The Strong L&D Impact of Employee Bilingualism: A Case Study with Erin Janklow, CEO Entrada
“Learning and Development (L&D)” is HR speak for “ongoing education” – i.e., building or refining one’s skill set to enhance personal job security and broader marketability. These initiatives take many forms, such as traditional classroom or seminar presentations; personal coaching or mentoring; structured job-shadowing and cross-training; and “on demand” technology-driven methods like the eCornell platform, LinkedIn learning tutorials or Khan Academy videos. Naturally, companies should select the specific solutions or platforms that are best for them based on the competencies or domain knowledge to be cultivated, the learning styles of the intended audience, and the available financial or time resources to invest in solutions.The ROI of L&D
The right L&D offerings benefit both employees and employers. First, it’s long been recognized that employees regard L&D opportunities as positive incentives and retention drivers. However, it’s perhaps less known that companies investing in L&D resources have seen a 24% increase in productivity and performance due to learning, according to reports from the research and advisory organization TowardsMaturity. Further statistics drive home the business case:- Companies that offer comprehensive training programs have 218% higher income per employee than companies without formalized training;
- Research shows that a full 40% of employees who don’t receive the necessary job training to become effective will leave their positions within the first year;
- Top companies are three times more likely than the average to report achieving benefits related to growth in competitive climates. They are almost 3x as likely to report that learning innovation has resulted in an impact on business innovation (39% vs 14% average) and 2x as likely to report improvement with staff motivation (55% vs 23%).
Erin Janklow, Founder & CEO - Entrada
Q: What “pain point” does the Entrada system address? Entrada improves retention, drives recruitment, and improves the guest experience through our unique on-the-job ESL training program. Hiring and retaining hourly back of house roles is time consuming and expensive, and once hired, managing a multinational staff provides operational challenges that take conversant employees and supervisors away from their outlined responsibilities. Our unique TalkBack® Method effectively shifts time, making it possible for your staff to learn English at the same time that they are working. This employee benefit tool improves both the personal and professional lives of your teams. The war for talent and retention of line level staff are challenges that Entrada is built to solve. Empowering staff with language skills instils morale, boosts your brand image, and creates a cohesive company culture while simultaneously improving the service provided to guests. Adding an empowering language tool like Entrada brings your core values to life in a meaningful way. Q: How does the system work, and how is it different than other commercially available software like ‘Rosetta Stone’? Entrada is a tech-enabled company that teaches service industry workers English in 100 days, while they work, using our scientifically-designed TalkBack® Method and wearable hardware. Many service roles are physically repetitive, which allows staff to work and learn simultaneously. As a housekeeper makes a bed, for example, she also wears, listens, and talks back to our program – without impacting productivity. Instruction is delivered in the native language (currently, Spanish) before teaching learners how to TalkBack® the words and phrases in English. In addition to audio lessons, we provide learners with engagement tools and critical thinking lessons so that your guest experience improves. Our blended approach remains accessible for a tech averse learner group and provides valuable employee insight to management. Our delivery method flips the current model: Instead of bilingual supervisors, we create a bilingual workforce. Current language programs require active engagement from learners (think: sitting in front of a screen/requiring dedicated time to learning). Our on the job, on the job training, is uniquely effective. Patti Pegoraro, Director of People Services at Two Roads Hospitality, reported, “Entrada is an excellent program for the team that has significantly increased our morale! It's great to see employees' confidence grow as they develop English skills. Staff that previously shirked away from English conversations now engage with me in the mornings. I recommend Entrada - not only for English, but for building culture as well!” Q: Who can benefit from this system? Entrada is designed to benefit everyone in the hotel ecosystem. Yep: We mean it, and we deliver.- GM: Provide a superior guest experience by having a more consistent and more engaged staff, evangelize brand values, and be recognized for providing outstanding service in the region. Provide 5-star service by creating confident staff to engage in authentic guest interactions.
- HR: Spend less time and resources on recruitment, creating time to focus on benefits and processes that entice all staff to stay. The cost savings resulting from increased retention allows time to explore future initiatives.
- Directors of Housekeeping, Operations: Spend less time solving operational challenges and/or translating for ad-hoc guest needs. Increase appreciation of managers through use of Entrada, which results in a highly engaged back of house crew.
- Front of House and Millennials: Including a mission-driven initiative instills pride in the work place, improved service instills pride in the service that all staff can provide.
- Back of House: Build confidence and skills to succeed both in and out of the workplace.
- Customers: Engage in authentic connections and interactions with all employees!
- Exports in the UK comprise approximately 30% of UK GDP. It is estimated that the UK was losing around £50 billion per annum because of language or cultural ignorance;
- 39.5% of the UK’s international businesses lost business due to lack of cultural understanding among employees;
- In the US, one in six businesses (where 33% of mid- and large-size companies had global operations or serve multilingual/multicultural clientele) had lost business due to a lack of personnel with language skills and multicultural experience.