Global workforce training is something that companies of all sizes are now tasked with. Today’s global economy means that employees are located across the country and across the world. This has many benefits for any organization, but it also poses challenges for training these employees.
Professionals in charge of global workforce training identify the following challenges:
- Cultural differences
- Language diversity
- Budget/training costs
- Time zones
- Consistency
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT WAYS TO TACKLE THESE GLOBAL WORKFORCE TRAINING CHALLENGES!
ELEARNING IS A GREAT SOLUTION FOR GLOBAL WORKFORCE TRAINING!
eLearning can help meet time zone, consistency, and budgeting challenges. Think about it – your employees can log on from anywhere at anytime. A Learning Management System (LMS) allows training managers to oversee training and track employee performance. You can also identify areas where global employees are succeeding or struggling. From there, you can improve upon the training. eLearning authoring tools make development of online training very customizable! If you are looking for articles on comparisons of authoring tools, try this postby E-Learning Uncovered or this post from eLearning Industry! If you are looking for trusted resources for eLearning content development, let us know! Our partners develop customeLearning and training solutions for businesses, corporations, non-profits, and government agencies.
UNDERSTAND CULTURAL VALUES!
In an article we wrote for eLearning industry, we touched on six cultural factors that influence learners across the globe. These factors include language and text, design and layout, teaching styles, learning characteristics, gender roles, and graphics and images. Whether you are designing eLearning or instructor-led training, it is important to understand what teaching styles are more effective for different cultures with different learner characteristics. Image choice is very important as well – be as universal as possible.
FIND THE RIGHT PARTNER TO HELP WITH LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY CHALLENGES!
Language barriers are one of the more obvious challenges with global workforce training. It is important to find a partner who has experience translating into a variety of languages and also understands the variations in dialects. They can work with you on translating all training support materials – documents, PowerPoints, online training, etc. In addition, a language service provider (like us) uses in-country native speakers to translate your content. This helps a lot! Not only does the linguist speak the language, but they also understand the culture. A good language service provider will not only translate, but localize the training. This incorporates cultural consulting.
Hiring local employees that speak the language are also invaluable. They can help review translated training materials and help train your global workforce!
