Creating Culturally Relevant Training

Creating Culturally Relevant Training

Culture matters when it comes to learning content, says Massood Zarrabian, the CEO of Boston-based OutStart, a company that provides formal, on-demand learning, knowledge sharing and community/expert collaboration solutions. It’s with that belief in mind that the vendor announced a partnership last week with Italy-based Allos, an integrated e-learning solutions provider and consultancy, to offer content specific to regional needs. OutStart’s technology has been integrated into that of Allos to power the creation of tailored learning content. The contract between the two companies allows for OutStart’s solution to be resold by Allos as a part of Allos’ total solution, Zarrabian says. The partnership will begin with the development of specialized content for Italian and South African companies, but Zarrabian says the offering will likely be expanded eventually to other regions as well. Developing learning content particular to each region’s needs is key, says Zarrabian, who points out, for instance, that compliance-training requirements differ by country, as does software usage for tasks such as conferencing. “There are market preferences when you go outside the United States and become global,” he notes, “where the preferences of customers in, say, Italy or South Africa, are different than preferences [in the U.S.] where a lot of people use WebEx, for example. So, when you look at the world, it is really too big, and there are too many products for a single vendor to do everything.” It was for that reason, Zarrabian says, that OutStart and Allos decided to work together. Regionally tailored learning content goes beyond simply translating the material into the users’ language, he says. “Traditionally, when Americans think about localization of a technology, they think about it behaving in a local language, but a bunch of things are way beyond the local language.” Zarrabian notes that a software that only provides content to aid American compliance laws won’t be much use abroad, where there may be no required sexual harassment training, for example, or where the financial regulations are much more stringent, and so necessitate a more rigorous training than that used in the U.S. to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. “You all of a sudden are faced with the issue of having features in a product that are features you would not do for a product in the U.S., and if you did would make your product not look normal or standard for U.S. companies,” he says. “But, those features still need to be developed.” Beyond differences in laws, learning content needs to take variances in cultural perspective into consideration as well. “Somebody told me in Italy, people are much more visual in terms of how they get training. If that’s true, then the development of training is very different than what we do here.” That would translate into a need for content featuring a greater number of simulations than would usually be included in software designed strictly for use within the U.S., he says. The simulations allow for a palpable representation of the principles being taught that would appeal to visually oriented learners. “It’s not about translation; it’s about creation,” Zarrabian says of the cultural differences that sometimes require extensive changes or additions to content. “As somebody told me, it has to be developed with the goals that Italians have, by Italians, for Italians.”

coaching tips

John Blakey, director of coaching at LogicaCMG, describes the four critical success factors when coaching was introduced across LogicaCMG, a 21,000-person organization.

1. Create and maintain CEO sponsorship.
It's one thing to have an initial conversation with the CEO when coaching is considered innovative and cutting edge. It's another to repeat those conversations when budgets are being reviewed, the initial novelty has gone and the first challenges appear.

Sponsorship is like trust; it's hard to win and easily lost. In creating a coaching environment, maintaining CEO sponsorship involves measuring results and reviewing them on a regular basis. It also involves constant innovation
to ensure the initiative keeps track with the way the business is evolving.

2. Focus on the "marzipan layer."
The idea of trying to create a coaching culture from scratch in a 21,000-person organization is a daunting prospect. Don't try it. These concepts spread by osmosis, not revolution. Focus on people who are in the best position to influence the wider group. In theory, you'd guess this would be the board of the organization, but this group often don't have the time to effectively sponsor this type of initiative. As an alternative, consider the "marzipan layer" - the group of young and ambitious leaders who fill the layer below the board. These leaders are often more enthusiastic about introducing new ideas to the organization and have greater insight into the ambitions of people lower down in the company.

3. Ensure project management discipline.
LogicaCMG is steeped in over 30 years of project management discipline. This was a big advantage when building a coaching environment. The required skills include rigorous
planning and estimating, active steering groups, regular reporting and communication and celebrating success. Within the coaching team there needs to be sufficient project management skills and aptitude to avoid the inevitable risks these types of programs involve.

4. Create accredited internal coaches.
When LogicaCMG initially embarked upon its coaching initiatives we had no option but to involve external
coaches. However, our objective was to build an accredited internal team of coaches who could be used alongside external coaches. This wasn't just a cost issue - the benefit of the internal coaching component is that these
people can act as change agents within the company in a way that just isn't possible for an external individual. Hence, the final course in our coaching skills training program takes nine months to complete and leads towards
accreditation with the International Coach Federation.

[I]Source: Strategic HR Review Vol. 4, Issue 5, July/August 2005[/I]

Training Need Analysis Tips

TOP TIPS: How to conduct a training needs analysis

When considering implementing a training program, it's important to identify
the correct areas in your company in need of improvement and to choose the
most effective training method for your organization.

1. Find your company's "gap in performance." This can be identified by
establishing the standard or benchmark you want to achieve, then compare
this with actual performance, bearing in mind the implications of employee
and customer satisfaction ratings.

2. Determine what training is needed to help close the skills gap. Avoid
jumping to conclusions about what the best way of meeting the need for
training might be. Establish clear learning objectives to determine what
training needs to take place to improve skills.

3. Define role requirements of job specifications. To improve attitudes,
knowledge or skills, manage performance issues to organizational guidelines,
present a favorable case for improving team motivation and reduce
absenteeism through managing work stress.

4. Select the most appropriate way of meeting learning needs. Clear learning
objectives help to decide what the best method of filling the gap is. The
three main types of objective are: knowledge-based, skills-based and
beliefs- and values-based.

5. Measure success with evaluation. When evaluating the success of training,
use the same methods of measurement throughout and be aware of what
non-training events may impact results - i.e, anything which has not been
identified before the training program commenced.

Source: Fiona Silberbach, managing director of Changing Perspective, a
leadership development and executive coaching organization.
http://www.changingperspective.co.uk