Managing Multilingual Workforce Learning Programs: Tips and Strategies
Table of Contents
- The Benefits of Multilingual Workforce Training
- The Best Strategies to Implement Multilingual Workforce Learning
- Always Understand Your Audience
- Make Use of Technology to Create a Multilingual Learning Program
- Create an Environment that Facilitates Communication Across Languages
- Implement Language Training Classes for Non-Native Speakers
- Provide Learning Materials in Your Employees’ Native Languages
- Provide Subtitles With All Digital Training Solutions
- In Conclusion
In today’s post-COVID world, organizational training takes multiple forms. Whether online, remote, or even in-house, organizations have learned to adapt to the changing dynamics of their workplaces. This is especially true for companies that operate globally. However, to truly call itself global, a company must devise strategies to deliver this learning to employees in their native languages.
To ensure that all employees understand every aspect of an organization’s training modules, it must be delivered to them in the language they know best. This guide will give you the most crucial tips and strategies to implement multilingual workforce learning to ensure consistent growth.
Also Read: Best Practices for Translating and Localizing Workforce Learning Content
The Benefits of Multilingual Workforce Training
Before we dive into the most important strategies to help you implement multilingual learning programs, you must understand its benefits. These are listed below –
- Providing training in one’s native language is the best way to avoid any misinterpretations that may arise while communicating.
- It can help employees understand clearly what’s expected of them and can thus help them perform their roles more efficiently and effectively.
- Communicating in one’s native tongue increases the likelihood of increased engagement, as employees no longer have to use their cognitive energies to focus on interpreting the content rather than understanding it.
- It can help keep workplaces safer and more secure. According to a study, 75% of employees stated they’d misinterpreted an email or instant message at work. This can have serious ramifications when one considers the importance of communication safety measures at the workplace. Multilingual training can ensure employees understand workplace safety measures well, thereby keeping themselves and their colleagues safe.
Next, let’s walk you through the best strategies to implement multilingual workforce training for the most effective results.
The Best Strategies to Implement Multilingual Workforce Learning
In this section, we take you through six of the most important tips and strategies that can help you successfully implement multilingual workforce learning programs.
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Always Understand Your Audience
As a global business, you could have different parts of your workforce all around the world, be it Latin America, East Europe, Asia, and more. Understanding your audience’s native tongue and where they are based is the first step toward the localization of training programs.
A simple way to get an accurate picture of your employees’ native languages is to send out a company-wide survey for your employees to take. Further, rather than asking them for just their mother tongue, you could also ask them if there’s a second language they understand well. This way, you’ll have a good idea of which languages you need to cater to, and then go ahead and implement the next steps of your workforce learning and development programs.
This step is crucial, as a study by Forbes has suggested that 65% of employees attested to a language barrier between executives, managers, and other workers at organizations with a diverse workforce.
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Make Use of Technology to Create a Multilingual Learning Program
Today, there’s no shortage of tools and platforms that offer you the ability to create learning programs in a variety of different languages. Working with organizations that deliver such services is crucial to getting the content of your programs right while also ensuring to deliver them in a culturally respectful manner.
If you think you can rely on Google Translate to translate the learning material from English to Russian, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Hiring language experts or organizations that work with experts to devise your programs is essential.
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Create an Environment that Facilitates Communication Across Languages
Learning in isolation is never as fruitful as learning from peers. As a global organization, workforce training and development must focus on enabling conversations and discussions among employees of different backgrounds. The cultural differences and personal insights offered can often be a source of inspiration and can also help facilitate learning.
Further, cooperative learning also helps foster a sense of community, reducing the barriers created by distance and language. The more your employees understand each other, the more likely they will work better together.
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Implement Language Training Classes for Non-Native Speakers
Another key tip organizations can consider is investing in language classes to help employees communicate seamlessly over time. This can be implemented in addition to ensuring that you reach out to non-native speakers in their native tongue.
For instance, if your organization consists of a mix of Spanish and French speakers who use English as a second language, investing in English language classes can help align your workforce to communicate in a common language over time, streamlining communication. This can be especially useful for organizations with employees across the world.
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Provide Learning Materials in Your Employees’ Native Languages
When training employees globally, it’s not just the verbal instruction that needs to be provided in each employee’s respective native language but also any physical or digital learning materials provided to them. This is where it helps to use digital learning solutions that allow users to change the language to one of their preferences.
Delivering custom learning programs is the best way of ensuring that employees are motivated to learn more and don’t face any barriers in this process. It also ensures that organizations can achieve the desired learning outcomes, boosting productivity and organizational growth over time.
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Provide Subtitles with All Digital Training Solutions
If creating learning modules in various languages from scratch seems daunting, time-consuming, and expensive, another effective alternative is ensuring that all digital audio and video training modules come with subtitles or transcripts.
This, while not as ideal as having the entire module in a different language, can still ensure that employees worldwide access the same information in the language most comfortable to them. After all, statistics show that 76% of millennials consider professional development programs among the most crucial aspects of company culture. Providing aids like subtitles can ensure that professional development programs are accessible to all your employees.
Also Read: The Importance of Translation and Localization in Workforce Learning
In Conclusion
Implementing multilingual workforce training programs has numerous benefits and is necessary for businesses with employees from around the world. This guide has listed six key strategies that you can use to implement these programs successfully.
These include a mix of understanding your audiences and their preferred languages better while using tools and technology to deliver training to them in a manner that’s equally accessible.
As you can see, these strategies can ensure effective and clear communication while increasing your business’ profitability and employee motivation.
If you’re looking for experts who can help you create multilingual training programs, Hurix Digital is there for you. We’re the best in the industry and can help you ensure you successfully reach out to every employee in your organization, regardless of where they are from.
Get in touch with Hurix Digital and see the productivity in your workforce multiply!
Related Article – Best Practices for Translating and Localizing Workforce Learning Content
Performance, Results, Growth, and Life-Long Learning define my professional life. I am passionate about making workplace learning planful, purposeful, and impactful. I take pride in partnering with clients and bringing them the best in learning design and creating solutions that address business challenges.