According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 21% of adults in the United States speak a language other than English at home.
That can also be represented as 1 out of every 5 people, which accounts for a substantial portion of the population within
the U.S.
This community within the United States often faces the challenge of communicating within a predominantly English-speaking country. To eliminate these barriers, it is essential that businesses and organizations hire diversely to represent and serve their customers. By hiring bilingual employees in particular, services for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) communities can be greatly improved.
However, simply hiring people who claim to be bilingual may not be enough to meet the communication needs of your LEP customers and clients. Implementing proficiency testing to gauge bilingual accuracy and skill is a safeguard for customers, employees, and businesses.
Why test bilingual staff?
By implementing proficiency testing for bilingual staff, there are benefits for all parties involved. Using such testing can:
1. Increase brand loyalty and client satisfaction.
If employees can communicate in a customer’s preferred language, that customer is more likely to feel valued and heard. This creates a more positive experience and increases the likelihood that they will happily return.
2. Reduce confusion and miscommunication.
By ensuring that bilingual staff can accurately understand and reply to others in the same language, it is more likely that the two individuals will more clearly communicate with each other.
3. Create a more efficient, equitable process for hiring.
If all bilingual employees are given a standardized test, the hiring team will be able to accurately analyze their data. This consistency prohibits favoritism and provides management insight into what further training may be most useful to their staff.
4. Ensure that employees feel confident performing job duties.
If employees are given tasks within their range of language expertise, they are more likely to complete tasks correctly and communicate with others successfully. Alternatively, if a staff member is unfamiliar with certain job-specific terminology, trying to interpret these words may result in frustration, miscommunication, and mishaps.
When should bilingual staff complete proficiency testing?
Bilingual staff should first be tested during the hiring process. This will establish a baseline to showcase their current abilities.
After this initial process, staff should be tested every few years as part of quality control. This ensures that all employees are maintaining their initial level of language skills and will highlight any progress they have made beyond that initial abilities.
Which types of proficiency tests should be given?
There are dozens of different tests available. Before selecting one, each organization must consider what data they need to gather regarding the specific job duties of their bilingual employees.
Oral Skill Tests vs Comprehensive Tests
How to tell which test is best? It all depends on the work that the employee will be required to complete. If they do not need to write in another language, then a simple listening and speaking test is enough. However, if the employee will be required to read and write in another language, a comprehensive test that includes reading, writing, listening, and speaking will more accurately measure their needed skills.
Consider Industry-Specific Terminology
For certain jobs, it is also necessary to test employees on their knowledge of industry-specific terminology. For example, staff working in a medical environment will need to be familiar with medical terminology in both languages before they are allowed to use these terms when communicating with patients. Ensuring bilingual staff in this field are qualified to provide services in other languages increases LEP patient safety substantially.
How can businesses use proficiency test results effectively?
Employers can use proficiency test results to categorize their staff into different levels. This does not separate staff into “good” or “bad”, but rather places them on a spectrum for which job functions they are currently qualified to perform and which will require more training.
At Culturizing Access, we propose 5 levels:
1- No communication: The individual’s skills are too low to communicate effectively, which creates high liability. Further training is required.
2 – Basic Customer Service: Individuals can perform basic job duties, like making appointments, but they may not yet use industry-specific terminology.
3 – Advanced Customer Service: Individuals may perform basic job duties and use industry-specific terminology, such as explaining loan requirements.
4 – Bilingual Service Provider: Individuals may provide advanced customer services in another language without an interpreter, such as medical appointments.
5 – Interpreter Level: Individuals can perform all previous job duties and also interpret for other employees when needed.
Employees can always increase their level with training, like becoming proficient in bilingual industry-specific terminology.
This is one reason that it is imperative to test bilingual staff regularly; they may have improved their skills enough to take on more responsibility and provide other services to your organization and customers!
How can you find language proficiency testing solutions?
Looking to incorporate language proficiency testing as part of your hiring process?
Ready to implement regular testing of your bilingual staff to ensure your employees have the highest standards when communicating with your clients?
Schedule a call with our founder Joa Tudela to learn more about your next steps in finding the right language proficiency testing to meet your bilingual staff’s unique needs.
