Running a business that employs workers from around the world is no easy feat, but it makes it possible to expand into new markets and to tap into a diverse talent pool. Companies that make localization a key part of their global training pipeline can benefit greatly. How? Let’s look at four different ways that localization can improve your global training strategy.
Employees Learn Better
Even if your workforce all speaks the language of business—aka English—, providing employees with access to training materials in their native language can help them learn better. Doing so can also make them feel like they belong to a more inclusive workplace environment. You can help avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and can make it easier for them to retain information by allowing them to learn in their native language. If you can provide your employees with resources that make thriving in their job easier, why wouldn’t you?
Employees Get Maximum ROI on Learning Initiatives
When employees understand and retain educational materials better, that clearly benefits their personal and professional development, but their employers also benefit. If you’re going to invest a lot of time and money into creating learning initiatives and then are going to have your employees commit more time and resources to consuming that content, you want to get the most ROI possible. When you provide localized training materials, you can help increase productivity and can enhance retention of the learning materials — all of which end up benefiting you as their employer.
Companies Create a More Equal Workplace
Employers should take whatever steps possible to create a more fair and equitable workplace. One way to do this is to give all employees, no matter what their native language is, the same level of opportunity when it comes to improving their skills and reaching their full potential at your company. If a company doesn’t localize its training materials, they risk putting non-native English-speaking employees at a disadvantage. While they may not mean to do this, they may make it more difficult for their employees to grasp critical concepts by not localizing their training materials. If you want a global workforce, you need to support them properly and localization can help you do that.
Companies Enjoy Optimal Resource Utilization
When you expand your workforce globally, you must also enhance your training efforts to make them work on a more diverse scale. While localization is an investment, that investment will pay off and save you time and money in the end by helping you make the most of the resources you already have. When you localize your global training program, you create a better company culture, help employees learn better, and make a fairer working environment, and as a result, your employees will thrive. You want all of your employees to have the best chance of understanding and retaining learning materials and localization can help you reach that goal.
