The client:

A large corporation in the manufacturing and engineering sector doing business with countries around the world. Many of their staff need to use English to communicate and negotiate on a daily basis.

The challenge:

With a hiring policy focused on finding the right people based on cultural fit and their motivation levels, the company was finding some of its team members who were responsible for international business had English language skills below the required standard.

The company identified an opportunity to develop a language learning programme to help prospective employees improve their core English skills in the period before joining them.

For this programme to be effective, they required a convenient platform that would enable new employees to manage their own learning and allow them to study from anywhere, at any time and on any device.

They heard about Reallyenglish from another company in the sector that had seen great success with its own team and got in touch.

Implementation:

We arranged an initial trial for our client so they could try our platform for themselves with no commitment, and the feedback was really positive. 

The HR team were able to become familiar with the easy-to-use management tool, which allows them to follow learners’ progress and offer support to those falling behind, and employees said they found the platform easy and convenient to use while commuting.

On completion of the trial the company decided to adopt the platform, and we developed two courses to respond to the learning needs of two groups: basic and advanced.

The company divided its 11 incoming team members into the two groups based on their existing level of English: a Basic English group for those with a TOEIC score lower than 650 (setting them an objective to reach a score of 650), and an Advanced English group for those with a TOEIC score of 650 or higher (setting them an objective to improve practical conversation skills).

The first groups were encouraged to study at their own pace, achieving impressive results, while subsequent groups have been offered more support and encouragement – especially those students falling behind with the courses. A combination of emails, phone calls and once-a-month meet-ups for students to meet and inspire one another has helped students complete the courses and reach the levels required.

The courses had a hugely positive impact for our client – so much so that students have wanted to continue with the digital courses even after joining the company permanently.

"I'd love to keep studying even after joining the company." 

­–Student

Results:

Every single prospective employee completed their course, with an average improvement of 144 points in their TOEIC score.

Sometimes it can be difficult to motivate staff for in-house training programmes – students can approach them as a box-ticking exercise and are rarely proactive. However, students were so motivated in the basic group that they wanted to take practical conversation lessons too.

The incentive to improve English skills and earn selection for travel opportunities proved powerful, especially when combined with the ease and convenience of the learning programme, which takes students through a variety of structured activities at the right level, testing them at regular intervals so they can see their own progress.

One student managed to improve their TOEIC score by an impressive 200 points, from 650 to 850. They’ve enjoyed a big boost in confidence and successfully raised their profile in their department.

“In HR we’re so happy. It can be hard for new employees to get noticed by senior staff, but a good command of English can really help them stand out.”