The client:

Our client specialises in the design and manufacture of machinery for processing bamboo, rattan and palm. The company invented the world’s first hand labeller in the 1960s and the first thermal transfer bar-code printer in the 1980s. In its manufacturing operations the company now uses innovative applications of IoT technology to process data for increased efficiency.

In 2013 the management team of this increasingly global business identified the growing need for teams in different countries to collaborate and share both knowledge and best practices. This coupled with the need to provide comprehensive support to customers based around the world amounted to a compelling argument to invest in improving its employees’ English communication skills.

As part of its strategy to expand international business, therefore, the company set itself the mission of becoming an English-first business by 2020. Tasked with achieving this ambitious target, the English Promotion Group was formed.

The challenge:

“We chose to work with Reallyenglish because they offered a very beginner-friendly solution.”

The group’s first task was to measure the English language ability of its 1900 employees and assess their learning needs. By 2016, the group had successfully created an environment encouraging self-development and tested its staff members’ English levels. One of their chief findings was that there was a particular lack of English ability among managers.

Intensive training was clearly required given managers were expected to lead teams to deliver global projects.

After a trial, during which they contracted English teachers to teach face-to-face classes in English, our client found that the attendance rate was lower than hoped and dropping, so they decided to take a different approach.

They required a solution that would allow managers to fit study in around their busy schedule – in their spare time and while commuting. And with some learners only having a basic level of English, the tool would need to offer explanations in English, as well as translated versions.

They approached us and we started building a learning solution to match their needs and help them meet their bold targets.

Implementation:

“No other provider would be able to handle such an ambitious training project.”

The English Promotion Group was conscious that it could prove difficult to motivate employees to meet the top-down directive to improve their English. They wanted to create a positive learning environment where employees would feel empowered and supported.

The strategy included sharing information about learning English with staff on a daily basis, helped by a number of volunteers across the organisation, and to reach employees based in all 40 regional offices, an English Promotion Leader was appointed in each location. A competition was also introduced to compare scores across offices. 

Two full training programs have now been completed, with a third under way, offering managers the tools they need to manage their own study schedules and learn at a suitable pace.

Results:

After two English training programs for managers, our client has been thrilled with the results. Participants achieved an impressive 99% completion rate and 80% of participants increased their score.

“Some managers whose CASEC scores were between 450 and 499 got more than 571 (equivalent to a TOEIC score of 500), after just one session of the training.”

The client has found our learning tool easy to use and has been impressed by the educational content of the training programmes. “The management system is really well designed, and I can find any information I want all by myself. Thanks to that, I don't need to ask lots of questions – it's really helpful.”

Employees’ core English skills have improved significantly and the company is well on track to achieve its target of becoming an English-first organization by 2020. Usually, in business, results are everything. But in the language training program, employees were rewarded with high scores for their attitude towards learning. This innovative approach led to great results, with one employee studying more than 230 hours in six months.

Not only has the culture in the business become more focused on learning and self-development, but employees are also really proud of the company’s achievement in developing an English-first proposition. “What we’re most happy about is that many of our employees want to continue to use Reallyenglish’s platform after completing their training and even at their own cost. They really have become active learners.”