The chairman of Nestlé, Paul Bulcke tells The Big Question’s James Thomas “To be part of or to really enjoy being in a country, there is no better way than speaking in the local language.”
ADVERTISEMENTThe Big Question is a series from Euronews Business where we sit down with industry leaders and experts to discuss some of the most important topics on today’s agenda. In this episode James Thomas met with Paul Bulcke, the chairman of Nestlé, to discuss whether speaking multiple languages is an important skill for international business.
Did you know that according to the Journal of Neurolinguistics, just 17 per cent of the world is multilingual, being fluent in more than two languages, while 43 per cent is bilingual and 40 per cent monolingual? Taking that a step further, polyglots make up less than 1 per cent of the world, speaking five or more languages.
Nordic countries are some of the most proficient in several languages, with Sweden emerging as the country with the most multilinguals, as well as Luxembourg.
How important are multiple languages for international business?
Paul Bulcke speaks six languages and has spent over 40 years of his career at Nestlé.
“Well if you go to a country in Latin America and you speak Spanish, it helps you to be part of it. It's the bridge towards connecting well,” notes Bulcke.
Not only that, but in an increasingly “glocal” economy, with unprecedented amount of cross-border trade and regional production, workers knowing multiple languages can often gain an incredible advantage. They can better understand the colloquialisms, idiosyncrasies, cultures and taboos.
Furthermore, they can connect on a deeper and more personal level with their co-workers, which is even more important at senior levels, when you may need to rally people behind a company vision, or goals.
Speaking a common language with your team can also help break down language barriers when it comes to opening up about more personal issues or concerns, helping them to see a foreigner as one of their own. With acceptance, naturally, also comes better communication and effectiveness for the team or company as a whole.
“It's not only the ability to express yourself, it's more understanding the feelings and emotions much better,” Paul explains.
On the flip side, not knowing the language can also make it much harder to convince people to work together towards a certain mission or goal, especially while using translators, as so much meaning, depth and passion can be lost in the process.
This was the case for Paul Bulcke when he briefly worked in Czech Republic. “You really feel far away,” he tells Euronews.
For companies such as Nestlé, which rely heavily on local produce, manufacturing and production, speaking the local language and connecting with suppliers and consumers alike becomes even more crucial.
Bulcke explains that at Nestlé, “Management, leadership, motivation is local. And we live from consumers, so you better understand the feelings and the expectations of the consumers.”
This ‘glocal’ approach helps Nestlé understand and anticipate local tastes and needs much better, leading them to launch more than 300 Kit Kat flavours worldwide, to suit different country’s palates. Today, Japanese Kit Kat lovers can sample sake, matcha and wasabi flavours amongst others, whereas American consumers can enjoy birthday cake and pumpkin pie versions of the chocolate.
This has been key for Nestlé and others such as Procter & Gamble, allowing them to retain a local aura and feeling in every country while still being spread out across more than 180 countries.
What other advantages are there to learning multiple languages?
Bulcke highlights, “Speaking several languages helps you to really feel at home very fast.”
Not only does picking up more than one tongue help in continuous learning, it also makes your travel so much more pleasant, simpler and safer, by making it easier to speak and connect to people abroad and allowing you to have a better idea of your bearings.
For both single people and families, the social impact of knowing multiple languages can be quite tangible, with Bulcke believing that “there is no better way of learning languages than when you’re very young.”
ADVERTISEMENTHe cites his own children’s language abilities as being a “collateral benefit” of his work travels.
For children and teens, being multilingual can quickly translate into better working memories, higher creativity and multitasking as well as a better vocabulary. Not only that, but at secondary education level, multilingual children tend to do better in not only language subjects but also geography, science and math.
For multilingual employees, advantages come through better problem-solving, decision-making and analytical skills, as well as superior conflict management, in certain situations.
Could being multilingual help a long and successful career?
If you ask Paul Bulcke, the answer is a resounding yes. With his own career spanning across Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Portugal, Germany, Czech Republic and Switzerland, it is easy to see how an aptitude for languages has helped tremendously along the way.
For workers who like to travel or want to experience different cultures without sacrificing a paycheck, mastering different languages can be key in finding jobs in several countries.
ADVERTISEMENTAccording to Preply, 40 per cent of people who spoke multiple languages said it helped them get a job, with 19 per cent also earning more on average than monolingual co-workers, as their additional language skills helped them negotiate raises.
The same survey also reveals that the highest earning languages by average hourly rate are Portuguese (€29.3), Russian (€28.4), Vietnamese (€27.4), French (€26.5) and Mandarin (€24.7).
Not only that, but multilingual workers are also seen as more adaptable, tenacious and quick to pick up new things, helping them receive additional responsibilities and desirable roles down the line.
According to a 2019 survey conducted by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), nine out of ten employers revealed that they depended on bilingual or multilingual employees.
One in three employers also felt that they had a language skills gap, with one in four also saying that they had lost business due to this. 56 per cent of businesses estimated that they would be needing more bilingual or multilingual employees in the next five years.
ADVERTISEMENTThis means that there will continue to be an increasing number of jobs opening up for these employees in the next few years.
Bulcke insists that the secret to a long career is you have to “love what you do, like what you do. If you don’t like what you do, try to find ways of liking it or try to find something that you like.”
As such knowing the local language of the country you work in can really help you like your job better, since “to be part of or to really enjoy being in a country, there is no better way than speaking in the local language.”
Is only English enough to work across Europe?
The fourth most-spoken language in Europe, English has about 70 million speakers across the continent. However, many of those are also expatriate workers.
Although it is one of the official languages of the European Union, the on-ground situation is a little different. With 24 official languages and about 200 other languages spoken across the continent, almost every country has its own tongue.
ADVERTISEMENTIn some countries, such as France there can be open reluctance in speaking anything but French, while in others such as Spain and parts of Eastern Europe, English speakers and jobs may be concentrated mainly in the bigger cities. As such, workers looking to make a career for themselves in a non-English speaking European country could stand to gain greatly from picking up the local language.
Employment opportunities may also reduce drastically, with most of the more specialised or desirable roles requiring at least professional working knowledge, if not mastery of the local language, along with English. Entry level or semi-skilled roles may operate entirely in the local language as well.
As Bulcke puts it, “You can always get along with English maybe in Europe, I think so. But it is so much more engaging, trying to speak the language after a while.”
Watch the full episode above to learn more about Paul Bulcke and his time at Nestlé.
