Table of Contents
Introduction
More and more enterprises are hiring workers from across the world nowadays. There are a number of advantages to this approach, like:
- Bypassing the constraint of location when choosing the ideal talent for your company
- Having access to a larger work-ready population who may have commute issues, like new mothers, disabled people, people living far away or in remote areas, etc.
- Being able to spread your business to other locations in the world without the need to transfer a part of your workforce
- Finding local talent in other locations who are more familiar with how business works in that area
- Having a diverse workforce to contribute different, glocally relevant perspectives to your business
However, having a global workforce also means you must be equipped to take care of their varying needs. One essential requirement is to ensure that your employee onboarding program caters to a diverse multilingual audience. You cannot simply reuse or recycle your local training tools for multilingual employee onboarding, neither are traditional methods for training adequate for accommodating linguistic and cultural diversity. What you need is a modern systems training solution like Assima, that allows multilingual workforce onboarding effortlessly. It has built-in features to streamline multilingual training for global teams and make the job for your L&D team easier without having to recapture your content for every language.
Read this comprehensive guide on overcoming the challenges of multilingual training and ace the process.
The Global Workforce Reality
The seeds of digital globalization may have been planted in the 1990s but it truly started spreading in the 2000s and the 2020s, we are finally seeing the true implications of the process. Knowledge, access, resources, and media have become universally available. This impact is extended to recruitment too. The number of global workers has been increasing exponentially since 2020. In his paper “Scaling Global Remote Work: Trends and Implications”, Samuel Dahan reports how the size of the global workforce has increased “from just a few thousand global workers in 2020 to 50,000 in 2021, then 177,000 by 2022, and reaching nearly 300,000 contracts in 2023.”
This trend begs the question, even as more companies move towards a distributed workforce, are they truly ready or equipped to handle it? Most enterprises simply remodel their existing training and onboarding systems to cater to the needs of a global workforce. However, this is not a sustainable solution and results in a myriad of employee onboarding challenges. Without targeted systems training for global teams, truly effective onboarding won’t be possible, affecting engagement and morale.
Common Pitfalls in Multilingual Onboarding
Multilingual employee onboarding programs come with certain hurdles, which include:
Language Barriers
Since you need to translate training from the language the learning materials were created in, to the languages they are needed in, there is too great a chance of translation errors being introduced. Essential technical phrases may get lost in translation and give rise to reduced comprehension or complete miscommunication.
Cultural Nuances in Learning
Even if the translation is accurate, it may be too literal to make sense to locals working at your company. Every language has cultural nuances, and translation must capture the context of the subject being discussed. You may even encounter expressions, written or verbal, that mean different things in different places.
Inconsistent Information Delivery
Multilingual training will obviously require different trainers in different locations, as well as different documents and references. This often creates inconsistencies in the quality of the training provided, which may affect the understanding and subsequent performance of employees in different locations.
Reduced Engagement in Learners
Many enterprises often try to completely bypass the hassle of translation and try to deploy training in the same language. This is a fatal error as it will lead to miscommunication and flaws in the understanding of the training materials. The engagement of the learners would be affected, ultimately impacting their productivity.
What Traditional Onboarding Often Fails
Logic dictates that traditional onboarding techniques would not work for a modern scenario like a distributed workforce. Trying to make it work will create unnecessary hurdles. Here are a few traditional onboarding limitations that need to be addressed when discussing multilingual training:
One-Size-Fits-All Approach
Traditional training methods almost always use the umbrella approach where every employee is provided with the same training materials and guided the same way, even though every individual learns differently. The same goes for a multilingual workforce. In most cases, training would be in English which won’t be suitable for teams in locations where English is not their native language.
Lack of Training Localization
Even when traditional training methods do take into consideration the requirement for translation, in most cases, you get literal translations. However, all languages have local cultural nuances that are reflected in their language, which cannot be captured in a literal translation. You often end up with gross misinterpretations and inaccuracies in the material as a result.
Static and Manual Methods
Traditional training mostly uses static, manual training methods like PowerPoint slides, generic videos, user manuals, etc. These methods do not take into account the fact when the time for translation for foreign teams comes, the process will be highly cumbersome. You will have to recreate every resource from scratch in every language you must provide training in.
Delayed Training Updates
Translating training materials that would remain the same is one thing; constantly having to update these materials with software upgrades in every language is a whole different story. Often, updating training content across all team locations gets delayed as a result, postponing the go live for the updated software version.
Insufficient Progress Tracking
Traditional training methods often lack any automatic tracking capabilities. This means you have to track the progress of teams in other locations based on the reports of their seniors at their location. Often, deficiencies in training materials due to poor translations resulting in impacted performance are blamed on the employees, completely overlooking where improvement is truly needed.
The Case for Simulation-Based Onboarding
The best way to overcome multilingual employee onboarding challenges and inconsistencies is to use digital onboarding solutions that help manage all aspects of traditional training without any of the usual hurdles. One ingenious way of doing that is by creating a simulation-based onboarding program Simulation training is also more engaging, and its immersive learning nature engenders better retention, recall, problem-solving skills, confidence, and creative thinking.
If simulations are used with an interactive training platform, the results are even better. It makes training experiential by combining information consumption and application at the same place. Assima takes it a step further by using clones, which are one level higher than simulations. Clones are hyper-realistic, fully interactive software simulations – they work just like sandboxes but without their general constraints. In addition, Assima Train allows L&D teams to produce training material in multiple languages without having to manually recreate the content in every language like other tools. Traditional tools require you to have access to a system in every required language, with local data configured. With Assima, screens, messages and data can be translated from the original set of simulations, reducing the amount of effort required to not only produce but maintain them for every new version of the system. Assima Train is the ideal onboarding software for global teams, incorporating translation and other features for scalability that do all the work for you.
Delve deeper into the evolution of simulations and how they have improved onboarding processes.
How Assima Train Solves Multilingual Onboarding Challenges
Assima Train is built to streamline multilingual employee onboarding. The top Assima Train features you can leverage to make this happen are:
Clone Technology for Dynamic Learning
Assima Train uses a 4X patented cloning technology to create hyper-realistic simulations that are fully editable in real-time. Any changes made get reflected immediately in every version of the lesson without any impact on the live environment. This allows lesson optimization for distributed teams all at the same time.
Modern Localization Capabilities
Assima provides a modern solution to training localization for any simulations created on the platform. You can translate lessons created in a certain language to any other language without the need to recapture and create an additional copy for every required language. You can also switch the language of a lesson to any other language that you are comfortable learning in.
Interactive, Role-Based Learning Paths
Assima provides a wide range of compatibility and customizability for lessons. Learning paths can be tailored based on the role and region of the employee and can be deployed on any OS and browser. The interactive nature of the lessons solves the lack of engagement issue that often occurs in multilingual training.
Centralized Training Management
Assima provides centralized access to all lessons and training materials. It becomes much easier for learning content creators to modify, update, monitor, and scale training from a unified platform. You do not have to worry about logistic issues due to distance or time zones to provide uniform learning opportunities.
Case Study: Real-Life Examples
When Plan International, a leading children’s charity that operates in 53 developing countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, needed to replace three legacy systems with SAP, it needed a solution that could allow it to train its distributed workforce in their native languages. It turned to Assima to help it provide interactive training in a time-effective, economical, and consistent manner. Assima helped Plan International deploy training in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and French, in a streamlined manner. Learn more about how we did it here.
Benefits of Adopting Assima Train for Global Teams
Assima understands system training for global teams like no other brand. You reap the following benefits when you utilize our multilingual onboarding tools:
Faster System Adoption
With the multilingual facilities of Assima, you help every team have a clear understanding of the new software in training. This encourages faster system adoption and allows software rollout across all locations without any delays or time lags.
Reduced Onboarding Costs
Since you do not have to expend extra resources to deliver training in different languages to different locations, you can reduce onboarding costs greatly. The money saved can be utilized in other productive ways to boost your business.
Higher Employee Satisfaction
Assima helps employees access learning in their native language so that they are more likely to be satisfied than those who can’t or are burdened with poor translations. This is because growth and development opportunities play a major role in employee retention.
Compliance with Regional Regulations
Context plays a huge role in compliance. Cultural nuances of compliance regulations can only be truly understood when communicated in the right language. Assima takes care of this sensitive issue with its multilingual functionalities.
Greater Chance of Talent Attraction
Since your organization already has a global workforce, it means they are open to remote talent in the future. With employee rights taking the forefront, Assima helps you attract the right talent irrespective of linguistic requirements.
Best Practices for Onboarding Global Teams
Successful execution of a multilingual employee onboarding program goes beyond using advanced tools – you must also apply the best practices that are tried and tested in your sector. The most general must-dos include:
- Leverage interactive training methodologies like simulations, gamification, VR, etc. that provide an immersive learning experience.
- Always localize lessons, even for small volumes of content, to ensure no essential information is lost in translation.
- Use consistent messaging to let your workforce in every part of the world know that you respect their linguistic needs and differences.
- Encourage real-time feedback to ensure that there are no gaps in your multilingual training efforts and that any that crop up are addressed immediately.
- Monitor and optimize adoption rates in relation to multilingual training impact to help you understand what is working and what is not.
- Do regular audits, especially using third parties, to verify and maintain the quality of multilingual training you provide.
Final Thoughts: A Smarter Way to Onboard Global Teams
Traditional onboarding tools and techniques have become too outdated to properly serve the needs of a globalized world. You need technologies that can cater to the specific needs of teams from different parts of the world. A digital adoption platform like Assima is the easiest way to ensure consistency, speed, cost-effectiveness, learner satisfaction, and cultural alignment in your multilingual employee onboarding program. So, are you ready to transform your global onboarding procedure?
Let our experts enlighten you on how Assima Train empowers global teams today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Let’s Answer Some of Your Questions.
Traditional onboarding does not have the scalability, customizability, or localization features that are essential for training multilingual, distributed teams. As a result, companies face problems like delays, heterogeneity, and resource wastage in their training efforts.
You should use digital onboarding platforms with built-in capabilities for wide-range translation, compatibility, and training deployment. It makes multilingual employee onboarding far smoother and easier.
Assima Train not only has a one-step translation ability for any lessons created on it but also uses a centralized platform to deliver all training materials. Moreover, its powerful customizability and compatibility ensure every team at every location gets trained in the manner that best suits them.
Global teams often face onboarding challenges like language barriers, unreliable translations, inconsistent lesson delivery, and lowered employee engagement. These, in turn, give rise to secondary issues like attrition, miscommunication in knowledge transfer, lowered productivity, time lags in onboarding, etc.
Any industry that benefits from having a distributed workforce will benefit from multilingual training. If your company hires remote talent, make it a point to equip your L&D arrangements with multilingual training facilities, irrespective of the industry or sector you operate in.
