Service in English – a threat for the future or needed in the current day?

27.9.2024Jenna TurpeinenWe develop

Tourism can be done locally in own home country, but as a sector, tourism is undeniably international. But how do we in Finland deal with it when the service language is English? We found out in our survey.

Palvelukieli Kansikuva

According to the Confederation of Finnish Industries (2024), Finland needs a foreign workforce as the number of people of working age in Finland is expected to fall by 130,000 by 2030. To alleviate the recruitment problems in the tourism sector and the skills gap in the labour market, Finland needs to actively promote labour immigration. In order to employ and integrate the necessary labour force from abroad into Finnish society, we need understanding and patience in our working communities and among our people, without which, for example, the service sectors may be in trouble in a few years' time.

At present, many jobs still require applicants to be able to speak Finnish. Tourism, hospitality and catering are sectors where the working language of the employee is also the language of service to the customer, so how do their customers feel about English-language service in Finland?

Can we only serve you in English?

Our survey investigated consumers' opinions on the internationalisation of tourism, accommodation and restaurant services in Finland, i.e. how they feel about receiving service in English in domestic businesses.

The survey was conducted as a questionnaire between 27 June and 29 July 2024. Of the approximately 130 respondents, the majority were women, and the majority of respondents were either Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980), baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), or millennials (born between 1981 and 1996). The majority of respondents (76.8%) reported Satakunta as their place of residence, so the results of the survey can be expected to best reflect the opinions of those living in Satakunta. Respondents most often reported lower university or university of applied sciences degree, vocational qualification or higher university or university of applied sciences degree as their highest level of education. 94.4% of respondents spoke Finnish as their mother tongue. A cross-comparison showed that the younger the generation, the better the English language skills.

According to our survey results, the overall majority of respondents have a positive or neutral attitude towards English-language service and international employees in Finnish tourism companies. However, cross-comparison showed that the younger the generation, the more positive the attitude towards English as a service language and international employees. A similar trend was also observed when comparing respondents' assessments of their own English language skills: the better the respondent's English language skills, the less they cared about both the language of service and the origin of the customer service staff.

The study also found that the level of education of respondents influenced their attitudes. Positive attitudes towards international workers increased slightly with the level of education, and the higher the level of education, the less it mattered to the respondent whether the service was in Finnish or English. However, what was an anomaly in the results was that respondents with the lowest level of education, i.e. those with a background of primary school or in primary school, also had positive attitudes towards both international workers and English as the language of service. However, this phenomenon is explained by the age of the respondents, as around 70% of respondents with the highest level of education, either primary school or still in primary school, belonged to the three youngest generations.

Focus is on quality of service regardless of language

The open-ended responses to our survey also revealed a general positivity towards international workers, supporting the results of the quantitative survey. On the other hand, the open responses highlighted that while English-language service is not perceived as a negative per se, many stressed the importance of the possibility of Finnish-language service. Some respondents expressed that, although for them English is not a problem as long as the quality of the service is good, there is an older age group in our population in particular for whom English can be a challenge.

As Finland is in dire need of labour migration, some respondents also suggested solutions to the current language barriers in their open answers. Based on these responses, one solution would be for each service provider to try to keep at least one employee with good Finnish language skills on duty at all times. This way, for example in situations where a client has dietary restrictions that cannot be waived for health reasons, the service will remain safe. The presence of an employee who speaks Finnish also ensures that customers who speak only Finnish have a smoother customer experience. If the service provider has no possibility to offer services in languages other than English, this should be clearly reflected, for example, in marketing.

Attitudes are changing, but work is still needed

Positive attitudes towards the international workforce and English-language services seem to be on the rise, but if we want to ensure that both the service and non-service sectors in Finland run smoothly now and in the future, work needs to continue. The positive trend in attitudinal change must continue, and our labour markets must start thinking about concrete solutions to streamline the hiring of English-speaking workers. But learning the local language and integrating into our working culture is best done where it happens - at work.

Did you know this?

  • Participants in the ongoing international Tour4Youth youth employment programme can choose their internship placement from a list of almost 60 organisations or alternatively propose a suitable placement themselves.
  • The Tour4Youth online course is open to anyone interested in developing their career skills.

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