The percentage of high-performing companies that report providing language training for all employees has more than doubled, from 10 percent in 2011 to 23 percent in 2012, according to a recent study.
by Site Staff
August 21, 2012
New York — Aug. 20
There has been an increase in demand for multilingual skills among global leadership candidates, according to a study of more than 1,000 companies on six continents by AMA Enterprise.
Currently, roughly 14 percent of high-performing global companies hire only multilingual candidates for management positions, up from 10 percent in 2010, the study said.
Moreover, as further indication of a desire for a multilingual global leadership team, the percentage of high-performing companies that report providing language training for all employees has more than doubled, from 10 percent in 2011 to 23 percent in 2012, according to the study.
“English is currently perceived as the predominant language of business throughout the world, but that may be changing,” said Sandi Edwards, senior vice president for AMA Enterprise, a specialized division of American Management Association that provides assessment, measurement and learning services to organizations.
The study also found that customization of the content of global leadership development programs has dropped somewhat.
“About 40 percent of high-performing companies indicated in 2011 that they customized the content of their global leadership development programs to a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ extent for various regions or countries,” Edwards said. “In the 2012 survey, just 23 percent of high-performing companies report that their global leadership programs are customized to such an extent.”
Source: AMA Enterprise