Geneva (CH), December 2012 - As the business world becomes increasingly global, international concerns are tending to concur on English as the global language for their work. According to goFLUENT - a leading provider of Business English training - some ninety per cent of the world's business-related language skills training budget is devoted to English.
Since English training is a global need, deployment tends to be done on a wide scale, calls for a consistent strategy across different locations, and involves elements of change management. This trend is producing an increasing demand for English language training programs and, consequently, there are increasing numbers of "Request for Proposal" (RFPs) to providers of these programs.
In order to provide value to organisations going through the language-training-provider selection process, goFLUENT has published a whitepaper called "A Guide for Developing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Language Services". The paper is the product of goFLUENT's in-depth analysis of the RFPs it has received recently. In addition to an analysis of the current market situation for English-training solutions, it contains a
Christophe Ferrandou, CEO of goFLUENT, believes that "In recent years, the effects of globalization have intensified the need for fast and effective communication among employees and offices worldwide. With English increasingly being accepted as the worldwide business language, this has increased the pressure on workers to improve their English skills."
"In our experience, clients who've had the most successful RFP process and who've been the most satisfied with the implementation of their selected training program were those that had a clear, well-thought-out strategy from the beginning," he continued.
He also contended, "When formulating such a strategy, you must involve senior executives, analyze the business needs driving the RFP, and agree on the criteria for evaluating providers. Involving senior executives not only secures support for the training program, but these people have a long-term view of the overall direction of their company as well as the workforce skills required for its growth. In coordination with the HR department, they decide how developing these capabilities should be prioritised."
"This means they can ensure that investment in language training is strategically placed - whether it's in particular types of job roles, certain departments, or the development of specific Business English skills. Their involvement leads to the clarity of perspective that's crucial to finalising an RFP's requirements - and evaluating those who respond."
Then, goFLUENT believes, an RFP must be based on clearly stated - and agreed upon - business needs. Otherwise, the selection process will be determined solely by price or technology comparisons. These business needs should lead the strategy for the entire language training program and should identify the
After senior executives have given their input and the driving factors for language training have been clarified, the organization must agree on its criteria for evaluating the submitted proposals. Traditionally, these would include the provider's lesson-delivery methods, quality of content, availability of testing tools, technological innovation, and pricing models. However, increasing globalization has added a new dimension to corporate language training demands.
"Learners need to learn at a faster pace than ever before, but with more flexibility in terms of the scheduling of lessons and training paths," observed Ferrandou. "They also need highly specialised content that's relevant to their industry and job roles."
"There's now a further challenge at the corporate level: a growing need for the seamless administration of training across various locations worldwide. You have to be able to administer training programs globally. You also require experience in training learners whose learning needs are strongly business-oriented and whose learning goals may shift dynamically according to the demands of their job. Finally, you must have a technological infrastructure for supporting the pedagogical and administrative aspects of the training program in an integrated way, from registration, lesson delivery, and progress monitoring, to evaluation."
