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Global Training Initiatives

4 Strategies for Enhancing Global Learning Implementation

By David Yesford(傅大卫)

Organizations today, ranging from global leaders like IBM, GE, and Walmart to relatively small companies, are generating increasingly higher revenues outside the U.S. and conducting this business through employees located worldwide. If you are in Learning and Development, you need to have a global approach to developing your people.

For years, organizations have been investing in globalization with varying degrees of success. A study conducted in the late ’90s predicted that the amount of investment in globalization would increase 12 times during the 30-year period ending in 2027. However, such investment has actually increased by more than nine times in less than 15 years. As we are trending at a much faster rate, if you are not already globalizing, you soon will be! When implementing training on a global scale, the path to success must factor in many beliefs, norms, and cultural expectations.

 

To really make 'global' work, you need to ensure that you have globally effective people who have a global mindset and skill set.

Building a Foundation for Global Effectiveness

What makes a learning project global and successful? From the start, it’s important to set a context of global awareness and effectiveness. Many companies operate on a multinational, instead of global, basis. They launch projects in countries and regions without taking into account local cultures, customs, and procedures. To really make “global” work, you need to ensure you have globally effective people who have a global mindset and skill set. When such people take on a project, they approach it as many local projects aligned globally, versus a global project implemented locally.

In addition to being aware of the differences among people of different cultures, the globally effective person is versatile in communications and interactions. Simply defined, versatility is the ability of an individual to modify his or her behavior so that others are more comfortable.

For example, a large global pharmaceutical company wanted to drive performance at the manager level to encourage higher employee engagement worldwide. Concepts such as “engagement” are understood and demonstrated differently by different cultures, so we spent time interviewing managers, employees, and businesses across multiple countries and regions. We wanted to know how the company’s employees operated. Once we found out, we used that information to help the company define how to implement the learning project in a culturally appropriate way. A clear but flexible set of best practices was developed and followed successfully at the local level. The company met its overall objectives of driving engagement and saw an increase in its overall efficiency and revenue.

4 Strategies for Successful Global Learning Implementation

Getting culturally aware people involved in the project is really just the start.

Four strategies—Alignment, Inclusion, Sustainability, and Integration—can provide a flexible framework around which to build a successful global learning initiative.

David Yesford(傅大卫)

作为Wilson Learning 全球资深副总裁、亚太地区董事总经理,傅大卫有着30多年在全球范围内发展和实施人力绩效解决方案的经验。 傅大卫先生总能以其宝贵经验、策略方向和全球视角为客户和团队带来价值。多年来,他在Wilson Learning的核心领域——销售、领导力、e-learning和策略咨询业务上扮演着重要的角色。

傅大卫先生是多部书籍的合著者,其中包括《双赢销售》(Win-Win Selling),《灵活多变的销售人员》(Versatile Selling),《社交风格手册》(Social Styles Handbook),《销售培训2》(Traning Book 2)等。并在美国、欧洲、拉丁美洲、亚太地区的商业出版物中发表了多篇文章。他经常被邀请在国际性会议上做有关销售、领导力、员工和客户参与度提升、品牌和战略实施的演讲。