No se habla ingles, say the Americans
Apertech is a two-man consultancy business based in Harlington, Bedfordshire. The business trades with most countries which have an established agricultural base, in particular the USA and Australia, and is also moving into the South American market. The company provides technical support and reagents for special forms of micro-measurement, with diverse applications ranging from controlling grinding processes of mineral extraction to stem cell technology.
In addition to its work in Bolivia and Chile, many of the company's clients in the southern states of the USA speak Spanish as their first language. John Harfield, Director, has been attending a European-funded Spanish course at the University of Luton, and has been able to build his language skills to a high level of competence. As a result this has made direct communication with clients possible. If our labels are in these languages it produces a much more professional international appearance. It is also easier to establish a rapport in South America with distributors and clients if they can communicate with you in their own language, even if they're well mentally geared up to dealing in English, says John.
Asked whether the company had lost business as a result of inadequate language skills, John tells of a misunderstanding with a German client of what a particular product could do - I was not able to mollify the client sufficiently at a time when exchange rates were hard, nor was I able to persuade him sufficiently of the benefits of the product. Unfortunately the client spoke only limited English.
Apertech uses the language mostly for repetitive response to enquiries, such as responding with appropriate replies and documentation. We do not have to wait for correspondence to be translated and come back to us. We therefore have more flexibility and better speed of response.
Asked about his experiences of the course, John stated that it provided the language contact experience that you lack working remotely with overseas clients. When I found out about the course I had three choices - ignore it, extend my knowledge of a language I had, or take an entirely different language. The programme made it clear which potential business I could aim for, and although we are a small business, language and culture is now incorporated into our corporate thinking.