How to motivate your multilingual staff with a global training solution

Organisations with a multilingual workforce commit fewer mistakes and increase efficiency, productivity, and quality, according to recent research.

However, communicating across cultures can be very challenging, and executives face an unprecedented need to develop effective communication strategies and cross-cultural competencies.

Within the world of Learning and Development (L&D) new technologies are revolutionising how we train and motivate our international, multilingual workforces with global training solutions. Are you taking advantage of these benefits?

Technology as an enabler of face-to-face training

Embracing new technologies is critical in enabling creation and roll out of a consistent and quality instructor-led training programme, which is particularly essential for multinational companies. A great Learning Management System (LMS) can facilitate a blended learning process and help keeping your staff motivated. 

• Does your LMS have an integrated event management system? Enabling employees to book and manage face-to-face courses online will streamline the communication and booking process and provides a centralised, global record of all training taking place, both eLearning and face-to-face.
• Send face-to-face attendees pre-work via your LMS, ideally in their first language, so they can come prepared with background knowledge for the session and give tutors an idea of their level of existing knowledge.
• Follow up face-to-face training with online assessments, via your LMS, so you have evidence of learning achieved. Schedule ‘knowledge checker’ modules and quizzes to refresh and recap knowledge. All of this can be in your employees' first language - a factor that has been proved essential for employee motivation.
• Ditch clunky PowerPoint presentations! Give tutors the ability to download the latest tutor-led course file, to run on their laptop, rather than risk outdated versions of PowerPoint.

Digital learning is anywhere, anytime

Online learning programmes, distributed via Learning Management Systems (LMS), are increasingly helping businesses of all sizes in the deployment of effective, consistent, global training schemes for their employees. As long as the modules themselves are pedagogically-sound, steeped in active and engaging activities and not just in an old-fashioned ‘click next’ approach, then eLearning is as effective as face-to-face. This also means employees can complete their training at a time convenient to them and on any device, no matter the time-zone, increasing their autonomy and their feeling of inclusion, and ultimately their motivation and productivity. However, multinational companies face an additional problem: language barriers.

Empowering a multi-lingual workforce

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that language barriers are a contributing factor in 25% of job-related accidents. People learn better in their first language. New rapid translation technologies mean that translation of eLearning modules, training videos, policy documents, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), exams and assessments included in global training solutions can easily be translated into multiple languages for your international staff – and this is just one of the benefits that a modern LMS and Learning platforms can offer.

According to studies, First-language training gives employees a better understanding of the subject matter, makes them retain information more efficiently and is even important to ultimate success in the second language - read more in our blog. Get ahead of your competitors – develop an engaging, bespoke global training solution and increase your employees’ motivation today.

Sponge is able to create translated training courses for all your employees.