A well-thought-out plan is every instructional designer’s favorite sidekick. And this is never truer than when we are trying to reach a culturally diverse audience. As globalization continues to reshape the way we interact and do business, the appeal for a more inclusive approach to training, one that honors the vibrant cultural backgrounds and experiences of learners in your organization, continues to sound. Whether you are creating a curriculum map, a course blueprint, or conducting a needs assessment, if you are engaging a diverse audience, a few important items will need to be set up right from the beginning. This article explores critical steps to implement as you build your plan and prepare for success in your next global learning initiatives.
Step One: Define your audience in terms of culture and language.
We always begin by asking: Who is the target audience? If your audience is composed of learners from various cultures and different languages, you have additional questions to ask to understand their needs and capabilities. Factors such as language proficiency, cultural background, and learning preferences must be carefully considered. Do your learners come from significantly different cultures? Is English their second language? Will the materials be translated into another language? Have you considered creating different versions of the program for different regions? Answering “yes” to any of the previous questions will impact the design of your training. Determining exactly who your audience is, including their cultural and language needs, is an important first step in completing your plan.
Step Two: Identify your key stakeholders from each culture.
One good way to assess your audience’s needs is to develop a relationship with a key stakeholder from each culture; a representative who can provide insight into their particular perspective and challenges. This may involve consulting with employees and managers to understand the problems they face in their global roles. These stakeholders should be brought into the project early so they can offer ideas and give feedback as you create learning objectives and strategies, deployment methods, and follow-up. They can also provide localization expertise and be a resource for relatable examples and scenarios. In some cases, it may be necessary to train local trainers who can deliver the program to their respective teams. This ensures that the program is culturally relevant and effectively communicated to all employees.
Step Three. Confirm your assumptions.
When designing for a global audience, confirm your assumptions. What are you assuming about language, culture, and practice? It is crucial to question assumptions and validate them to ensure that learning materials are culturally relevant. Are your ESL learners proficient enough to understand the technical language in your module? If you are training for various locations, how similar are the processes implemented from place to place? Assuming a standard when a standard is not in practice can capsize a learning initiative. Additionally, ask your stakeholders for instances where corporate expectations may clash with local culture. If a vice president is expecting a local manager to respond in a way that clashes with the manager’s culture, success will be minimal. Understanding the interplay between local culture and corporate responsibility is essential to avoid potential conflicts. These and other assumptions should be confirmed before you go further with your design.
Step Four. Consider the limitations of your learners.
What are your learners’ limitations? Understanding the motivations and discomforts of your target audience is essential for creating effective global learning programs. For example, access to technology can significantly impact the success of learning initiatives. The capability of company-issued laptops may vary within an organization such as apps installed, memory, and speed. Not all people have use of a device or even an email address. Time zones can become obstacles to synchronous learning. The perception of mentees and mentors varies from culture to culture. Understanding the level of education within different regions is essential for designing training programs that are accessible and effective. Your English as a Second Language (ESL) audience may require adjustments in pace and length, as well as the use of auditory and visual aids. Additionally, providing a glossary of technical words and phrases can enhance accessibility for diverse learners. Realize that the limitations of your learners may vary greatly from culture to culture. Spend time with your stakeholders to itemize the limitations of your learners from each culture.
Step Five. Identify cultural objectives.
Every corporate learning opportunity is also an opportunity to impact culture. Alongside business objectives and learning objectives, it is prudent to consider cultural objectives as you design your training. What do we mean? Training can reinforce shared values and align employees’ passions with your organization’s vision and values. Your training program can be an impetus for consistency of terms, roles, processes, and priorities. It can foster unity as learners engage the varied perspectives, examples, and scenarios of their culturally diverse teammates which broaden their understanding and increase their compassion. And it can promote a stronger culture of learning where curiosity and creativity are celebrated. Don’t miss out on these important gains by not considering them at the start of your next cross-cultural project.
Step Six. Design and develop content ready for translation.
Before you begin your storyboards, you must know which materials will be translated and into what languages. Be sure to use straightforward, succinct language and not local idioms or exaggerations which are difficult to translate. Prepare for language expansion where the text on a slide will take up more space with certain translations. Leave plenty of whitespace in your English version to accommodate for this. Begin a list of terms early that your organization has in place already: internal phrases, acronyms, names of items and processes that are in use and should be standardized and reinforced in your training modules. Consider using more images onscreen to convey meaning and provide closed captions for second-language users. Conferring with your stakeholders, gather scenarios, stories, and examples that are culturally relevant and visuals that are relatable to your culture groups. Find trusted and knowledgeable translators and implement a strict quality control system to ensure accuracy. Each of these steps is critical to the success of your global training initiative. Preparing ahead of time for translation will make the whole process smoother and more efficient.
Let’s review the steps in our plan that we have covered so far:
1. Define your audience in terms of culture and language
2. Identify your key stakeholders from each culture
3. Confirm your assumptions about culture
4. Consider the limitations of your learners
5. Identify cultural objectives
6. Design and develop content ready for translation
Our final action is Step Seven. Review resources to learn more.
Recommended reading materials such as “The Culture Map,” “When Cultures Collide,” and “Leading with Cultural Intelligence” provide further insights into cross-cultural communication and management techniques. In today’s interconnected world, the need to intentionally plan for engaging diverse audiences when designing instruction is paramount, and these resources can help strengthen your skills to do so.
Preparing for global learning requires a deep understanding of the diverse cultural and educational backgrounds of the audience. Your stakeholders will be invaluable resources for you in this process. By considering the motivations and discomforts of the target audience, questioning assumptions about language and culture, and addressing limitations in access to technology and education, organizations can lay the groundwork for successful global learning initiatives. Identifying culture objectives will enable you to be intentional about culture gains. Furthermore, leveraging recommended reading materials can provide additional guidance for developing inclusive and effective global learning strategies.
