London / Brisbane, June 2006 - Reuters PLC has renewed its contract and signed a multiyear agreement with the GlobalEnglish Corporation. Reuters has maintained major offices in India and East Asia for over a century but has recently initiated expansions in Bangalore, Bangkok, Beijing, and other locations. For this reason, the company has increased its investment in training employees in its official language, English.
Reuters' strong growth in new markets has also brought some challenges to operating the global business. Rich Taylor, Head of Learning for Reuters Business Divisions, said, "Operational complexity could hinder our success. In a big, sprawling business, it's difficult to align everyone behind the mission and goals, particularly when they are working in 100 countries in 250 offices."
Taylor is particularly concerned with the impact of language barriers. "If our employees can't read our company intranet and Daily Briefing, if they need to look up every word in an email from an overseas colleague, if they can't express themselves during a conference call, they will struggle to contribute to our increasingly global organization. And the bigger we get, the more complicated the issues become. One way to overcome these challenges is by making a strategic investment in online English learning. It's available 24/7, employees can use it at work or at home, and it's very easy to mark their progress."
During its rapid growth, Reuters also needs to maintain its high standards for customer service. "Superlative English communication skills are a 'must-have' for Reuters," said Richard Beaven, Global Head of Customer Service, Reuters PLC. "Our clients around the world work in English, and we need to ensure that they receive the same high-quality experience regardless of where they are located or what product they buy."
Reuters signed its first contract with GlobalEnglish in 2004 in France, and after a successful first year, the company decided to expand employee access to all locations. According to Marie Josee Imbert, Training Manager for Reuters Paris, "After using the GlobalEnglish Corporate Learning Service, our employees had more self-confidence using English. Managers have commented that their employees, who were previously afraid of making mistakes and would therefore not participate in meetings, now communicate more thoroughly and proactively."
Further, Imbert explained that the GlobalEnglish service also provided real-time support for Reuters' employees. "Our users told us that they visited the service frequently during the day. They put the toolbar on their Internet browsers and used the dictionaries regularly. This saved them time on correspondence and creating other materials."
