Organizations worldwide have shifted gears in recent years — and most certainly since the onset of the latest pandemic — to remote working environments. This shift toward virtual workplace models has helped businesses stay afloat, and for many, has even helped to increase productivity and efficiency while saving costs. What this also means, however, is that many companies are now turning to eLearning to ensure their remote employees remain productive, engaged, and informed. In fact, in its 2020 “Learning State of the Industry” report, Chief Learning Officer (a platform and community for C-suite and senior-level L&D professionals) found that eLearning delivery was the top anticipated area for L&D technology spending over the next 12-18 months.

Data Source: Chief Learning Officer¹

And while eLearning provides a convenient, cost-effective, and time-savings approach to lifelong learning and upskilling, how is the highly competitive eLearning industry addressing the language and cultural gap when it comes to their eLearning courses?

New research published by Pearson (a British-owned education publishing and assessment service) found that “only 7% of non-native English speakers in global companies believe they can communicate effectively at work.”² And, in the United States alone, “[n]early one in 10 working-age U.S. adults — 19.2 million persons aged 16 to 64 — is considered limited English proficient [LEP].”³ According to the Brookings Institute, most of these working-age residents are part of the US workforce and require language support. However, even outside of this domestic need, there is an increased demand for multilingual eLearning solutions for companies with an international presence. Whether onboarding or upskilling, having access to localized eLearning materials empowers all employees.

The Many Benefits of eLearning Localization

Uniformed Training Opportunities

Companies across industries are now turning to convenient, on-demand, self-paced learning content for their corporate training initiatives. Especially for companies with several international offices, eLearning offers uniformed training opportunities for their diverse workforce. From team building, leadership, and problem solving courses to software and compliance training, there are a great many online solutions now available. However, eLearning courses that create content in multiple languages while also taking cultural differences into consideration stand out from the crowd.

A More Inclusive Work Environment

eLearning localization adapts content to a particular linguistic and cultural context. By localizing the eLearning experience, course material and messaging will better resonate with the intended audience. And, the more employees understand, the more likely they are to retain the information. eLearning localization also helps to create a more inclusive work environment. It encourages employees of all backgro;unds to participate, thereby increasing overall engagement and strengthening employee retention.

According to new research by McKinsey & Company, “companies with more diverse workforces perform better financially.”⁴ In fact, the report found that “[i]n the United States, there is a linear relationship between racial and ethnic diversity and better financial performance: for every 10 percent increase in racial and ethnic diversity on the senior-executive team, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rise 0.8 percent.”⁵ But this can only be achieved when eLearning courses further promote a sense of diversity and inclusion. By effectively removing linguistic and cultural barriers, eLearning localization levels the playing field for all employees.

Increased Workplace Safety

For many, it comes as no surprise to learn that immigrants perform some of the most dangerous jobs within the United States. Making matters even worse, many of these immigrants have a limited ability to communicate in English. From food processing plants to construction sites, LEP workers must fully understand the safety protocols of the job. However, according to the American Public Health Association, “[f]oreign-born workers… have some of the highest worker fatality rates of any population.”⁶

Data Source: Migration Policy Institute⁷

By localizing all training materials, companies not only mitigate the risks of serious workplace injuries but also help to save their employees’ lives.

Brand Consistency

The trend toward corporate online training has continued to increase in recent years. From leadership development training, sales performance instruction, and business execution planning to upskilling, reskilling, and onboarding courses, companies across industries are turning to online learning solutions. And while many training and consulting services offer self-paced, on-demand courses, those that also offer multilingual learning solutions will better meet the demands of a growing linguistically and culturally diverse workforce. Language services providers (LSPs) can help. By partnering with LSPs well versed in eLearning translation and localization, your corporate training materials — along with your company’s brand and messaging — will remain uniform, regardless of the language.

CommGap Enhances Your Company’s eLearning Initiatives

CommGap is honored to be recognized as a trusted partner for a growing number of corporations that offer talent development, education, and training services. With a full range of professional language solutions for multimedia and eLearning services, CommGap tailors our eLearning language solutions to meet your unique needs. From HR and compliance training to product and software knowledge training, assessments and more, CommGap offers a plethora of bespoke eLearning language solutions all within your budget. Our team of linguistic experts, voice talents, engineers, and designers bring you the highest quality of subtitling, translation, localization, and voice-over services in hundreds of languages.

The corporate training trend is moving online, and CommGap has the team, the expertise, and the experience to connect you with your multilingual learners. Give CommGap a call today.

REFERENCES

1 John, Ashley St. “The Rise of e-Learning.” Chief Learning Officer – CLO Media, 17 July 2020, www.chieflearningofficer.com/2020/07/17/the-rise-of-e-learning/.

2 “Businesses Need to Invest in Employees’ English Skills to Avoid Productivity Loss.” The World’s Learning Company, www.pearson.com/news-and-research/announcements/2015/12/businesses-need-to-invest-in-employees-english-skills-to-avoid-p.html.

3 Wilson, Jill H. “Investing in English Skills: The Limited English Proficient Workforce in U.S. Metropolitan Areas.” Brookings, Brookings, 24 Aug. 2016, www.brookings.edu/research/investing-in-english-skills-the-limited-english-proficient-workforce-in-u-s-metropolitan-areas/.

4, 5 Hunt, Vivian, et al. “Why Diversity Matters.” McKinsey & Company, McKinsey & Company, 12 Mar. 2021, www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters.

6 “Ensuring Language Justice in Occupational Safety and Health Training.” AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION, www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2018/01/18/ensuring-language-justice.

7 Jeanne Batalova Monica Whatley, Jeanne Batalova. “Limited English Proficient Population of the United States in 2011.” Migrationpolicy.org, 20 July 2020, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/limited-english-proficient-population-united-states-2011.

Standards like the ISO 17100:2015 are developed and enforced by the International Organization for Standardization, a non-governmental leader in establishing global norms across different industries.

ISO 17100:2015 is a specific standard for Translation Services. It defines the requirements for practices, resources, and other core aspects that are necessary for Quality Assurance.

To obtain and maintain this certification, a company undergoes regular audits by an independent third-party certification body to demonstrate that processes, linguists, and human and technical resources are compliant with the standards.

Some of the certification requirements are:

Linguists must meet certain requirements and the validity of their diplomas, years of experience, and certifications must be verified. During the audit, the certifying body reviews credentials on file to ensure projects are handled by linguists that are adequately qualified for the tasks at hand.

Workflows and processes must be documented in detail, from the initial request to post-production activities. All tasks must follow certain parameters to ensure optimal management of translation projects.

Team members must also be qualified, vetted, and trained to ensure they follow established quality management standards.

Other requirements deal with legal framework of procedures, added-value services, definition of various terms, confidentiality, and security protocols.

It is no small task to achieve this significant milestone and CommGap is proud to have obtained it. It is proof of our commitment to excellence and to our clients’ success.

When you need someone to take care of your translation projects, look for an ISO 17100:2015 certified company. From project management to vendor recruitment, quality assurance and data protection, you can rest assured you are getting what you pay for: Top quality translations you can trust.