Want to improve your existing language skills or learn a new language?
Thursday, 11th December 2008
Viktoria Atanasova from Cactus New York gives us some tips to get your company to finance your language training
We all know it’s a recession. What most of us don’t know, however, is how to use it to our advantage. You may think that since every conversation at your company lately seems to revolve around the ‘R’ word, your employer would look at you as if you were insane if you asked them to fund any kind of training for you at this point, including language training, but you’ll be surprised. The information in this article will provide you with some strong arguments that you can use to get your employer to invest in you and your language skills.
Today the business world is as globalized as ever and there is not a single successful company out there that is not aiming to enhance intercultural and multilingual understanding with foreign clients as well as within the company.
A recent survey has shown that investing in employees’ further training in dire economic times not only saves money but is more effective than shopping around for new talent. Therefore, human resources specialists and union leaders strongly advise employers to resist cutting training budgets when business turns down.
Three quarters of the 1,189 companies involved in the study felt that training their own staff was more beneficial to their business than recruiting people from outside. Half the companies discovered that training staff made them more likely to stay. One-third found it increased staff motivation, and almost half actually saved money in the process. Training budgets are often the first to go in a recession, but this research demonstrates that growing your own is an effective way for organizations to obtain the skills that they need while saving money. It makes sense that money spent on headhunters, recruitment firms and time-consuming selection processes could often be better spent on existing staff.
And what could be more important than helping employees expand their language and communication skills in this global business market?
As one saying goes, “It’s a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water”, especially when you’re negotiating with people from different cultural and language backgrounds.
Companies often don’t see the value of investing in language training. Sometimes language training is seen as non-essential and, when budgets get tight, companies start to look at what they can save money on. Companies must focus on nurturing talent if they are to survive, grow and succeed. The continuous development and growth of people is inextricably linked to business performance. Effective training can reduce staff turnover and absenteeism, improve motivation, increase productivity, and help boost customer satisfaction.
That is why you shouldn’t hesitate to bring up foreign language training at your next company meeting.
Specialists say that now is precisely the time to keep investing in the skills and talents of your people. It is the people you employ that will get the company through hard economic times. When markets are shrinking, it is the employees’ commitment, productivity and ability to add value that will keep the company competitive. And first-class communication skills will be key to prospering when global economic conditions improve.
Companies can gain a lot from training their workforce, one of which is a reputation as a great employer.
The business world of today is changing constantly, which makes tailor-made and other language training that meets the needs of your business an extremely worthwhile investment.
Tags: corporate, language, tailor-made, united states, french
Posted by Sarah Watkins 2008-12 under Attitudes to Language Learning, Getting Course Advice,
Permalink
