uses advanced artificial intelligence protocols to generate translations of much higher quality when compared to standard machine translation. Upgrading to software with this feature means an improvement in your HR strategy.

Copy-Paste Translation

High-quality HR translation software will often include a copy-paste translation feature. this simple feature is useful when you need a quick translation for direct messages, short emails, or other snippets of text.

Text-to-Audio Translation

Text-to-audio translations are especially important for any enterprise with an international workforce. This feature makes translation training programs and instructional videos much easier, greatly contributing to your international human resource management.

Project Collaboration

Company projects are always handled by a team of selected employees best suited for the task. A good HR translation software will include features that allow for effective collaboration and information exchange among the team members.

Reliable Security Features

When handling important company information, the last thing you want is a security breach. When choosing HR translation software for your business, make sure that it includes a reliable, built-in security system.

Closing Thoughts

So, your employee base can speak multiple languages. Great! You have everything you need for creating a diverse team that will take your company around the world.

Remember, all it takes is the right HR strategy augmented by a quality HR translation process to ensure flawless communication between you and your employees, taking you to new heights of entrepreneurial success.

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Stefan M.
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