The rise of remote and hybrid work, coupled with digital transformation, has led to an increasingly global workforce. Globalization offers organizations numerous benefits, such as the ability to employ top talent across the globe along with more diverse perspectives and innovative ideas.

However, training a multicultural workforce can be a challenge. It requires a high level of cultural intelligence and accessible, easy-to-understand content for multilingual learners.

Here, we’ll offer strategies and tips for training a global, diverse workforce. But first, let’s consider the broader impact of culture on our ability to learn and grow our skills.

What Is Culture — and How Does It Impact Learning?

It’s difficult to define “culture,” as it pertains to so many different facets of our lives. Essentially, culture consists of language, family and religious traditions, food, art and music, clothing, history, sports and more. “All of these things are integrated into our culture,” says Rachel Cary, an eLearning consultant at RWS, a global eLearning provider.

Within cultures, people also tend to share similar motives, values, beliefs and habits, all of which are particularly important when it comes to learning and driving sustained behavior change. “People learn best in the context of their own culture and language,” as they are more likely to connect and resonate with the content, Cary explains.

Building your cultural intelligence is an important first step in developing and delivering training to a global audience.

Here are some tips to get started:

• Build your cultural self-awareness: We all hold unconscious biases stemming from the context in which we grew up and the beliefs and viewpoints we were exposed to. To root out these biases, assess your cultural background and work to understand how it may influence your perceptions of and interactions with others.
• Commit to continuous learning: Consider taking a course or workshop on cultural intelligence, cultural sensitivity or another related topic. In addition, commit to reading articles and books, listening to podcasts and consuming other content authored by people from different cultural backgrounds. Prioritize learning from people who are a part of the same cultural groups as your learners to better understand their cultural norms, nuances and more.
• Stay informed of global events: Stay up to date on current global events and issues to better relate to and understand global learners.
• Build a global network: A global professional network can help you learn from and connect with professionals from different cultural backgrounds and contexts. Social networking sites like LinkedIn are a great way to build professional relationships with industry professionals worldwide.

Developing Content for Multilingual Learners

With roughly 7,000 languages spoken across the globe, most learning leaders working in large, dispersed organizations will be tasked with training a multilingual audience. Although most of the world conducts business in English, it’s worth reiterating that roughly one-third of English-speaking people speak English as their second language.

For multilingual learners, it can be mentally taxing to switch back and forth between languages. Neha Trivedi, CPTM, HR director of global talent development at Alight Solutions, who is multilingual, says that her “processing time varies” depending on the language. This is a common impediment to learning for multilingual individuals, Trivedi says.

Working with a translation provider can help you translate existing content into learners’ native languages for increased understanding and better outcomes. That said, it’s unrealistic to expect organizations to make every course available to every learner in their native language — especially for larger organizations. Trivedi suggests prioritizing translation for training on essential business- or safety-related topics, processes and procedures.

Beyond translation:

Making business- and safety-critical training available to learners in their native language is an important first step in supporting multilingual learners.

However, Cary says that “translation alone isn’t enough” to drive successful learning outcomes. Rather, learning leaders should strive for localization — which RWS defines as “the adaptation of content, a product or services to meet the linguistic, cultural or functional needs of a different market.” In other words, localization goes further than simply translating content.

Key considerations for effective localization include (but are not limited to):

• Idioms and slang: Idioms and slang words or phrases usually don’t translate well between languages. Use equivalent expressions or rephrase idioms and slang language to convey the same meaning to global learners.
• Content formatting: Adapt your content layout to accommodate learners whose languages read right to left (e.g., Arabic, Persian, Urdu and others) or who have different formatting preferences.
• Imagery: Avoid images with symbols or gestures that may hold different cultural meanings. For instance, a “thumbs up” gesture is commonly viewed as a sign of approval in American culture. However, it’s an offensive gesture in some countries in West Africa and The Middle East.
• Cultural norms and taboos: Be aware of cultural nuances and taboos. Learning about cultural differences and norms can help you avoid creating content that inadvertently offends global learners.

These considerations should be addressed in the initial instructional design phase to ensure that content is intentionally created for a multicultural audience, Cary says. If you don’t have the resources to partner with an experienced localization provider, ask for feedback from colleagues or learners from different cultural backgrounds. This can help ensure that your content is inclusive and easily understood across cultural contexts. For larger initiatives, consider rolling out a pilot program to gather feedback and suggestions from individuals within your target demographic. “It’s important to get as many perspectives as you can,” Trivedi says.

An Equitable Experience

When training a global workforce, it’s important to ensure an equitable experience for everyone. To do so, work to determine learner’s unique preferences — which may differ from more widespread cultural ones, Cary says. As a best practice, offer training in a variety of formats to cater to different learner preferences.

Cary also suggests creating learner personas to gain greater insight into learners’ individual cultural backgrounds, preferences, preferred languages and more. However, learner personas can reinforce stereotypes if they’re not created through an equitable lens. This is why building your cultural intelligence and rooting out unconscious bias is essential for learning leaders tasked with training a global audience.

There are also logistical factors to consider. For instance, before rolling out a program, survey your learners to determine their access to high-speed internet and to any relevant technologies or tools needed to consume the content. If everyone doesn’t have access to the same resources, training outcomes may be impacted. For example, learners with inadequate internet access or slow internet speeds could be penalized unfairly during timed assessments or tests.

In the end, “It’s our responsibility to figure out how to design learning content and experiences that ultimately will provide the same learning outcomes to all of our audiences,” Cary says.

By implementing the best practices we’ve covered around translation, localization and equitable learning more broadly, you will be well-positioned to deliver impactful programs to a global audience.

To learn more, visit rws.com/elearning.