Companies often have an idea of the return on investment they expect to receive when investing in online English courses. However, one by-product that is often overlooked is the potential to discover existing talent that may not otherwise have received attention. Recently, I had the opportunity to witness a company’s awakening to the growth and potential of an employee in an online language course.
When Gabriela enrolled in her company’s online ESL course, she had been living in the US for 3 years working at the front of the house for a large restaurant corporation of over 50,000 employees. She had been living and working in Guanajuato, Mexico, before coming to the US to seek opportunities. Gabriela was ecstatic to hear that her company would be offering English courses, and she jumped at the opportunity.
However, when she signed up for the classes, she had no idea that she would be in a class with 3 managers whose level of English was higher than hers. Reasonably so, Gabriela was somewhat hesitant to participate in conversations with her superiors at first. However, by the end of the 10-week course, she was confidently offering points-of-view and solutions to the point of inspiring other participants as well as the instructor.
In the 9th week of the course, I had the students create a presentation on what they learned throughout the course and their career goals to the management organizing the courses. Gabriela shined through to say the least. Not only was her appreciation of the company well understood, but her determination and capability to move into a managerial role was clearly communicated, something that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.
Gabriela was an added bonus to a company’s investment in English courses. Not only did the company retain employees, increase employees’ communication in English, boost workplace safety and produce inherent motivation, but they found talent that otherwise might have gone unnoticed. In my previous blogs, Maintaining Communication with Management in Online Learning Courses and Using the Right Language to Communicate ROI, I mentioned the importance of reflecting on the frequency of communication and the clarity of it. There is no doubt that accomplishments of employees should be added to the lines of communication.
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Ryan is an onsite and online English instructor for Workplace Languages. Ryan has been in the field of English language instruction since 2006 teaching, developing, creating and leading in a variety of settings including public school systems, universities and private institutions. In addition to language classes, Workplace Languages offers full-service translation, voice-over services, off-the shelf language learning products, and a wide range of customized language programs to help you close the communication gap at your company.
