EMEA Reporter: It’s Really All About Communication

When we think about language training, dowe think beyond being able to speak and write in something that is not ourmother tongue? Armin Hopp, founder and president of Speexx, certainly believes we have to in orderto understand how our globalized world will communicate in the future.

Speexx is a Germany-based company witheight offices worldwide, developing and selling online language trainingsolutions worldwide. Or, to be more accurate, Speexx helps large organizationseverywhere to drive productivity by empowering employee communication skills.With over seven million users in 1,500 global organizations, Armin (Figure 1) hasa great perspective on the power of effective communication in creatingalignment and synergy in international enterprise.

Figure 1: Armin Hopp ofSpeexx

The Speexx 2014 survey of learning andbusiness professionals reveals that 90 percent consider foreign language skillsof high importance for global business success.

Armin sees an urgent, compelling need asthe advent of cloud-based activities drives a shift to centralized management,and a reduction in local silos. Over two billion people speak English aroundthe planet, but in many areas skill levels are inadequate for effectivecommunication within enterprises. Armin explains:

Southern Europe,APAC, China, and South America are particularly weak. In some countries, suchas China and Chile, national initiatives are aiming to upskill in the Englishlanguage. China is currently concluding a program to provide English language trainingto 300-million people—which will make it the largest English speaking countryon the planet!

Nations and enterprises that do not recognizethe need for increased communication skills—which in practice means Englishlanguage—are facing some difficult times ahead. The Speexx survey reinforcesthat view: Forty-one percent of respondents believe that lack of foreignlanguage skills is hampering communication across borders in their organizations.

Armin cites his own country, Germany:

There are manycompanies with global business activities that have a local internal LMS. TheLMS is set up in German to teach production line employees in German. But thatjust will not work for a company with 80,000 employees around the worldspeaking 90 different languages. The choice is simple—either put 90 languageson the LMS or upskill the workforce in English! The drive for standards inskills cannot move forward if there is no standardization of communication. Oneof the most famous German names in the automotive business discovered thataround the world their plants were using 42 different names for a small andessential component in every motor car ever built. They had to get to a singleterm that is understood globally.

It is a powerful argument and one thatapplies to any area of compliance or skill assurance.

So where does eLearning come in? Languagelearning is seen by many people as difficult and time-consuming. The ability tolearn online, particularly through mobile devices, gives people the chance tolearn in a relaxed way at their own pace, but using time that is not sacrificedfrom the workplace. Sitting on a bus or a train, in an armchair at home—theseare all places where people can practice their language skills.

There is another dimension to all of this thatHopp described to me.

It is aboutintegration that is not just technical, process or content. The cloud enablesand compels so much more. The battle in enterprises is the critical task ofassessing the availability of skills. So recruitment has to become much smarter—andwith it onboarding before employment commences. This all requires goodcommunication skills to respond to and assimilate information supplied in astandardized way around the world.

What benefits do people see? Armin again:

Strong, integratedcommunication strategies are seen by my customers and networks to give costsavings, improved customer service, and greater collaboration across borders asmajor benefits.

To get it right for Speexx customers andprospects, Armin takes extraordinary trouble to listen to them. In addition tothe normal business processes, the company runs a series of Speexx Exchangeseminars for HR and L&D managers each year (Figure 2). The events aredesigned to stimulate thinking about trends and development needs in corporatelearning and to inform his company’s internal thinking and service developmentstrategies.

Figure 2: The company runsannual Speexx Exchange seminars for HR and L&D managers, in order to stayin touch with its customers

He left me with a tantalizing thought:

The instructional designeris no longer the ruler of the process—it is now all about technology backbonesand being able to customize closely, but to integrate into main ERP systems.The failure of current systems will become obvious as results emerge. Therewill be a melt-down in the industry from which the survivors will be the peoplewho have listened to their customers and designed around their needs—henceusing APIs to provide that fine tuning.