Language and talent management: perspectives from Italian MNCs

Abstract

The rise in cross-border business in recent decades has led to changes in corporate and working languages and a corresponding surge in research. At the same time, the field of strategic and global talent management has also developed rapidly, but to date has not included language. This paper calls for the integration of language training as a key element of strategic talent management in MNCs. A small-scale interview study with employees from three large Italian companies reveals a broad range of approaches to language and talent management, suggesting there is an urgent need for further cross-case research. The results also show that (a) while English is gaining rapidly in importance, especially at corporate/senior management levels, Italian still plays a central role in some companies; (b) language skills are perceived as bringing added value to employees and companies and can be seen as crucial to the expansion process; and (c) talent management plays an important role in attracting and retaining excellent employees but appears to still be in its infancy in Italy. We therefore argue that strategic talent management urgently needs to be better understood and implemented, and should include proactive language training.

Keywords

• English as a business lingua franca (BELF)
• language in international business
• multilingualism
• talent management
• Italy