Having your company go global can come with its own unique set of obstacles. You’ve got cultural issues, new government regulations, new competition and so forth. But the biggest obstacle is overcoming the language barrier. You’ve likely got new, local employees that you must communicate with. The logical solution is to have your training materials translated to the local language, but you think it’s going to be expensive. Maybe not. Let’s look at ways that cross-lingual training can actually save you money.
Employee Retention
It is unfortunate, but many companies these days have adopted the hire-and-fire attitude that results in rapid employee turnover rates. But according to Zen Workplace, the average cost of recruiting each new entry-level employee can equal 30-50 percent of their salary. So the cost of recruiting new employees is thousands of dollars per new hire. The reason for such high turnover rates in many cases is that the employee feels stagnated and unable to develop professionally. Providing training, especially through eLearning, gives the employee control over their development and learning and provides a sense of accomplishment. The University of Colorado found that training employees through an eLearning system using interactive elements that required active participation induced better knowledge retention. Better knowledge retention leads to more productive employees and less turnover rate, thus saving money. Of course, you have to train your global employees in the same manner, so having your eLearning materials translated and/or interpreted by a professional translation service is a must.
Save on Travel Costs With eLearning
Because training with eLearning is done mostly online, it is much easier to get it to your entire global workforce. Once the materials are translated, simply send them over the internet to your overseas branches. You save on travel costs, as neither employee nor employer has to travel to a lecture hall or conference room for the training. You save on the rental of the training place, as well as the supplies and food that are usually provided. Since eLearning is flexible, the employee completes the material at their own pace and at the time of their choosing, so as not to fall behind on work. Not having to stop a day of work for training saves money as well.
The Cost of NOT Training Your Employees
In his book “The Great Principle of Management,” Michael Leboeuf says, “If you believe that training is expensive, it is because you do not know what ignorance costs. Companies that have the loyalty of their employees invest heavily in permanent training programs and promotion systems.” Untrained employees lack the knowledge to use company resources properly. This can lead to waste. The untrained employees’ lack of knowledge about procedures can affect client interaction and retention. This leads to suffering for the company, the client, the employees and yourself. And if your global employees don’t get training, translated and adapted to their culture, they won’t last long either.
Training your employees, both local and global, is an absolute must for your organization’s bottom line. eLearning is an excellent way to provide that training. TrueLanguage can help keep your global workforce on the same page and keep your training investment from getting lost in translation. So prepare your materials and contact TrueLanguage.com to get them translated for your global employees. Request a FREE quote today or call us now at 1-888-926-9245
