Struggling with Employee Communication in English? Seeking Step-by-Step Guidance!

Hi All, I am working as a Senior HR at a service-based company. In our organization, all employees are either BTech or MCA graduates, but the major issue we face is their communication problem in English. Most of the time, they are supposed to deal with customers, but due to the lack of communication skills (in listening, understanding, writing, speaking), they aren't able to express what they really want to deliver.

Request for Guidance on Improving Communication Skills

I need the help of seniors on an urgent basis and want to know a step-by-step process so that I will be able to help our employees improve their communication skills in "English."

Thanks,
Akansha

Thank you, Sridharan. However, the management wants it to be completely internal. Therefore, I require a step-by-step process that I can implement with the employees to help them improve their English.

This is a very relevant concern for any service industry. However, there cannot be any quick-fix solution. You need to have a fair idea of the employees' current level of proficiency, conduct training sessions with enough role-plays and practice sessions, and have scripts for professional interfaces with the customers that need to be shared with the employees, etc. Above all, the employees need to feel enthusiastic and motivated about learning to change. For that, there needs to be ample information sharing/training on organizational vision/mission and how the employees play an important role in shaping the same.

Please feel free to discuss further.

Regards,
Amrita
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Dear Akansha, I have a slightly different take. If communication in English is so important, then why were English tests not conducted at the time of recruitment? Why were Group Discussion (GD) rounds not conducted while selecting these job candidates? Who is responsible for this inappropriate selection?

Secondly, if all these employees are Engineering graduates, then they have been associated with English since their Class I or, in simple words, for more than 17-18 years. What did they not learn in all those years; will they learn it now, or will you be able to teach them now? There is no evidence to prove that by teaching someone, one has acquired mastery over English. It is a quite long-drawn process, and one should have an inner urge for it. It cannot be thrust because of organizational requirements.

If customer satisfaction depends on the knowledge of English, then is customer satisfaction being impacted because of their poor command of English? If yes, then what is the cost of customer dissatisfaction?

Employees are the brand ambassadors of the company. Do these newly recruited staff project the wrong image of the company among the customers? If yes, then what is the cost of a poor brand image?

By the way, has anyone given feedback to these employees on the improvement of their English? Why not give them targets and tell them to improve their English at least now? Are they not responsible for their personal development? Is it that they will develop only if their organization develops them?

My questions may appear very down-to-earth, but I request you to ponder over these questions.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

I absolutely agree with Divekar. Why was the language issue not taken into consideration in the first place? If communication in English was so important, then why were tests on English not conducted at the time of recruitment? Why was a Group Discussion (GD) round not conducted while selecting these job candidates? Who is responsible for this fiasco?

The intervention is likely to be a long-drawn-out process, and for improvement to be reflected, the training should be linked to their performance metrics and KRA's. Unless they realize the management is serious, they are likely to take it lightly. You would only wind up wasting time, energy, effort, and resources.

Regards,
Zohra

The Importance of Early English Proficiency

Learning English cannot be forced upon individuals once they become employees; it cannot simply happen. English proficiency should ideally commence from a young age. By the time one reaches their 20s or 30s, they tend to think in their native language and struggle to respond in English, resulting in potential failure. If an employee genuinely desires to improve their English skills, they must take the initiative and dedicate themselves to the task. Any attempts made at this juncture would likely be futile.

In my case, I began reading English stories at the age of 10, encouraged by my father. Transitioning from a student to an employee, the added workload and responsibilities may hinder one's ability to concentrate on language acquisition.

During my tenure with the Central Government in Delhi in the early 1970s, I pursued a Diploma in the Russian language due to my aspiration to explore career opportunities as a translator or interpreter, given the limited prospects available at that time.

As suggested by my esteemed colleagues earlier, it would have been advantageous for your company to target students or candidates from metropolitan areas and prestigious universities during the recruitment process. However, it appears that it may be too late to implement this strategy now.

If you have employees without English communication skills who joined before you took up the role of HR, you have no one to blame. In these cases, all you can do is try to train them to communicate better and keep working on upgrading their skills.

Thank you.

Dear VINEETAJ,

It is not a question of blame. In my earlier post, I never blamed anyone. My focus was on the loss of business due to poor recruitment. If you feel that these staff are worth retaining, you are free to do so. Nevertheless, what are the cost implications of their retention? Please calculate the cost of customer dissatisfaction and the cost of loss of brand image. Additionally, add one more cost, i.e., the cost of training. Find out what benefits you would accrue and when you would accrue them. Do the Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and make a decision based on the benefits.

Secondly, would you mind giving me an example of this formula of English training that has worked anywhere? Did the training improve customer satisfaction? Has it improved the brand image that took a beating because of the low-quality manpower?

"For every person there is a job and for every job there is a person," goes the adage. Unfortunately, management thinkers do not understand this simple rule of life. There are asses in this world and so are horses. Both animals are important in their way. However, one makes an ass of himself or herself if he or she hires asses and thinks that by training, they can be converted into horses. Let us not utilize the enterprise's precious resources in a way that defies the basic law of nature!

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Mr. Divekar, I did not say that you have blamed anyone! I think you misunderstood. When you commented on hiring mistakes (without English test/GD, etc.), I just wanted to point out that if we have people who have been recruited before our time, you can't blame anyone for the hiring mistakes. However, we still have this set of employees for whom knowing verbal and written English is very important to carry out their functions effectively.

Training for Better Communication Skills

So although it is tough, the only alternative left is to train them in better communication skills. The fact is that horses are required, and so are the asses. You cannot deny their importance. So if management decides to spend money on upgrading their skills to some extent and make them into better performers, what's the harm in trying? If they improve by some percentage, it's a huge step forward!

Hope you appreciate the point of view.

Regards, Vineeta

I believe that if an employee is efficient in their work, we shouldn't criticize them for their communication skills. Instead, we should praise them for their work and encourage them or provide them with a platform where they can improve their skills. With time and effort, they will certainly improve.

Regards,
Babita

What if part of the job role calls for intense communication in English through various means such as email, formal snail mail, and spoken communication?

Kind regards

Yes, dear! That's a very important aspect in any company, especially in the business world of computers, where English is a primary language. Here in our company, we have an English examination before hiring employees. We also have JIB Academy, which is an English proficiency school we have here. It's a sister company of our call center company, Six Eleven Global Services. Whoever fails to be hired at our contact center will be recommended to take the English proficiency school!

Any language can be mastered if we take interest and put in our efforts. Simply have short sessions twice a week and give homework. Make them write short essays. Don't give long ones as they may lose interest. Make it compulsory for employees to speak in English. Find common mistakes they make and start focusing on fixing them one at a time. Don't try to correct too many things at once and don't focus too much on grammar initially. Many people have problems with tenses, for example:

After you see improvement, start focusing on MTI (Mother Tongue Influence).

Things to Consider:

- Rate of speech
- Clarity of speech
- Pronunciation
- Volume

Let me know if this helps, and when you see some improvement, I shall provide the next tips. Practice and encouragement will show gradual improvements. One can definitely improve their English skills if you know how to guide them with patience and motivation.

You can reach me at [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons] or [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons].

Regards,
Gautham Shashangan