I’ve always been a chatterbox. When I was about twelve years old, the dentist once asked my mother, “Mrs Atkinson, can your daughter talk under water?”
I always object when my mum retells this story; I mean, the dentist did ask me how my school day went, so I decided to tell him! It didn’t matter to me that he was already making a note of my teeth “from the upper right, 18 – partially erupted…” with a couple of dental tools wedged into my mouth. I was busy (over)sharing what I’d learned in my French lesson period 1: J’adore le goût du dentifrice // I love the taste of toothpaste…
Communication is so important. It is the answer to so many problems – at home, in the workplace and even on an international level. To be able to express yourself freely, make your thoughts heard and be clearly understood is a basic necessity. And it’s why at Dialogue, communication is at the heart of what we do: offering language services to break down communication barriers and grow your business. One distinctive way in which we do this is through our language and cultural training services, in particular, our very-own business English ed-tech platform, Kudos.
What is Kudos?
Kudos is a unique library of business English and cultural training that includes over 30 hours of online lessons plus 18 hours of live group training sessions – monthly webinars on additional topics – for people whose first language isn’t English. Blended learning is widely recognised as the most effective and engaging way to fully absorb all of the material. Its focus is on developing business skills: presenting, negotiating, using formal/informal English and more.
Who is Kudos for?
If you have an international team, or offices in countries around the globe, providing language and cultural training to your colleagues or employees is essential in order for them and for your business as a whole to succeed. And I’m not just talking about the obvious benefits of improved communication, and all that that entails (a bigger market reach, improved language skills for securing client deals, easier team integration, smoother internal interaction, fewer misunderstandings…) but about the knock-on effect of improved employee confidence and wellbeing.
As a naturally chatty person, a language lover with a passion for communicating with other people, imagine how I felt when I was first thrown into an environment as a working adult, where I couldn’t communicate easily. Working in a Russian office with only Russian-speaking colleagues was, at first, immensely difficult for me. It completely knocked my confidence as a natural communicator: I was often tongue-tied and unable to find the right words. It was hugely frustrating and, at times, humiliating when I’d say the wrong thing or had only just built up the confidence to say something in a group meeting, but the conversation had moved on.
So now imagine the sense of achievement and how rewarding it was when, thanks to a combination of training, studying and immersion, I managed to get my Russian language to a level at which I could communicate confidently on a daily basis. I could answer the phone, build a rapport with clients, write emails without batting an eyelid, present ideas to my colleagues and even present client-pitches entirely in Russian. As cliché as it sounds, I’d never grown up imagining that many of my biggest achievements, memorable conversations and dearest friendships would ever be a result of communicating in a language other than English…
Why should you invest in Kudos?
So, L&D managers, HR managers, decision makers, listen up! You have a unique opportunity at your fingertips. By introducing Kudos to your employees, not only will you have more confident team players, but more loyal ones for having invested in them.
According to the recent LinkedIn 2023 Workplace Learning Report carried out amongst L&D managers & learners around the world, 93% of organisations are currently concerned about employee retention. And the number 1 way that organisations are working to improve retention is by providing learning opportunities.
Kudos is that learning opportunity you have been looking for. As employees can learn online, anytime, anywhere, Kudos is a brilliant tool to facilitate – buzz word alert – LITFOW. Learning In The Flow Of Work. A bit of a mouthful, but LinkedIn research suggests that employees who spend time learning at work are actually 47% less likely to be stressed, 39% more likely to feel productive and successful and 23% more ready to take on additional responsibilities.
According to a report based on research from Deloitte, companies that foster a growth-mindset, and implement LITFOW, will witness increased productivity, increased profit and decreased employee turnover. What is stopping you from signing up right now?! Ah yes. Cost of living is on the rise and my HR budget has already been reduced, halved and now squeezed again.
But I would argue that it’s not about the budget – however small or miniscule it currently is – it’s more about priority. Let’s face it, the budget is there. The question is, is training, up-skilling and investing in your employees a priority? Do you want to develop a stronger and more cohesive team that thrives at work, is more effective and loyal to you, their employer, at a time of economic instability and high employee turnover rates? I imagine, your answer to that is quite simply – yes!
So, if you’re committed to improving employee performance and achieving greater company results, why not give us a call today to chat about how Kudos may just be the answer you’ve been looking for…?