If you have non-English-speaking employees in your company, chances are, you have already experienced the challenges created by language barriers. All too often, employees struggle to communicate effectively with one another, whether they need to get instructions about how to manage a challenge on a roof or they’re struggling to communicate the demands of a challenging customer.
Fortunately, Pronto offers a feature that can make it easier to communicate with employees across your organization: instant translation.
How Instant Translation Can Help
With Pronto’s instant translation features, you can experience some benefits when it comes to people who speak a different language–or even those who prefer to communicate in a different language. The language you need may depend on your industry and your local area as well as the employees you hire. For example, around 27% of construction workers are of Hispanic or Latino origin, which means that construction crews may benefit heavily from having a Spanish translation option that can help streamline communication both on and off the job site. Many workers in some manufacturing plants, especially those in which companies have a global presence, may need translation into–and out of–Japanese or Mandarin. While English remains the most common language around the world, Mandarin comes in a close second.
Avoid miscommunication
Often, language barriers can create miscommunications that feel incredibly difficult to manage. One employee may have thought they laid the situation out clearly. The other employee thought that they understood the issue at hand. Unfortunately, when it came down to it, a miscommunication created a serious problem: delays in paperwork, dissatisfied customers, or even, in the worst-case scenario, a challenge with the physical product, including a leaky roof! With instant translation, however, you can avoid those critical miscommunications and make sure that everyone is on the same page.
Improve efficiency
A worker who constantly has to translate things back and forth between languages is not functioning at peak efficiency. Often, those workers bear an immense cognitive burden on their own: trying to transfer instructions from a language that they do not speak natively or comfortably into the one that they prefer. Even workers who speak passable English may struggle with unfamiliar phrases, concepts, or vocabulary.
With instant translation, on the other hand, you can improve those workers’ overall efficiency. Instead of constantly having to translate from one language to the next, they can translate those communications into their native language, allowing them to focus on the task at hand–and not on complex vocabulary challenges.
Enhance employee confidence and connection
Employees who speak English as a second language–or who may not speak English at all–may feel isolated and disconnected from their surroundings. They may have a hard time connecting with coworkers or feel as though they are an important part of the company, particularly if they are often left out of plans or conversations. With Pronto, however, employees can be part of the conversation regardless of what language they speak or prefer. As a result, they may feel much more invested in the company as a whole and much better prepared to face the normal challenges that come along with the average workday.
Give your non-English-speaking workers more opportunities
Often, workers who do not speak English as their primary language are overlooked in predominantly English-speaking companies. You could have the perfect employee to move into that new management role right there in your organization already, but not realize it because of communication barriers. With instant translation, on the other hand, you can get to know those employees better–and judge them based on their skills at work, not on their language skills.
How It Works
With Pronto, translation is instantaneous. Employees send a message in their preferred language, but it will appear on the recipient’s screen in their target language. The conversation can continue seamlessly, with no breaks for translation or obvious gaps where one party does not understand the language being used. As a result, workers can communicate more effectively with one another, whether they’re issuing instructions, collaborating on a project, or just getting to know one another in the chat.
Can Pronto Solve Your Translation Problem?
If you’ve been struggling with language barriers throughout your company–or you anticipate your company growing to include workers of different backgrounds in the future–Pronto could be the ideal solution to your needs. With Pronto’s instant translation feature, you can help all of your employees feel more connected–and provide them with the tools they need to be successful. Want to learn more? Contact us today to schedule a demonstration.