Communication confidence – building the foundations …mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/library/1304/0000/0004/Building... · Communication confidence – building the foundations

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Communication confidence – building the foundations for global change at Arrow

Electronics

Arrow Electronics provides electronic components and computing solutions

around the world, and like many multinational businesses, it needs to

respond quickly to increased globalisation. The organisation understands

that communication confidence is key and as their business adapts to

working globally, they have to find new ways of supporting global

communications.

However, efficiently building communication confidence around the globe

through online learning requires more than simple e-learning. Arrow

Electronics worked with GlobalEnglish to deliver these skills in a way that is

both radical and effective.

As a result, 65% of participants report that they are saving at least 1 hour a

week because of improved Business English communication skills.

This independently researched casestudy, identifies the factors linked to this

success.

This story was originally published in the January 2013 edition of Training

Journal.

The change challenge

Arrow Electronics provides electronic components and computing

solutions around the world, and like many multinational

businesses, it is having to respond quickly to increased

globalisation. It is a global organisation under a single brand that

offers a consistent quality experience to customers regardless of

where they are in the world. Acting as a channel partner for over

120,000 original equipment manufacturers and contract

manufacturers, Arrow Electronics operates through a global

network of more than 15,700 staff in 390 locations in 53

countries, so this is no easy feat. Historically business took place at

a local level; with staff communicating with each other using local

language. However, as the organisation has become more global

staff members now need to communicate with colleagues across

Camilla Edberg. EMEA Director

Talent Recruitment &

Management , Arrow Electronics

explains that ‘One Europe means

that colleagues and even

customers are no longer only

next door but possibly in a

different country. They might be

connected by phone and video,

they share central global

processes and systems. The

critical difference is that

competent individuals have to

also be able to understand and

be understood across different

cultures and languages for the

vision for One Europe to be

realised.’

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countries, cultures and languages.

One Europe is Arrow Electronic’s approach to harmonising processes across EMEA so that team

members can work seamlessly across country borders. Decision making is no longer a purely local

matter; it has to leverage the company’s global infrastructure.

The on-going transition of the company to One Europe began in 2008 when a sophisticated change

management programme was introduced. Both managers and employees received training in new

processes and systems to support them as they transitioned to operating in a more complex global

world.

For this process to continue to work, staff have to be able to communicate and connect with their

colleagues, customers and channel partners wherever they are in the world. It is challenging enough

to get this right when you share the same country and culture but as an organisation and its market

place becomes increasingly global, communication clarity is even tougher to achieve. Arrow

Electronics, like many companies going through change, understands that as their business adapts to

working globally, they have to find new ways of supporting global communications.

Building communication confidence – the challenge

The change management process is well mapped, however for the operating changes to be

implemented successfully they will need to be underpinned with a robust approach to supporting

staff in their use of English as the common communication language across the business.

Communication confidence is key, if staff are not able to share their views and ideas with clarity,

they are in danger of being misunderstood or exposed with their peers. A recent staff survey, with a

number of learners, highlighted that 98% believe that English is important in their current role and

90% feel it is important to advance their career.

Online learning is not an unfamiliar concept in the company. The introduction of Arrow University

(Arrow’s online learning centre) has established a shift in the way that staff develop their skills. With

access to a broad range of online learning opportunities (including sales, management, technology,

personal effectiveness, software/systems application and many others) staff are already starting to

use online learning as an active part of their own development.

But could it also work for building much needed communication skills? For such an important

business initiative, it might be perceived by some as being a risky strategy since communication is

something that is traditionally done and taught ‘face-to-face’. After all, language skills are hard work

‘We have to deliver consistent and quality English training across EMEA, which can be set to the personal

level and requirements of each individual. Staff are incredibly busy, and there is constant business pressure

to be more efficient with both time and money. Classroom training in this context is not practical, so it

made sense for us to consider an online solution - but it has to be one that delivers!’ Camilla Edberg EMEA

Director Talent Recruitment & Management, Arrow Electronics

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to acquire in any circumstance. More is demanded of the individual who needs to be in the

seat, more discipline is required and staff

practice. Grasping vocabulary is

communicate in the business context

Learning foundations

For Arrow Electronics to build communications confidence

traditional e-learning. A number of

approach to building communication confidence

• Context – operational efficiency

range of different business

across a variety of business situations including email, document writing and participation in

conference calls.

• Personalisation – setting the right

success. It was important to establish

required and to monitor progress. They

against the centrally accredited

(CEFR) to help to define language proficiency levels and interpret

qualifications.

• Productivity tools – job aids such as e

specific word lists have to be embedded within the whole experience in order to support

staff as they work, which means they need to be available via both a browser and mobile

devices.

• Practice – makes perfect

Whether it concerns writing,

listening, speaking or

vocabulary skills, it is critical

that any approach is able to

offer opportunities for

writing practice in every

assignment and the chance

to practice with advanced

speech recognition and

remediation tools embedded

directly in the solution.

www.towardsmaturity.org/index/employer-stories/ for more case studies and resources.

More is demanded of the individual who needs to be in the

is required and staff need more encouragement, guidance,

one thing but it is only when you start to speak out and

in the business context that you realise that there is still a way to go

Learning foundations

to build communications confidence in EMEA, they have to go beyond

number of foundations were important to help them establish

to building communication confidence:

efficiency can only be achieved if staff are able communicate in a

business scenarios, so the programme has to address communication


etting the right levels for study for each individual is fundament

It was important to establish a solid testing process to input to the level

monitor progress. They have opted for an extended test process mapped

accredited Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

to define language proficiency levels and interpret current

job aids such as email templates, culture notes, industry and company



perfect.

hether it concerns writing,

critical

able to

every

and the chance

advanced

embedded

for more case studies and resources.

More is demanded of the individual who needs to be in the driver’s

, support and

but it is only when you start to speak out and

that you realise that there is still a way to go.

to go beyond

establish their

communicate in a

to address communication


fundamental to

a solid testing process to input to the level of learning

for an extended test process mapped

European Framework of Reference for Languages

current language

mail templates, culture notes, industry and company



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• Availability – the programme ha

in all the locations and critical language groups across

the company.

• The extra mile – individual

to work with a dedicated virtual

or VOIP (voice-over-IP) to provide complementary

assignments including role

working with media like video, news,

journals.

• Support and encouragement

provide guidance on different

to provide help with specific job concerns (like

preparing for an important meeting)

• Evaluation strategy – it was a given that

progress across regions but the evaluation process also ha

interested in the reaction to the learning but more interested in

their daily work.

• Partnership – internal partnership with

success of the programme

within the wider organisation to ensure that the best decisions

partnership with the right

make this vision a reality

1 Arrow used GlobalEnglish products Edge and Coach in the rollout of this programme

www.towardsmaturity.org/index/employer-stories/ for more case studies and resources.

the programme has to support individuals

critical language groups across

individuals are offered the opportunity

dedicated virtual coach over the phone

to provide complementary

role-play and discussion, or

working with media like video, news, podcasts and

Support and encouragement – personal coaches also

guidance on different resources available and

to provide help with specific job concerns (like

preparing for an important meeting).

t was a given that the online system has to provide good reports on

across regions but the evaluation process also has to measure impact.

interested in the reaction to the learning but more interested in how it is helping

nternal partnership with corporate talent management is

programme in EMEA as the decision makers took advantage

organisation to ensure that the best decisions were made

ship with the right solution provider, in this case GlobalEnglish1, was also essential to

make this vision a reality and deliver the scale, efficiency and results needed

Arrow used GlobalEnglish products Edge and Coach in the rollout of this programme - www.globalenglish.com

The secret of our success

the phone based coaching

which we find

individuals are

personalised practice,

feedback and materials to

read and discuss. This

the learning come alive, and

the learners come back!

Camilla Edberg EMEA Director

Talent Recruitment &

Management, Arrow Electronics

for more case studies and resources.

to provide good reports on

to measure impact. Arrow is less

it is helping staff in

is essential to the

as the decision makers took advantage of expertise

were made for the region. A

was also essential to

results needed.

www.globalenglish.com

The secret of our success is

the phone based coaching,

find invaluable –

are provided with

personalised practice,

feedback and materials to

read and discuss. This makes

the learning come alive, and

come back!

Camilla Edberg EMEA Director

Recruitment &

rrow Electronics

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Building confidence in the learning approach

Once the foundations have been established, it is critical to

build on them by engaging stakeholders across the business

to support the initiative. The organisation does not have an

extensive supply of resources, so they focus on providing a

proper introduction to the programme. They make it a

priority to ensure that line managers understand their role

in the process of helping their staff be more successful in

their jobs.

It is important to get the first introduction to the process

right the first time, especially as the company now expects

staff to pick up communication skills in an unfamiliar forum. Staff are provided with a walk through

of the on-demand platform, either face-to-face or via the phone, they are not just left on their own.

Managers are updated with regular reports on their teams and are provided with specific guidelines

to address important questions such as: What is this? Why are we doing it? What is the underlying

business need?

One factor that contributes to the success of the programme is when the managers are learning for

themselves. One sales manager operating a large team started to build her own communication

skills alongside her team. The blended approach worked for her and she now acts as a role model to

both her own team and to other managers.

Arrow Electronic’s aim is to connect with staff at a personal and individual level—even the

accompanying email supporting the evaluation process has been created to be as personalised as

possible so that it appeals to staff at a personal level rather than a business level. As a result of using

phrases like ‘I am really interested in what you think’ the engagement in the feedback process is

high.

The personal touch in both the learning and the engagement strategies is going down well with staff

who have provided great feedback:

‘I very much like the combination of online study and coaching, especially the sessions with my coach have made me very

confident.’ Germany

‘It is critical to implement this

process well and to follow up along

the way to ensure that we are able

to make this as good an investment

as possible. We focus on providing a

proper introduction and really

opening up a dialogue with the

managers to support the process.’

Camilla Edberg EMEA Director Talent

Recruitment & Management, Arrow

Electronics

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What has been the impact of the solution on the business?

The recent learner survey within Arrow Electronics highlights that

this approach is really working with 65% of participants reporting

that they are saving at least 1 hour a week because of improved

Business English communication skills. In fact, an average of 1.8

hours per employee is saved each week as a result of improved

skills – rounding this up, the current staff are gaining just under

3000 days per annum in improved productivity! The study also

showed that:

• 93% indicate they have been able to use what they have

learned in on the job

• 76% are better able to respond to questions and provide

assistance

• 84% notice improvement in understanding email, 78% in

writing email

• 76% report improvement in understanding documents

• 63% report improvement in writing documents

• 70% report an improvement in participating in conference calls and meetings

• 92% are likely to recommend GlobalEnglish to a colleague or friend

What is next?

For Arrow Electronics, they are not sitting back but continue to identify new ways of supporting and

maintaining momentum of the programme through the use of marketing and online forums. They

also want to continue to find new ways of supporting and engaging the line managers. They are

reviewing the opportunity to capture and share good practice amongst this critical group through

forums for managers and using communities to help staff bring the learning experience to life.

Change management for Arrow Electronics is being accelerated as a result of individuals building

communications confidence. When competent staff are able to share their knowledge,

understanding and opinions more effectively, they have the potential to engage faster with each

other and with the change that is surrounding them.

‘For me this is a big investment

that needs to work for our

employees and deliver bottom

line business progress for Arrow.

Anyone can buy a language

course but this is futile unless

staff are willing to learn. I am

really, proud of our staff who put

in the time, see improvement and

are investing in their own

development.’

Camilla Edberg EMEA Director Talent

Recruitment & Management, Arrow

Electronics

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Top tips for building communications confidence

• Provide an opportunity to help staff apply ad practice their new skills in their own work context

• Personalise the learning experience to individual need

• Consider the value of providing a virtual coach to motivate and encourage the application of new

skills

• Support the application of learning with practical productivity tools embedded within the learning

• Do not forget to plan implementation and stakeholder engagement

• Evaluate the outcomes and share success stories to encourage on-going engagement.

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Communication confidence – building the foundations …mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org/library/1304/0000/0004/Building... · Communication confidence – building the foundations