Despite the world becoming increasingly global, many traditional organizations in Finland still require native-level Finnish language skills from their employees and consultants. I recommend rethinking this approach to become more future-proof.
In this article, I will discuss the advantages of adopting English as the official language in an organization, address common concerns related to this change, and provide actionable steps for companies to successfully make this transition.
Why Finnish in the first place?
Firstly, it’s good to understand the main reasons for requiring Finnish skills
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Employees can stay in their comfort zone and communicate accurately, quickly, and without extra effort.
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Traditional Finnish organizations may have higher trust in Finnish workers and can find cultural similarities reassuring.
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Project documentation and official information are in Finnish, and it would require significant work to translate them manually.
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The companies have always had only Finnish workers, and having the first English-speaking person would require language changes in various teams, systems and processes.
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These organizations typically need to provide services to their customers in Finnish, so they associate this requirement with their internal language as well.
The problems of sticking with the Finnish language
When an organization limits its talent pool to just Finnish speakers, it takes longer to find talent, and the organization may have to settle for a person who is not a perfect match for the need. This gets increasingly difficult if a hard location requirement is added to the mix.
Immigration is the only solution to tackle the low birth rate and the age structure of the Finnish population. It’s more realistic to change the working language to English than to require immigrants to immediately learn one of the hardest and least spoken languages in the world. Thus, organizations will eventually have to hire non-Finnish speakers anyway.
The English skills of the employees never develop if they don’t use the language in their daily work. Eventually, the organization can totally lose in the talent competition and be left behind in international business.
The benefits of adopting English as the main language
A wider talent pool enables finding better recruitment and consultation matches for different needs. Working with international teams, especially if they can work remotely, can decrease the cost of recruits and external consultants.
It improves the employees’ English level, making them more apt at handling their work and daily lives in an increasingly international and English-based world. For example, many AI tools are used in English, which already provides significant benefits for teams who know how to use them.
Culturally homogenous teams can lack multicultural and international understanding and diverse viewpoints. Diverse groups can feel less comfortable, but according to Harvard Business Review, that actually leads to better team performance. A study conducted by McKinsey also shows that on an organizational level, the more diverse the workforce, the better the financial performance.
Even if English is used internally, the organization can continue serving its customers in their local languages.
Overcoming challenges and making the transition
If you’re convinced that adopting English as the main language in your organization makes sense, but don’t know how to approach the shift, here are some tips.
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Invest in language training. This can include courses, discussion groups, and apps.
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Use automated translation tools, like DeepL, to make documentation translations and other daily communication tasks easier.
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Hire English speakers first for 1-2 teams and build the needed processes and documentation for their needs, before expanding to other teams.
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Focus on the high expertise and good communication skills of the first English-speaking talent, so that people have good first experiences and impressions.
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It may be easier for Finnish people to interact first with non-native English speakers, without feeling inferior or intimidated by the native language level.
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Don’t try to suppress spontaneous Finnish communication between Finnish people, but learn to switch the language on the fly when needed.
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Help employees understand the reasons and benefits of making the shift, to increase the motivation for it.
Our own experiences at Vincit
Vincit shifted its official language to English a few years ago, long after having operations in the USA and quite a few non-Finnish employees in Finland. They always felt a bit like outsiders. Now we have a much more diverse and inclusive workplace and can tap into a wider talent pool in Finland, Sweden, Poland and Portugal, providing the top talent for our customer projects. With the improved English skills company-wide, we are more capable of serving international customers as well.
Hopefully, this inspires you to make the shift as well.
Janne Salmi,
Development Director
