Language is belonging: How CtrlPrint strengthened culture through Swedish training

---

At CtrlPrint, English is the corporate language. The company is international by design, with colleagues spread across countries and cultures. On the surface, communication works well. 

But belonging isn’t built only in meetings. 

It’s built in everyday moments, lunch conversations, casual jokes, spontaneous comments in the office. And for international employees in Sweden, those moments often shift naturally into Swedish. 

Not out of exclusion. Simply out of habit. 

For Zornitsa Kasabova, People & Culture Director at CtrlPrint, those small moments mattered. They were quiet signals that integration isn’t just about having a job, it’s about feeling fully included in the life around it. 

A fast-growing, deeply international company 

CtrlPrint is a Swedish-funded tech company founded in the early 2000s, and over the years it has grown into a truly global organization. Today, the company employs more than 70 people across offices in Stockholm, London, Helsinki, and Australia, bringing together a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. 

The team is highly international, so much so that English has naturally become the default language, even between Swedish colleagues. This global setup is a clear strength, enabling collaboration across borders and time zones. At the same time, it adds complexity. Managing communication across cultures means navigating different expectations, interpretations, and communication styles, both in everyday work and in long-term organizational development. 

As People & Culture Director, Zornitsa Kasabova is at the center of that complexity. She leads all People & Culture work at CtrlPrint, covering everything from recruitment and payroll to engagement, succession planning, and long-term people strategy. As the company’s sole “people person,” she has a close view of how the organization functions and how employees experience life at CtrlPrint, especially as the company continues to grow rapidly, with plans to onboard new employees in the coming years.

When patterns emerge, Zornitsa sees them early. And when employees speak up, she listens. 

Listening to what employees were really asking for

The idea for language training came directly from employees. 

In CtrlPrint’s half-yearly engagement surveys, international employees in the Swedish office repeatedly shared that learning Swedish would help them, not just professionally, but personally. It would make daily life easier. It would support integration. It would help them feel more at home. 

At the same time, there was a clear business need. Supporting language learning meant supporting both employee experience and customer relationships. 

What made the decision powerful was that it served both people and business, without forcing a compromise between the two. 

Creating space to learn and to belong 

CtrlPrint chose to run the Swedish language course primarily on-site, aligning with their strategy to bring people together in the office. Face-to-face learning created energy, connection, and shared momentum. 

At the same time, flexibility mattered. Remote options ensured employees working from other countries could participate fully. Inclusion wasn’t negotiable. 

One detail made a particularly strong impact: employees were allowed to attend the course during working hours. This sent a clear message, language learning wasn’t an extra task or a personal hobby. It was a company investment. 

And people felt that. 

More than language: confidence, engagement, retention

The results were immediate and measurable.

Employee engagement increased noticeably after the program, and feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, so positive that there was virtually no suggested room for improvement. 

But beyond the metrics, something deeper shifted. 

International employees felt seen. Valued. Supported. 

When people feel safe enough to try, to speak imperfectly, to learn openly, confidence grows. And when confidence grows, participation follows, in meetings, in conversations, and in the company as a whole. 

For CtrlPrint, language training became a tool not just for communication, but for retention and culture building. 

A return on investment that’s easy to justify 

For Zornitsa, the conclusion is clear: language training is one of the simplest ROI decisions a company can make. 

Recruitment is expensive. Losing great employees is even more expensive. Supporting people early, helping them integrate, connect, and feel at home, pays off many times over. 

Language training strengthens employer brand, increases engagement, and creates a competitive advantage. And importantly, it shows employees that they matter as people, not just as roles. 

When the investment is personal, too 

Zornitsa didn’t only organize the program, she joined it. Originally from Bulgaria and the only international member of the management team, learning Swedish helped her integration as well. After the course, it became easier for colleagues to start speaking Swedish with her. Effort was met with effort.

That shift, small but meaningful, captured the essence of the initiative. 

Because when language training is done well, it doesn’t just teach words.

It builds confidence. It strengthens connection. And it makes people feel they truly belong.

For CtrlPrint, the collaboration with SpeakCharlie wasn’t just a successful initiative, it marked the beginning of a long-term partnership built on trust, impact, and shared values. 

If you’re curious how language training could support connection, engagement, and growth in your own team, we’d love to explore it with you. Click here to book a meeting with us.