What Defines a Successful Corporate Language Training Program?

Corporate language training programs can help your business in so many different ways. As a matter of fact, having your employees speaking more than one language benefits both them and the company. International relocations are also becoming more and more common – they help us understand other markets, other colleagues and other cultures. This helps business. When we expand in global mobility, we need to ensure our communication is at least a B2+ level for work.

Firstly, Corporate Language Training Can Make Your Business More Successful

Corporate language training can make your business more successful. That’s because your employees, if the training program is successful, will be equipped to close deals that they wouldn’t be able to before. They’re able to operate in a different way that’s advantageous to your business. Also, they will not lose hundreds of work hours a year due to communication issues with coworkers and clients alike.

Naturally, not all corporate language training programs are the same. In order for your company to reap the rewards, the corporate language training program has to actually be good. Let’s look at what defines a successful corporate language training program.

Start with a Good Assessment of the Employee’s Needs

Whether it’s a group class or a private course, we must know what will bring value to the company. For example:

1. Is it practicing for meetings before they take place so that the employee can run through what they want to say?
2. Is it preparing for a presentation, and making sure that all words will be understood by the audience?
3. Is it client conference call prep, where the instructor and employee will role play working with a client, preparing to answer the questions the client may have?
4. Is it practicing the ability to slow down while speaking, so that even though the employee has an accent? They’ll have to speak clearly and precisely, ensuring all words are understood by the listeners.
5. Is it listening comprehension work, where the instructor and the employee will pretend to be on zoom calls with no video (which is very hard to understand if English is not your first language)

Whatever the employee needs and what the company needs, is the first thing to figure out.

Say No To Cookie Cutter Corporate Language Training Courses

Next, create a customized course based on exactly what will bring value to the company and the employee. The course could include, but would not be limited to:

1. Accent work
2. Vocabulary expansion
3. Idioms to use
4. Phrasal verbs for improved understanding of everyday words
5. Business speak
6. Email improvement
7. Listening and clarity when speaking
8. And so many more

If the course is not customized, then it is a waste of time and money for your employee. Why would you choose a course off the shelf, when you can get a truly relevant course customized to your needs for less money? Don’t pay for a cookie cutter course when you can have customized.

Feedback and Follow Up

Finally, you need feedback and follow up.

Every 3 months there should be a feedback meeting with the employee, the instructor and a manager on the team to ensure goals are being met and make any changes needed. Maybe the employee was given a promotion and now has new job duties and goals. If so, we need to be aware and change the course accordingly. We change our course based on your needs. No course is ever frozen, but always changing with the needs of the employee.

Opt for Flexibility

Flexibility is another important aspect of a good corporate language program. The employee should be able to choose their own lesson schedule, and if something comes up that the employee wants to focus on for a week, like an important meeting to prepare for, the instructor should be flexible and help the employee with the most important needs first.

Reporting is Important

Every 3 months, or on a similar type of schedule, there should be reporting about the progress of the employee. We believe that written reports are better than number reports. When we see language training companies say that the employee improved 7 out of 10, we always ask ourselves, what does this even mean? And how does the HR person even know what this means in order to report back to his or her boss?

We prefer real sentences and testimonials from other managers and the actual employees participating in the program. If a client says, “it is SO much easier to work with this employee,” this is progress that we can truly feel, much more than a 7 out of 10. We want to see real results on a daily basis. So reporting is critical, and it matters what kind of reports you are given.

At Fluency Corp, we offer successful corporate language training programs. We’re committed to getting your employees to reach the language learning goals established. Interested in learning more? Then don’t hesitate to contact us for further consultation, feel free to contact us at getfluent@fluencycorp.com or (800) 401-3159.