Not easy to get English-speaking foreign workers for customer-facing roles, recruiters say

SINGAPORE: English may not be a prerequisite for foreigners looking to work in Singapore, but certain jobs do require a minimum level of spoken English, recruiters and employers said. 

But challenges abound in hiring the right people for these positions, they added. 

The issue of English proficiency among workers in Singapore came under the spotlight after a customer complained about an NTUC FairPrice employee who could not speak English. The complainant posted a video on Mar 22 of her interaction with the employee at City Square Mall. 

Madam Ho Ching, the chairman of Temasek Trust and wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, weighed in on the incident five days later. In a Facebook post, she exhorted Singaporeans not to "shame others for not speaking the language we know". 

CHALLENGES OF HIRING ENGLISH SPEAKERS

While recruiters traditionally turn to foreigners to fill service roles that are unpopular with Singaporeans, this is becoming more difficult as foreigners are increasingly better educated, said Mr Kevin Koh of Future Employment. 

"When they know they can speak a decent amount of English they are even pickier ... and they have a lot more options. Not only in Singapore, they have a lot of options to go to other countries where they can get a higher salary," the employment agency director said.

"There are a lot of good English-speaking candidates from China, but they no longer consider the 'blue collar' positions, because there are a lot of other countries ... and the salary is a lot higher than what we can offer." 

While bigger companies can offer higher pay to attract these candidates, small- and medium-size enterprises may find it tough to do the same, Mr Koh said. 

Another recruiting firm said that while workers should be able to speak basic English relating to their job scope, a tight manpower situation requires some "give and take". 

"A lot of companies can't hire enough Singaporean workers. At the same time, they're limited by the work permit quota, S Pass quotas, to hire more foreigners," Cultivar Staffing and Search managing director Zac Ng said.

"That is actually the basis of the requirement for both sides to be empathetic ... and not be so hard up about the service providers who are not able to speak perfect English."

WHEN SPEAKING ENGLISH IS A MUST

But for some employers and recruiters, English proficiency is a must.

Nala Employment deals mainly with Malaysian jobseekers and tests them on their English proficiency according to the job they apply for.

For example, it conducts role-play exercises for candidates applying for jobs in the F&B industry. Applicants are asked to introduce the top-selling item on a menu and how they would respond to a customer if an item was not available.  

Noting Singapore's multiracial and multicultural environment, Nala Employment director Jim Wee said: "Language is an important element for a foreigner to adapt to the host country so that they can better integrate into the society and be more effective during their day-to-day job duties."

Future Employment said clients that are luxury brands, retailers of higher-end products, or those in certain locations such as Changi Airport, may request English-speaking candidates. 

In contrast, those operating in the heartland or hiring staff in backend roles such as dishwashing have lower requirements. 

Ms Sheng Hai Ming, who runs a massage parlour at People's Park Complex in Chinatown, said English is not necessary due to the business' location. 

Even though the massage parlour has its fair share of foreign customers, basic English is enough for her staff, who are from China and Vietnam. When CNA visited, Ms Sheng brandished a list of massage services and prices already translated into English and other languages like Korean. 

Ms Sheng said: "In the business of massage, we don't need to speak much English as we use our hands to work. We only need to say a few words, and then give them our name cards. If the service is good they will come back with the card." 

IT service provider WinPro Consultancy, on the other hand, requires its client-facing staff to speak English and be familiar with technical terms.

Speaking English is key to communication with clients here – so much so that the company ensures its Malaysian workers undergo training before they can come to Singapore to work. 

Workers are placed on their IT helpdesk in Malaysia where they have to converse with customers in English. Only when they are confident in their English-speaking ability are they offered the opportunity to work here, managing director Ronald Soh said in a phone call with CNA.  

This way, they will not have to deal with the challenges of speaking an unfamiliar language in addition to the stress that comes with the job, he added. 

HELP FROM CO-WORKERS, CUSTOMERS 

A Chinese national who only wanted to be known as Mr Qu recalled asking his co-workers for translation help while working in a Peranakan restaurant in the early 2000s.

"Everything was ordered in English. My boss didn't speak Mandarin and I couldn't even apply for leave," said Mr Qu, who was a kitchen assistant then.

"I had to find translations for everything," said the 50-year-old. Now a masseur, he can communicate with customers using some basic English words. 

Dunlopillo said it was open to employing staff in customer-facing roles who cannot speak English, but would pair them with staff who can. The mattress retailer has six to seven work permit employees in such roles, but all can speak English. 

"It is not a big obstacle to employ them, to be honest," said national sales manager William Chua. "Singaporeans can use a lot of body language.

"So long as communication does not break down. If there's any problem, (we can) just tell the customer that we don't understand."

Mr Chua said the customer can also be referred to another of its more than 15 outlets or shop spaces islandwide, or asked to return another day when an English-speaking employee is around.

To Mr Chua, the NTUC FairPrice incident was an "isolated" case. 

Singaporeans who find themselves in such situations would usually switch to a language that the other party understands, he said.

"Unless I don't know how to speak Mandarin and you cannot speak English, the only way out is you get your supervisor or someone who can speak the language so you can communicate." 

KNOWING ENGLISH WILL GET WORKERS FURTHER

Mr Koh of Future Employment recalled a case where a candidate who spoke basic English still had difficulty adapting to his workplace. 

The Chinese national was hired as a waiter and had to work with multiple nationalities, including Sri Lankans, Indians and Koreans. 

Due to the fast-paced nature of the job, the man was not given enough time to settle into his job and was scolded when he failed to pick up instructions. After a month, he gave up and returned to China without even considering a change in job, said Mr Koh. 

On the other hand, a bubble tea stall assistant from China whom Mr Koh recruited managed to work her way up with a basic command of English. Within three to four years, the woman was promoted to team leader then to cluster manager, Mr Koh said. 

Two Singaporeans of minority races that CNA spoke to had different views on whether companies should employ workers in front-facing roles if they cannot speak English.

A 26-year-old Singaporean Indian, who did not want to be named, said people should be more understanding as migrant workers were simply trying to make a living.

The researcher said he picked up simple Mandarin terms to communicate with workers who did not speak English at the coffee shop he frequented. He described it as a "let me help you so you can help me kind of thing".

But Mr Kirill Petropavlov, 33, who moved from Switzerland to Singapore and is now a citizen, said speaking English is important to cater to visitors and the country's diverse population. 

"On one occasion, I visited a shop that sells doors, and the sales lady there only spoke Mandarin. She tried her best to use the few English words she knew, but it was not sufficient for effective communication. Luckily, my wife, who can speak Mandarin, was with me and helped me communicate with the salesperson," said Mr Petropavlov, who works in a bank.

"While it would be beneficial to know some basic Mandarin terms to help in certain situations, the main barrier is the complexity of the language and its limited usability across the globe," he said.