In an ever more globalized world, being able to communicate in English effectively has become essential. Business, entertainment, social media, politics… They’ve all succumbed to the power of English communication. While the industry of language learning is not new, it may now be reaching historical peaks of popularity. For many organizations, providing English training to their employees is becoming less optional and more of a must for their business success.
Benefits of English language learning for companies
The benefits of implementing an English language-learning solution in your organization are numerous. If you are still wondering whether your organization needs to offer English training to your employees, here are some solid reasons that will help you make the right decision.
Boost productivity
Effective communication is critical in virtually every job. Understanding verbal and nonverbal cues from colleagues, managers, and customers is closely related to job performance. Fewer misunderstandings translate into more productive. If your employees don’t fully understand the requirements and scope of a project or issue, they will never be able to do their jobs properly.
Being a good communicator goes (far) beyond understanding requirements. If your workforce and customers are are international, your employees will also need to grasp cultural differences and communications styles. They need to be aware that feedback is given differently in India and in Israel, that the word “yes” and “no” can have different meanings in Vietnam and in Germany, and that time is not perceived the same around the world. Mastering all these cultural aspects will save your organization more time and money than one could ever think.
Strengthen relationships with customers and partners
By improving their business English skills, your non-native English employees will be able to improve their relationships with clients. Your customer support, sales, and account management teams will improve their ability to communicate and build rapport with partners and prospective clients.
Open the door to new markets
Many organizations that used to operate locally have started to explore new markets. Effective communication is based not only on knowing the vocabulary, but more importantly, on understanding the cultural differences and nuances. Strong communication skills in the world’s lingua franca –English– will help you access those new business opportunities overseas.
Enhance your employer branding
Today’s candidates truly care about their growth and development. Your Learning and Development offerings will elevate your employer branding more than most other shiny perks. Corporate benefits related to your employees’ wellbeing and growth will show candidates that yours is an organization worth working for. Offering language training will also make your company more appealing, as you will be seen as an internationally oriented employer. In short, it will help you attract an international, open-minded workforce.
Access top-level candidates
Companies have started to look for talent abroad. Once they have understood –and proved– that remote work does work, why not hire overseas and access to talent from across the globe? An interesting shift that we’re experiencing is that organizations are offering language training to great candidates whose English is not as good as their technical skills. This means that you don’t have to just focus on language level when trying to recruit top talent. Yes, effective communication is crucial, but you can help them develop this skill once they are in your organization.
“To ensure that you are hiring the best people, you may need to accept some limitations on language capabilities and be prepared to provide training to meet both global and local language needs.” –Tsedal Neeley and Robert Steven Kaplan, Harvard Business Review
Increase employee loyalty and satisfaction
Many employees leave because they have stopped learning. Offering training opportunities to your employees, as well as relevant learning resources, will help you cultivate employee engagement and loyalty. Choosing the right training program for your employees will also help them feel more self-confident and motivated. We often hear from our learners that one of the most rewarding aspects about learning with Talaera is that they can now express themselves more effectively. They feel they are more “themselves” in English, and that gives them a big sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. It helps them feel good about their abilities while they enjoy the process
Establish an inclusive culture with bonding teams
Multilingual teams have become the standard in our globalized world. Managing diversity and inclusion in the workplace is no easy thing. Luckily, language training will help you improve team collaboration and ensure communication without misunderstandings in culturally diverse teams. Many of our customers have offices and other countries, and they have realized that, thanks to the Talaera training, their different teams were able to build stronger relationships with their international counterparts. By and large, the language learning solution contributed to better cross-border collaboration between teams and offices. Not only that, by combining team building with language learning, through workshops, group courses or webinars), you will also boost team spirit, build trust, reduce conflict and bias, and improve your company’s intercultural competence.
Choosing the right English language training provider
If you made it thus far, you may be ready to start thinking about the right English vendor for your organization. At Talaera, we understand that managing different learning programs is hard, so we want to make it easy for managers. Our team will take care of all the training logistics, from A to Z, and you will be able to oversee all the process from your Company Dashboard. Your employees will receive a 1:1 initial assessment session and we will create a learning program tailored to their specific needs. You, on the other hand, can relax and focus on all your other pending tasks while we do what we do best.
For any additional information or questions, reach out at hello@talaera.com. Interested in getting the best offers and receiving free content on Business English communication for you and your teams? Subscribe to our newsletter!
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