Buyer’s Guide: Business English Solutions

BUYER’S GUIDE

Business English Solutions

2

We estimate that as

many as 70% of the

Forbes Global 2000

employees are

non-native English

speakers, and

research has found

that the vast majority

of them don’t have

the Business English

skills needed to do

their jobs.

In today’s global economy, the language of business is English—a fact that knocks down

borders, but erects a sizable barrier. We estimate that as many as 70% of the Forbes

Global 2000 employees are non-native English speakers, and research has found that the

vast majority of them don’t have the Business English skills needed to do their jobs1. Fail to

address this reality and your company’s impact and profits will suffer.

The Pitfalls of Poor Business English Proficiency:• Reduced communication: Business

communication now depends on a common

ground of expression and understanding in

English. Individuals must not only know English,

but have a command of the specialized ways

their function, company and industry use it in

all aspects of business.

• Strategic confusion: Today’s global company is challenged to create a harmonized

strategy that both works across geographic regions and is adapted to local conditions.

Doing so requires clear communication up and down the organization, from international

headquarters to local offices.

• Diminished collaboration and problem solving: Employees must work with each

other, customers, and business partners on a daily basis, and the company at large

must develop and execute projects, products, and services across national boundaries.

Customers demand responsive vendors, and addressing any obstacles efficiently and

effectively requires an ability to work in harmony.

• Wasted operational time: Efficiency has become vital to modern corporations as a

way to reduce waste, maximize profitability, and develop agility to swiftly respond to

changes in the market. Inadequate Business English adversely affects efficiency and

causes a company to lose money due to time wasted repeating or clarifying directions

or correcting mistakes.

The Rewards of an Effective Business English Solution:• Enabled Growth and Development of Global Talent: A weak Business English

foundation will limit the growth and development of talented employees and hinder L&D

or training efforts, while a strong foundation will optimize and further enable the skills

and output of the current and future global talent of the organization. By strengthening

one’s Business English competency, a leader, high potential, or individual contributor

Business English Solutions

3

It is widely accepted

that learning takes

place in three ways:

through experience,

through social

connections like

working with others,

and through

structured courses

and programs;

this is commonly

known as the

70:20:10 model.

gains confidence in global interactions. This confidence has a multiplier-effect impact on

other projects, relationships, and deliverables.

• Access to the Best Ideas From All Locations: Are you confident that the best ideas

are being effectively communicated and understood across all your organization’s

global locations? What are the competitive risks if the next big idea is never identified

or implemented simply because an individual couldn’t communicate it or understand it

effectively? A company’s ability to innovate and stay ahead is dependent on its ability to

access and act on inspired thoughts from all corners of the globe.

• Optimized Human Capital: Improving the Business English skills of a company’s

workforce is a human capital investment. Just like a company optimizes systems,

supply chains, and other processes, a Business English solution helps companies

further optimize their human capital by bolstering the productivity, quality, and volume

of each employee’s output.

• �Increased�Profits�and�Client�Satisfaction: A successful solution should have a

bottom-line impact that’s reinforced by improved client-specific metrics. So long as

the solution is an effective one, the company should see a significant annual return on

investment and improvement in KPIs such as speed to market, customer satisfaction

ratings, and customer loyalty.

Finding a SolutionIt is widely accepted that learning takes place in three ways: through experience, through

social connections like working with others, and

through structured courses and programs; this

is commonly known as the 70:20:10 model.

According to Charles Jennings, a leading thinker

and practitioner in the areas of performance

improvement, change management, and learn-

ing, “The 70:20:10 model provides an excellent

framework for any training or L&D department to

re-invent itself to meet 21st-century organizational needs”2. This could not be more true or

more critical to your investment in Business English programs:

Formal learning, such as classroom training or structured coursework, can focus on an

individual’s needs, but typically reaches only a small portion of employees because it is the

most expensive method and can be logistically challenging to implement. It is also often

Business English Solutions

4

The big secret is

that breaking down a

company’s Business

English barrier at a

strategic level will

require a mix of

all three types of

learning methods.

broadly designed and doesn’t address business-specific situations, so employees may

not learn how to apply what they learn in a formal classroom setting to typical business

scenarios. And even when the curriculum is business-focused, the teacher’s time per

student is limited, as is the student’s ability to practice the language. The acquisition of

basic skills through formal instruction alone can take years and requires a significant time

and cost investment.

Informal social learning involves drawing

information from co-workers, either directly

or remotely, like via telecommunications or

online peer-to-peer networking. It is typically

well-focused on business needs, accessible

on-demand, and relatively low-cost compared

to formal learning.

In recent years “a number of dedicated ‘social learning platforms’ have emerged. These vary

in approach, but most incorporate YouTube and Amazon-like features that support individual

content sharing, peer-ranking and analysis of social capital,”3 says Jennings. However, social

learning success in your company depends on the expertise and availability of colleagues or

the accessibility of trustworthy sources of information. As a result, social learning may not

work in certain contexts where expert resources are difficult to access.

Experiential learning occurs through on-the-job experience, practice, conversations, and

reflection. Because it is delivered face-to-face or using technology, both via computer and

mobile devices, experiential learning is available the moment a need arises. Experiential

learning tends to be the least expensive of all three types and can act as a standalone

offering or a complement to other types of instruction and support.

The big secret is that breaking down a company’s Business English barrier at a strategic

level will require a mix of all three types of learning methods. Experts recommend that about

70% of learning comes through experiential, on-the-job learning, that social make up another

20%, and that formal structured learning comprise 10%. Why is it a secret? Because few

solution providers integrate this approach into the products and services they offer.

The table below outlines some of the differences between the three major types of

language learning.

Business English Solutions

5

Instruction Type Comparison Table

Pros Cons Types Potential Features:

• Can focus on individual employee needs

• Effective for individuals with particularly low Business English competence

• Can use technology-based delivery

• Typically consumes 90% of budget but reaches only 3% of employees who need help

• Requires significant time commitments to see results

• Heavy administrative burden

• Can interrupt work; schedule conflicts can undermine effectiveness

• Typically focuses on general English skills rather than Business English

• University courses• Formal

on-premises classes• Self-paced virtual

courses

• Business English skill assessment

• University accreditation

• On-demand course delivery

• Virtual classrooms• Tablet delivery of

courses• Advanced speech

recognition• Accent and dialect

support• Virtual coaches

• Immediate performance gains in the context of regular business

• Instant help when needed

• Can include social-based software to enable real-time connections among employees

• Learning by one can become learning by oth-ers in the social groups

• Needs mechanism to ensure trusted content

• Potential security issues• Requires technology

platform to deliver• More difficult to

assess and monitor than formal

• Needs an administrator to monitor content and conversations

• Wikis• Blogs• Forums• Expert directories• Social networks• Conferences• Coaching and mentoring • Podcasts

• Collaboration platform• Connections inside and

outside the company• Document review• Conversations with con-

nections• Cloud/SaaS

delivery• Integration with

third-party social networks

• Cloud delivery allows quick scaling up or down and extensive distribution

• Just-in-time delivery• Supports business needs

as they arise• Immediate practice

reinforces learning• Maximum scheduling

flexibility• Broad availability

• Users must be able to leverage help without human guidance

• Requires a foundation of existing language skills

• Not widely offered by training/learning companies

• Requires an advanced delivery platform

• Performance support• Reference information• Feedback• Quality circles• Applications• Games• E-learning self-study

courseware• Search• Publications• Learning portals• Translation software

• Company-specific language

• Industry- or function-specific vocabulary

• Email templates• Searchable content• Cloud/SaaS delivery• API integration

with existing corporate systems

• Curated content• Recommended

solutions• Browser-integrated

support

Social

Experiential

Formal

Business English Solutions

6

Creating a system-wide approach to improving Business English requires finding the best

combination of methods in a solution that must:

• Provide immediate improvement

• Be cost-effective

• Be measured to track results and direct further efforts

• Work within a company’s existing technical infrastructure

• Be delivered on-demand and in the context of work

Why choose GlobalEnglish?Our comprehensive suite of solutions is designed

to meet the diverse Business English development

needs of global companies while ensuring

consistency and simplicity. Our full spectrum of

solutions span from 24/7 cloud-based, on-demand

learning platforms to very personalized 1:1 coaching

engagements and adaptive assessments. Programs

are seamlessly delivered across geographic regions, varying proficiency levels, and

business initiatives so your employees get the exact mix of learning methods they need—

right away—to improve Business English competency quickly and effectively. Plus, as a

software as a service (SaaS) solution, you can scale use up or down as necessary, and

employees can use our tools according to the 70:20:10 learning methodology anywhere

there is a computer or mobile device.

About GlobalEnglishGlobalEnglish offers solutions to improve enterprise-level Business English to enable

effective communication and collaboration and drive high performance in a global

economy. We offer a complete suite of formal, social, and experiential learning tools to

form a comprehensive and customizable learning program. As well as assessment and

performance support applications. Focused on the global enterprise market, GlobalEnglish

supplies its services around the globe through its SaaS platform and dedicated corporate

sales and support offices in more than 20 countries. More than 500 of the world’s largest

global companies are already clients of GlobalEnglish in 175 countries. GlobalEnglish is

owned by Pearson, the world’s leading learning company. For more information visit

www.globalenglish.com.

Our comprehensive

suite of solutions is

designed to meet

the diverse Business

English development

needs of global

companies while

ensuring consistency

and simplicity.

Business English Solutions

7

1http://static.globalenglish.com/files/case_studies/GlobEng_ResearchSt_GlobEngRep_EN-US_FINAL.pdf2http://www.slideshare.net/charlesjennings/the-702010-framework3http://www.duntroon.com/documents/TIQ_Spring%202011.pdf

© 2013 GlobalEnglish Corporation. GlobalEnglish is a registered trademark and the GlobalEnglish logo is a trademark of GlobalEnglish Corporation. Other company and product names used herein are for identification purposes and may be trademarks of their respective companies.