More on the importance of staff training: last issue, I looked at what training you could offer your staff as cost-effectively as possible, by doing it internally. Now I’d like to look at what other options you may have.
First off, for your local Chinese employees there is a pretty obvious method, and that’s to provide them with English training. This is a great way to engage staff; regardless of level of ability, tenure, age, discipline or skill set – everyone is applicable, and trust me, they love it. The key here is to pick an accreditation that provides training on multiple levels and to tailor to suit your people. You also need to ensure that the course you are providing them with is recognized. The latter is critical insofar as your staff will want to proudly add this to their CVs and LinkedIn accounts. For your business, it could be the reason someone joins you or stays with you – it is all part of motivating staff and enhancing their engagement.
This year at Antal China, we have initiated the New Business English Certificate Course, or BEC as it is commonly known. We know it’s important for all of our staff, from the most junior all the way up, to have at least a basic knowledge of business English: to be able to understand and write emails, through dealing with people professionally over the phone and face-to-face, as well as, of course, having to deal with us seniors (like myself) who are sadly yet to master the Chinese language.
As with all language courses, to begin with your employees sit a test to ascertain their current ability. They are then allocated their appropriate level accordingly, and then over a period of weeks and months they have their lessons. Some employers I have spoken with fret about this taking their staff members away from the all important business in hand, but I find that with regards to the timings of the lessons, it is best to try and share the time equally with the employee. To give you an example, here our staff finish their working day at 6pm as standard, so we timetable two hour lessons for 5pm. That way we are technically giving them an hour of the working day to train, and they are reciprocating by giving an hour of their free time. If they are not willing to invest time in improving themselves, then why should we?
Enlisting your staff onto a training course can also assist in retention. It is the company that pays for the training and certification; therefore if they leave, they don’t get it anymore. It is worth noting too that some companies detail in employment contracts that should an employee leave (within a certain time frame) then the training that has been provided (whether completed or not) should be covered at cost by them. There is a valid argument for this, as you don’t want your employees to be trained at your expense, for them to up and leave, and for one of your competitors to benefit from your investment.
If, like Antal, you decide to offer the training without the constraints on an employee’s contract, it can still act as a retention tool. The classes that are currently running last over many months, and from the feedback we have had internally not only do all our students want to finish their courses, and pass with flying colours, but others yet to be enlisted are itching to start.
What I have found is that with all of our local Chinese staff, there is an inherent desire to improve and to be more professional, in all elements of their business activity. As a manager here, it’s a delight to see. Quite frankly, back home in the UK I think many would see learning or training like this a chore.
You cannot forget the other end of the spectrum though – us non-native speakers. If your company has hired ex-pats either through relocation internally or from hiring here, ensuring that they have Chinese language training is critical. This may include you as the manager, too. Here, I’m not specifically talking about business level Chinese; I am talking about language to enable you to get around the city. (Although of course if you already are at business level Chinese, then I am simply envious). For us ex-pats it should be the company’s role to offer a variety of referenced tutors and for the employee to trial, and pick and choose whom they feel most comfortable learning with. It’s might be worth noting that I’ve been advised that it’s important that women have female tutors, and men male tutors, for a better pronunciation when learning those all important tones.
Outside of dealing with the language issue, there exists a plethora of training available to your company on almost every topic, through practically every communication channel, so it is over to your HR or training department to evaluate what is needed, and how cost-effectively you can implement. Do remember that should you be spending tens of thousands of RMB in this area, “golden handcuffs” could be the way forward.
Sarah Jones is Head of Operations at Antal International, winner of “Best International Recruitment Agency” at the 2012 Recruiter Awards.