Learning A Language Not Always A Strain
Strain Measurement, based in Chedburgh (Suffolk) and employing 22, manufactures thin film sensors for force and pressure measurement in medical and sub-sea applications. With a turnover of just over £1 million, 40% of the company's exports are into Germany, with the remaining sold to the USA, Norway and France.
As the company has no native speakers of foreign languages and a handful of staff with school French, Managing Director Harvey Johnson offered employees the opportunity to learn German or French through an EU-funded programme for Suffolk businesses. As a result eight staff opted to learn German via in-house sessions, with two of these staff also embarking on French. Between sessions staff work on distance learning packs, with frequent on-line practice around the office!
The approach that everyone speaks English is true to a degree, but when you telephone a business, being able to reach the right person is often inhibited with whoever is on the switchboard, and then you have to find out where the right people are. You can therefore end up with missed opportunities, says Harvey.
Strain confirms that 10% of contact it has they have on trade stands are inhibited by a lack of language skills. Being able to say good morning and explain the product and interest them enough to come back, and to translate the literature to make it more accessible to other speakers are two areas of clear focus. At engineer and technical level English is often spoken, but when trying to establish new sales leads that is sometimes difficult, as some people don't speak any English, so just being able to share a few remarks can be the breakthrough.
The head of purchasing at the company's major customer speaks no English, which can make calls from accounts and sales more difficult. Furthermore, although many intermediaries in Germany speak English, they do not always understand the product due to its unique technical nature. Our industry is very technology-based, products are engineered in virtually every case, agents would need extensive training, so all communication needs to be done from here, and we'd like to do that more effectively, says Harvey.
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