Improve your strategic workforce planning with English language testing

Samantha Ball
Business people sat at a table with papers smiling together
Reading time: 3 minutes

Companies constantly seek methods to optimize workforce productivity and effectiveness. A powerful approach to achieving this goal is through strategic workforce planning bolstered by English language testing. This tactic not only identifies and addresses skills gaps but also reduces attrition and strengthens your workforce for both short-term and long-term success.

Improve your strategic workforce planning with English language testing
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The importance of strategic workforce planning

A workforce is only as effective and productive as its skills. Given that these skills are continuously evolving, proactive strategic planning is essential to future-proof your business. Effective workforce planning aligns your organizational strategy with your hiring strategy, providing a safeguard against future skills shortages.

Strategic workforce planning offers numerous benefits:

  • Cost savings: Efficient resource allocation reduces unnecessary expenditures.
  • Enhanced training plans: Targeted training programs address specific needs.
  • Improved change management: A well-prepared workforce adapts more readily to change.
  • Better employee experience: Employees feel supported and engaged, fostering loyalty.

By incorporating data-led English language testing into your skills gap analysis, you unlock additional advantages, such as reduced attrition rates. Confident communication is the bedrock of business success and enhances every core workplace power skill. For international businesses, effective communication hinges on English proficiency. Assessing your team’s English language skills allows you to evaluate other business competencies as well.

3 ways language testing enhances workforce planning

Here’s how to incorporate English language assessment at each stage of the employee lifecycle to reinforce your workforce planning.

1. Improves the quality of new hires

English is the global language of business and technology, making it a critical skill to evaluate during the recruitment process. The first step is to test each candidate’s English proficiency during the interview stage. Using an AI-based language assessment tool such as Versant by Pearson allows you to efficiently filter out candidates who do not meet the required proficiency level. This provides a reliable set of metrics to inform your broader workforce planning.

When hiring at scale, this approach accelerates the process and offers an unbiased, accurate picture of current language skill levels.

2. Increases employee engagement and performance

Once employees are onboard, ensure they can continually develop their English language skills. Workplace-relevant English language learning helps employees feel they are making regular progress, boosting their confidence and loyalty to the organization. Ongoing English language development is particularly beneficial for businesses looking to expand into international markets.

3. Identifies skills gaps

If you're investing in English language learning, it’s crucial to measure its effectiveness. Regularly assess employees' English skills to monitor their progress. Integrate these assessments into your strategic workforce planning to identify potential future skills gaps before they arise.

Incorporating language assessment into employee appraisals supports their development, enhances job satisfaction, and builds their confidence to pursue further skills and promotions.

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Realize the business benefits of including English skills in your workforce planning

English language proficiency serves as an effective benchmark for strengthening workforce planning, mitigating against future skills gaps, and improving employee retention. Here’s how.

  • Identifies skills gaps: Regular assessments highlight areas needing improvement.
  • Enhances retention: Employees feel valued and supported, reducing turnover.
  • Supports business expansion: Proficient English speakers are better equipped for international roles.

Strengthen your business’s workforce planning with Pearson Language Solutions for Work. Tools such as Versant by Pearson offer flexible, fast and accurate language testing and certification at scale. Additionally, develop employees’ workplace-relevant language skills with Mondly by Pearson.

Incorporating English language testing into your strategic workforce planning ensures that you’re building a resilient, adaptable, and highly skilled workforce ready to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Are you ready to elevate your workforce planning? Learn more about how Pearson Language Solutions for Work can help you identify skills gaps and develop your team’s English proficiency for sustained success.

Read our blog post 'Boost the quality of your hires with English proficiency testing'.

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    Introduction to spoken languages

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    Why knowing the most spoken languages matters

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    Criteria for measuring language popularity

    Measuring language popularity is a complex task that involves various factors, including the number of native speakers, global influence, and use as a second or foreign language. The criteria for measuring language popularity include:

    • Number of native speakers: This refers to the number of people who speak a language as their first or native language. Languages with the highest number of native speakers often have a significant cultural and historical impact.

    • Global influence: This measures the extent to which a language is used in international communication, business, science and diplomacy. Languages with a broad global influence are often used as lingua francas in various regions.

    • Use as a second or foreign language: This considers the number of people who speak a language as a second language or foreign language. Languages that are widely taught and learned around the world tend to have a larger speaking population.

    By considering these criteria, we can better understand why certain languages are more prominent and widely spoken globally.

    Top 10 most spoken languages in the world

    Here’s a closer look at the ten most spoken languages by number of speakers:

    When evaluating these languages, it's important to consider not just the number of native speakers but also the total number of language speakers, including those who speak it as a second language.

    1. English

    Speakers: Approximately 1.5 billion

    Native speakers: Around 360 million

    Regions: Widely spoken in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

    Highlights: English is the most widely spoken language worldwide when combining native and non-native speakers. It's the primary language in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. English is the dominant language in international business, science and technology.

    2. Mandarin Chinese

    Speakers: Over 1.1 billion

    Native speakers: About 920 million

    Regions: Mainly in China, Taiwan and Singapore

    Highlights: Mandarin is the language with the largest number of native speakers. It's one of the six official languages of the United Nations and has a significant cultural and historical importance.

    3. Hindi

    Speakers: Around 600 million

    Native speakers: Approximately 341 million

    Regions: Predominantly in India and Nepal

    Highlights: Hindi is predominantly spoken in India and Nepal, with approximately 341 million native speakers. It is one of the official languages of India and is spoken by a large portion of the Indian population. It has numerous dialects and is written in the Devanagari script.

    4. Spanish

    Speakers: Approximately 560 million

    Native speakers: About 460 million

    Regions: Spain, Latin America and parts of the United States

    Highlights: Spanish is the official language in 21 countries and is widely spoken in the Americas. In many of these countries, Spanish serves as the national language, playing a crucial role in government, education and media. It’s known for its rich literature and cultural heritage.

    5. French

    Speakers: Around 280 million

    Native speakers: About 77 million

    Regions: France, parts of Africa, Canada, Belgium and Switzerland

    Highlights: French is another of the six official languages of the United Nations. It's widely used in international diplomacy and has a significant number of speakers in Africa due to France's colonial history.

    6. Arabic

    Speakers: Approximately 270 million

    Native speakers: Around 310 million

    Regions: Middle East and North Africa

    Highlights: Arabic is a central Semitic language that is the liturgical language of Islam. It has many dialects, with Modern Standard Arabic being used in formal settings and media. Arabic has numerous spoken forms, with significant variations in dialects across different regions.

    7. Bengali

    Speakers: Around 265 million

    Native speakers: About 230 million

    Regions: Bangladesh and parts of India

    Highlights: Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh and the second most spoken language in India. Alongside other languages like Hindi and Urdu, Bengali plays a crucial role in the cultural and linguistic landscape of the region. It’s known for its rich literary tradition.

    8. Portuguese

    Speakers: Approximately 220 million

    Native speakers: Around 220 million

    Regions: Brazil, Portugal and parts of Africa

    Highlights: Portuguese is mainly spoken in Brazil, which is the largest Portuguese-speaking country. It has a growing number of speakers in Africa.

    9. Russian

    Speakers: Around 258 million

    Native speakers: Approximately 154 million

    Regions: Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia

    Highlights: Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations and is widely spoken in the former Soviet Union countries.

    10. Japanese

    Speakers: Approximately 128 million

    Native speakers: Around 128 million

    Regions: Japan

    Highlights: Japanese is predominantly spoken in Japan and is known for its three writing systems—Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. It has a rich cultural history and is influential in technology and entertainment.

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    Ready to start your language learning journey? Learn a new language with Mondly by Pearson.