You’ve been asked to choose a language training program.
Do you go old school with face-to-face instruction or empower your employees to learn online?
Perhaps you’re adding language training for the first time. Or rethinking your current program. Either way, more than one department could have a stake in the decision. The expense may even be shared across several cost centers.
Learning and development (L&D) wants to ensure training engages employees. Procurement’s keeping a close eye on vendor and cost management. Your HR team values new benefits that attract top talent and help to retain an experienced workforce.
When it’s decision time, leaders are more likely to approve cost-effective budgets that help your organization and employees grow.
The shift from instructor-led to online training is well underway. LinkedIn reports that 57% of L&D professionals expect to increase spending on online training; 38% said they plan to spend less on instructor-led training.
Online training looks even more attractive when the logistics of face-to-face instruction become difficult to predict. A recent Accenture report noted how learning and working will be affected as the digital shift kicks into overdrive. “Anything that can be done virtually will be.”
Still trying to persuade your business leaders? Here are some helpful tips you can use to make a strong case for online language training.
Start with cost savings
Face-to-face training costs more than the learning module itself. Let’s say your company wants employees in 20 global locations to learn new languages. That means 20 instructors for each language, at least 20 meeting spaces, and the real likelihood that some of those training methods may vary. That’s multiple vendors to manage, let alone pay. But when your employees are learning a language online, many of those costs vanish.
Zero in on vendor consolidation
Converting your language spend from many local providers to one global platform is a clear cost-saver.
A global manufacturing leader reinvented how it purchased and delivered employee language training. The company switched to one online provider and realized company savings of more than $2 million dollars. Reducing vendors from 75+ to 1 saved the customer $180,000+ annually in vendor management fees alone.
At the same time, access to language training expanded from 2,000 learners annually to 77,000 employees and contractors globally. That’s online language training for thousands more employees, from one language provider, for millions less.
Cost management is more than securing lower pricing. It also includes working closely with vendors to drive out inefficiencies.
An international leader in the health and well-being industry revised its language training program. Its aim was to increase employees’ global mobility. Due to a reduction in global spending that combined language-learning solutions across regions into a single online solution, Kimberly-Clark realized an annual return on investment of over 20%.
“We have seen significant cost savings by implementing one enterprise-wide program that can be leveraged by our employees across the globe.”
A leading global consulting company invests in language training on a global scale. The company serves clients in over 100 countries. Greatly reducing its vendor network returned first-year cost savings of more than $500,000. The solution: consolidating language training and providing its employees with anytime, anywhere access to Rosetta Stone Enterprise.
Boost retention and lower resource costs
Finding cost-effective online language training starts with asking and answering some key questions. If you already have a language program in place, now is a good time to audit your program and explore potential savings.
Is your program centrally procured and managed? Does training align with larger business goals? How many languages need to be learned? How do your employees like to learn, on the go or following a set schedule? And what level of flexibility do your administrators need?
Doing more with less is more important than ever. It’s increasingly expected by your stakeholders and employees themselves. Fast Company reports that for millennials, “nearly 70% said that if a company had a strong sustainability plan, it would affect their decision to stay with that company long term.” More than 10% said they would even be willing to take a pay cut to work there.
Choosing an online language training solution is an excellent way to be better stewards of the time, money, and resources used to develop employee skills.
Language training no longer has to mean bringing in instructors or sending employees to training centers. Tally up the savings your company would realize without having to dedicate space for face-to-face language training. The value of freeing up valuable office space is an easy calculation. In addition, furniture and maintenance costs would be eliminated. So would the need for printed class materials.
As an added bonus, your learners would be able to use their personal devices, reducing your equipment budget.
Spend less on talent language testing
Even your HR team can benefit from a switch to online language training. Save time and money by choosing a language program with assessment tools that can verify new candidates’ proficiency levels. Here’s an example of how one talent development team made the most of their existing transferable online licenses.
A global professional services firm has tested more than 10,000 candidates through online assessments. The previous method was to use an outside language service at a cost of $40 per person. Instead, the company chose the online CEFR-based Rosetta Stone assessment in the program at no additional cost.
Rosetta Stone is passionate about helping organizations provide cost-effective online language training. When you’re ready to get started, let’s talk.
