New Report: Measuring the Continuing Impact: Business English as a Prerequisite for Global Business

MEASURING THE CONTINUING IMPACT BUSINESS ENGLISH AS A PREREQUISITE FOR GLOBAL BUSINESS

Business Solutions

Business Solutions Measuring the Continuing Impact: Business English as a Prerequisite for Global Business

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Contents3 Executive Summary4 The Global Communications Challenge 5 Facing the Challenge 6 The Pearson English Business Solutions Impact 9 Success Stories11 Conclusion 11 About CEB12 About Pearson English12 About Pearson English Business Solutions13 Methodology14 References


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English is the global language—it belongs to the world. Only by sharing a common language can cultures come together and learn from one another. In a world where the barriers of time and distance are constantly shrinking, overcoming the language barrier creates endless possibilities.

However, there is a very large gap for companies globally in their ability to leverage English as the de facto language of business; while 92% of global employees report that English is important for their job as well as for advancement in their career, only 7% of non-native English speakers in global companies believe they can communicate well at work.

More so than ever before, there is general acknowledgement that English is critical for companies around the world. However, many organizations have not employed a strategic approach to addressing communication deficiencies—they may have relied on a patchwork of legacy training solutions and online solutions not integrated or managed in a coherent way. More importantly, it is essential to recognize that learning is most effective when it is relevant and in context; it must fit around each employee’s work style and schedule, stimulate their personal and professional interests, and be perfectly in step with their ability.

In order to understand the latest insights related to key skills and business impacts of using its solutions globally, Pearson English Business Solutions partnered with CEB to follow up on its groundbreaking study done in 2013. In this new study, over 1,000 learners across the globe responded, and highlights of key findings include:

Skills were useful and immediately applicable:– Ninety-eight percent of respondents indicated they

had applied or planned to apply what they learned to their job.

– Seventeen percent were able to apply what they learned in the same day and more than half were able to apply what they learned within just two weeks.

Learners saw increased efficiency and higher quality of work:– On average, a learner saves 1.02 hours per week

and 45.69 hours per year as a result of improved English skills (equivalent to over one week per year of improved productivity).

– Two-thirds of learners reported improvement in their skills related to email writing and comprehension.

– Sixty percent of learners reported an average improvement of 26% in the quality of their work.

There is a “tipping point” where greater usage yields much greater results:– Learners who used the solution more than two

hours per week saved 78% more time than those using it 30 minutes or less per week.

– For learners who used the solution for more than one year, 17% more of them reported an increase in skills across the board compared to learners of less than three months.

Blended Learning Works:– Seventy-five percent of learners of the blended

learning approach cited it as a useful way to learn Business English compared to other methods.

– Sixty-eight percent cited its flexibility, 60% cited the opportunity to practice and almost half cited its ability to be personalized as well as the confidence gained from the solution.

With a particular focus on blended learning techniques and relevant learning in the context of work, Pearson English Business Solutions has proven to be an effective investment for companies to improve English communication across the entire enterprise with significant benefits to both the companies and the employees individually.

Executive Summary


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As we published in our 2013 report, Measuring the Impact: Merging Business English Learning and Working, the world continues to “flatten” with exponential increases in the flow of information, capital and resources among countries and businesses around the world. Even in the short two years since the last report, there has been an explosion in the use of social and mobile technologies as well as new applications that connect businesses, customers and even governments. Just in the year 2014:

– Worldwide social media users exceeded 2 billion;

– Worldwide penetration of mobile phones passed 50%;

– The number of global Internet users passed 3 billion; and

– The number of active mobile connections surpassed the total world population.

Even the old notion of state-based regulations is challenged, as businesses and their often disruptive impact cannot be confined to neat political jurisdictions. The business sector is on the leading edge of a truly borderless world, and the implications on every aspect of life are indeed profound.

For businesses, first and foremost, this new globalized world completely changes the way they look at human resources, having effectively a global labor market from which to pull talent. Despite that larger pool, research suggests that many HR professionals are having trouble finding applicants with the right skills and qualifications for a substantial number of jobs. And perhaps even more important than finding the right talent is the requirement that teams work as one even if they are scattered across time zones, locations, cultures and native tongues.

As outlined in the Predictions for 2013 report by Bersin, technology has created a virtually borderless workplace that upends the traditional corporate hierarchy. In its place is a growing importance given to the role of peer networks, as employees work in cross-cultural teams with flatter organizational structures. But with work teams, customers and suppliers dispersed around the world, there is a heightened emphasis on worker productivity.

This need for a more productive global workforce creates new challenges that for most enterprises continue to grow. Companies have invested significantly in the infrastructure of communications (networks, devices, software, etc.), but such investment can only be leveraged if a company’s

workforce has the skills and confidence to use them in a meaningful way—most importantly, with a standard language. This immediate need has propelled English to become the de facto language of business worldwide, and its standardization continues to be further cemented each year.

Research supports this notion: Studies by Pearson English Business Solutions confirm that 92% of global employees report that English is important for their job as well as for advancement and their personal career. Yet ironically, only 7% of non-native English speakers in global companies believe they can communicate well at work. That’s 93% of non-native speakers who lack confidence in their ability to communicate, to collaborate with colleagues and to avoid tripping up simply going about their everyday jobs. Clearly there is a large gap here.

The cost of this communications gap is not theoretical; research from Towers Watson showed that companies that are highly effective communicators had a 47% higher total return to shareholders over a five-year period compared to those who weren’t effective. The ability for an entire organization to communicate effectively and efficiently has a real impact on competitiveness, revenue, market share, profitability and innovation. This communications challenge is not only urgent, but it can be argued that addressing this language gap is more important than issues related to technology, competition, sales or finance—because if a company cannot solve the former, it will always be handicapped in addressing the latter.

The Global Communications Challenge

Lack Confidence93%


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Facing the Challenge

The good news is that there is very little disagreement on the primacy of this challenge, as enterprises see the effects of both effective and poor communication on a daily basis. However, many organizations have not employed a strategic approach to addressing communication deficiencies—they may have relied on a patchwork of legacy training solutions and online solutions not integrated or managed in a coherent way. Often individual offices or departments are left on their own to implement solutions. One of the biggest mistakes that companies make is separating “training” from “working,” thinking of them as two separate endeavors. However, learning Business English requires not only that the English-language training have a relentless focus on business-relevant English, but also that the learner actually conducts business while learning! Learning Business English is, by its nature, most relevant in the context of doing work, whether it is writing emails, speaking on the telephone or attending meetings. Fortunately, there is no shortage of opportunities at work to provide this context for effective business English learning.

However to be effective, a Business English learning program strategy must be infused up and down in the organization, with the most effective companies providing the resources and support for all of their employees to continually learn, as well as infusing into their culture the notion of constantly improving everyone’s Business English skills. Seventy-five percent of Pearson English learners stated that they received support and encouragement from their manager in using the solutions—a figure up slightly from 73% who similarly responded two years ago. The most effective companies also include progress in English language learning in their employee review process. Over the last two years, Pearson English has seen among its learner base a growing treatment of Business English learning as a critical employee benefit—both for current employees and also as a critical weapon in the war for new talent. Smart companies realize that many non-native speakers are unhappy with their English abilities; therefore, enterprises can promote their language learning program as a major attraction to potential hires.

Pearson English Business Solutions are based on the “70:20:10 framework,” recognizing that 70% of learning comes through experiential, on-the-job experience; 20% through social connections such as working with others; and 10% through structured courses and programs. This approach reinforces skills and increases engagement because of its immediate applicability.

As will be demonstrated in more detail below, the latest research reinforces the notion that business-focused English learning in the context of work, particularly with regular use over a continual period of time, has the greatest impact on employee skills and productivity as well as the greatest impact on the business.


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The Pearson English Business Solutions Impact

Pearson English Business Solutions has always believed corporations must break down communication silos with the learning, tools and tasks to help their talent apply Business English as a common framework and in the context of the jobs they perform.

In order to measure this impact and to understand the latest insights related to key skills and business impacts of using its solutions globally, Pearson English Business Solutions partnered with CEB to follow up on its groundbreaking study done in 2013. Of the respondents to the survey, roughly 50% were individual contributors, while approximately one-third were managers and the remainder were in administrative or executive positions. The results of this research reaffirm the data from the 2013 study, but also show some interesting new trends.

It is interesting to note that there were few significant differences in responses across geographic regions. There were some minor differences in tenure among learners by region. For example, there were slightly more learners in EMEA and North America reporting using the solution for more than one year, and within Latin America, a plurality of learners has been using the solution between three months and one year, foreshadowing that they may continue to be a growing base of highly tenured learners.

Significant Gains with Both Business and Personal ValueLearners of Pearson English Business Solutions reported improvements across the board, including increased efficiency, improved work performance, increased personal skills and marketability, and significant positive business impacts. Certainly at its basic level, improved Business English skills allow workers to read, speak and understand English better and faster; however, a number of learners specifically commented that a lot of the gained time savings came from, for example, having the Business English skills to confidently draft short and precise emails. This means that in addition to working faster, learners are working smarter and have greater confidence in what they are doing. This confidence also allowed learners to do more in the scope of their job, such as having meals with customers or giving presentations they previously weren’t able to do.

On average, learners save 1.02 hours per week and 45.69 hours per year as a result of their improved English skills, equating to over one week per year of improved productivity. In addition to being more efficient, they were more effective. Two-thirds reported that they have been able to successfully apply learned knowledge/skills to their job, and 58% said there was a direct link between the learning solutions and improved job performance. Sixty-eight percent of learners reported that their learning is improving overall communication in which they are involved, and 60% cited a direct impact to increasing the quality of their work. Ninety-eight percent of respondents indicated they had applied or planned to apply what they learned through Pearson English to their job, echoing this same high percentage reported in the 2013 research.

Naturally, this efficiency and effectiveness are directly related to specific skills improvement. As expected, the greatest gains in skills accrued primarily to written communications and secondarily to verbal communications. Sixty-eight percent of learners reported skill improvement in understanding business emails in English, with 64% reporting skill improvement in writing business emails in English. Fifty-eight percent reported skill improvement in using English in conversations and discussions, with 55% reporting skill improvement in having telephone calls in English, actively participating in meetings in English, and attending conference calls or virtual meetings in English.


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Lastly, employees continue to recognize that Business English learning has a significant personal benefit, with 77% of learners reporting that Pearson English Business Solutions has been a worthwhile investment in their career development.

There is a “Tipping Point” of Usage related to Benefits

There were some interesting findings related to the relationship between how long individuals have been using the solution (as well as with what frequency) and benefits gained. The research shows that there is an immediate value gained—17% were able to apply what they learned in the same day, and 51% were able to apply what they learned within just two weeks of starting. However, despite this burst of value immediately, the greatest value came from sustained usage over time. The largest impact came from learners who had used the service continuously for one year (but at least for three months) and with a frequency of at least two hours per week.

A continuous commitment to learning clearly pays off, and this was demonstrated in time saved, skill improvement and company impact. Those using the solution for more than one year saved 14% more time than those who were using the solution for between three months and one year, and 22% more time than those using the service for less than three months. Comparing the group of users of over one year to the group of users less than three months, there was also a significantly higher percentage of respondents who:

Improved ability to:

They also reported an improved ability to:

15% more

19% more

8% more

Successfully applied knowledge/skills

Improved performance

Felt it was a worthwhile investment in career development

17% more

15% more

15% more

Understand business emails in English

Write business emails in English

Use English in conversations

14% more

10% more

11% more

Have telephone calls in English

Participate in meetings in English

Attend conference calls and virtual meetings


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This same phenomenon held true for increased frequency of use. Specifically, individuals who reported using the solution for more than two hours per week also noted greater time saved, increased skill development and impact on the business versus those who used the solution less frequently. For example, those who used the solution more than two hours per week saved 78% more time than those using it for 30 minutes or less per week, more than making up for the extra time investment! Comparing those same two groups of learners, there was also a significantly higher percentage of respondents who:

Interestingly, the survey showed that the more frequent and tenured learners received significantly more support from their company in terms of resources (technology, equipment, information, etc.). It can only be speculated as to which is the cause and which is the effect. Is it that companies recognize improvement and dedication among certain employees and provide them with support, or is it that companies provide this support as a matter of practice that encourages employees to be more active and consistent learners?

Blended Learning WorksPearson English Business Solutions provides a series of blended learning solutions that combine self-directed online learning with personalized coaching and instruction. This includes regular guidance and encouragement from a personal Business English expert, virtual classrooms and personalized one-to-one coaching sessions, among other services.

Learners using Pearson English Business Solutions’ blended learning solutions reported very positive results and found time spent with coaches and experts very useful. Seventy-four percent reported that their Pearson English Coach experience was personalized for their Business English learning needs, and 75% responded that Pearson English’s blended approach is a useful way to learn Business English compared to other methods. There were a number of reasons cited for recommending coaching—68% cited the flexibility inherent in the program, 60% cited the benefit of practicing and almost half cited the ability of the program to be personalized as well as the confidence they gained from working with a coach.

18% more

20% more

24% more

Successfully applied knowledge/skills

Improved performance

Felt it was a worthwhile investment in career development

75%

74% Experience was personalized for their Business English learning needs

Approach is a useful way to learn Business English


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Success Stories

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, with more than 300,000 associates of 122 nationalities operating out of 46 countries globally. As the global footprint of TCS expands, it becomes imperative that the diverse workforce spread across geographies develops proficiency in English to conduct business and collaborate with teams globally. The company wanted to meet the challenge created by this scale as well as move away from the traditional instructor-led teaching methods toward flexible anytime, anywhere learning that allowed employees to acquire new skills on their own time, at their own pace and in their own space. TCS needed a solution that both showed significant Business English skill-level improvements while optimizing consultant productivity with clients. To this end, TCS selected Pearson English Business Solutions’ One platform, an on-demand, cloud-based solution offering 24/7 access to 10 levels of interactive Business English coursework, speaking and pronunciation tools, live virtual group classes, industry-specific terms, and more. Program participants were selected by their managers based on a direct business need to improve their English skills. TCS set a basic target of having participating employees advance two levels in 100 hours over a four-month period. Using self-study material, e-learning and virtual classroom interactions, the Pearson English One learners were able to experience anytime, anywhere learning on a variety of devices across various environments and be selective in their learning. As a result, TCS associates were able to communicate more effectively and spend less time in translating and comprehending. Having a common language resulted in overall improved productivity and time efficiency. Surveys conducted for business leaders showed at least a 20% improvement in working relationships and productivity and a 33% improvement in time efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Intesa Sanpaolo is among the top banking groups in the euro zone. It operates 1,400 branches serving 8.4 million customers in areas within Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. An international network of Intesa Sanpaolo specialists also supports corporate customers across 29 countries where Italian multinational companies are most active. For such a geographically distributed financial services enterprise, communicating in the widely accepted common business language of English is essential for success. Intesa Sanpaolo used One Assessment from Pearson English Business Solutions to evaluate the existing Business English levels of nearly 3,000 members of its Italian workforce. The resulting scores showed that few of the employees had the necessary skill level to conduct business and financial transactions in English. Intesa Sanpaolo executives also realized that traditional classroom training would be too costly as well as too difficult to manage and measure efficiently and that an online solution alone would not adequately address their needs. Intesa Sanpaolo turned to Pearson English Business Solutions’ One and One Coach, a unique training combination that would take training to the next level for employees by providing the personalized professional development, hands-on involvement and intensive practice these adult learners needed. At its core is a Web-based platform that can be accessed from multiple types of devices anytime, anywhere. Added to this was personalized, one-to-one conversation sessions with dedicated advisors tightly integrated with the learning content and personalized to the individual learner’s objectives. One hundred fifty coaches were selected and matched with the learning pool. Intesa Sanpaolo found that it surpassed its goals to improve global collaboration and increase customer satisfaction. In addition to being cost-effective, the program delivered better efficiency and productivity, higher levels of employee engagement, and improved collaboration. Participants also reported more confidence using English personally and professionally. Seventy-six percent percent of learners met or exceeded their target improvement goals. With a successful initial program, Intesa Sanpaolo plans to use the same approach moving forward, including expansion outside of Italy to other branches.


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Cognizant Technology Solutions is a leading provider of information technology, consulting and business process outsourcing services. While the company is headquartered in the U.S., it employs close to 200,000 people worldwide across a number of operational centers and is one of the largest recruiters and employers of young professionals in India. Working with hundreds of thousands of young employees who have had varying degrees of exposure to English means Cognizant needed an adaptive, responsive solution to provide its staff with the adequate and appropriate language skills necessary to succeed. Cognizant employees readily understood the importance of a strong grasp of the English language for their success, but part of Cognizant’s unique approach—and one of the reasons the company has become so successful—is its focus on the cultivation of intuition and empathy (not just technical skills) to better understand customer needs and exceed expectations. Cognizant uses ongoing training with Pearson’s suite of learning tools to help staff continuously develop the basic and more nuanced skills required in their positions. Cognizant urges their employees to be able to interpret and respond to the feelings that are contained in words, rather than a

mere understanding of the English language. When employees enter the second level of their in-house Communication Excellence program (ComEx), they are introduced to and aligned with Pearson English resources. A defined set of activities is given to the staff members to complete within six months. Staff members who successfully complete these steps move on to the post-training assessment system. Since Cognizant wants to reach the proficiency level needed to understand nuance, emotion and intent, a variety of learning practices are used. These include the utilization of the company’s enterprise social networks for various purposes, including the theme of the month. Results were significant. Overall, 72% of employees felt they became confident users of the English language, a full 100% of Cognizant employees reported that Pearson English improved their ability to communicate in English within professional settings and 100% reported that Pearson English training was a worthwhile investment of their time.


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Conclusion About CEBAlthough there is no disputing that English has become the de facto language of business worldwide, there are still inconsistent approaches in addressing the large language gap that exists with non-native speakers. Pearson English Business Solutions’ learners have demonstrated that making an investment in their human capital to bridge this gap can yield significant business benefits.

With a particular focus on blended learning techniques and relevant learning in the context of work, the improvement in English communication across the entire enterprise makes individual employees more efficient, effective and collaborative, and in turn it makes the company more innovative and profitable.

Pearson English Business Solutions is dedicated to the simple yet powerful notion that we want to help the people of the world understand each other better by better understanding the needs of each learner. We believe that everyone has the capacity to learn English, but, sadly, most attempts end in frustration. The data from this second “Measuring the Continuing Impact Study” demonstrates that with the right solution and the right commitment on behalf of both the company and its employees, the investment pays off handsomely.

CEB is a best practices insight and technology company. The company has a unique view into what matters—and what works—when driving corporate performance. With more than 30 years of experience working with top companies to share, analyze and apply proven practices, it delivers innovative solutions that help clients unlock their full potential.

Every year the company equips over 20,000 senior leaders from more than 10,000 organizations across 110 countries with the intelligence they need to respond quickly to evolving business conditions. In doing so, CEB helps them more effectively manage their talent, customers and operations to exceed business objectives.

For more information, please visit www.cebglobal.com.


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About Pearson English About Pearson English Business Solutions (PEBS)Pearson English is a division of Pearson and is

the world’s largest provider of English language learning, covering everything from basics for beginners to boardroom-level business English. Through engagement and encouragement we’re transforming the process of learning English from one of life’s frustrations to one of its highlights, breaking language barriers around the world.

Our key businesses include: Wall Street English (center-based learning for consumers); Pearson English Business Solutions (online Business English learning solutions formerly known as GlobalEnglish); and ELT (institutional English language publications including brands such as Longman). In 2013, Pearson announced a strategic investment in English language learning platform Voxy and acquired Grupo Multi, the leading adult English language training company in Brazil.

Providing the very best cloud-based Business English learning solutions, PEBS helps global companies achieve the communication and collaboration that drive high performance in a global economy.

Our solutions produce immediate productivity and performance gains enterprise-wide. In blending the latest technology innovations with research on how adults effectively acquire language, we provide a formal and informal Business English learning platform, instant on-the-job support for business tasks in English, enterprise collaboration, mobile productivity, adaptive Business English assessments, and the ability to measure usage and proficiency improvements across the company.Headquartered in California’s San Francisco Bay Area, PEBS partners with more than 500 global corporations in 70+ countries. For more information about our solutions, visit our website at www.globalenglish.com.


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MethodologyThis study was an update to a similar one conducted in 2013 to gather training effectiveness information from current and past learners to demonstrate the impact of courses on language skills, business skills and performance. CEB developed a survey structure based on Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels Model and Phillips’ ROI Process and fielded this survey to 14,021 Pearson English learners, asking them to reflect on products they had used and their impact. The survey received 1,297 responses for a response rate of 9.3%, corresponding to a statistically valid sample that is highly accurate. The data was collected online via analytics tool Metrics that Matter™ using a 7-point Likert scale (Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree) and an 11-point percentage scale (0%–100%) for Net Promoter Score.

CEB then performed some additional analysis to measure impact and benchmark against other data sets.

Business Solutions Measuring The Continuing Impact – Business English as a Prerequsite For Global Business

* Please be advised that GlobalEnglish has changed its name to Pearson English Business Solutions and the Edge service is now a part of the PEBS service, “One.” All references to GlobalEnglish and Edge in this document should be viewed in light of this name change.

© 2015 Pearson English, a division of Pearson plc. All rights reserved.

References1 Digital, Social & Mobile in 2015, We Are Social, January 20152 Society for Human Resource Management, “SHRM Research: Workforce Readiness and Skills Shortages,” 20153 http://marketing.bersin.com/2013-predictions.html4 2009/2010 Communication ROI Study Report, Towers Watson

New Report: Measuring the Continuing Impact: Business English as a Prerequisite for Global Business

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