Employee Development Services
Business English Training
English language skills are a must in a business environment. When an organization needs to improve the skills of one to thousands of employees, ALTA has a solution. The solution may include one or more of these elements:
- Definition of the targeted level of skill
- Development of customized training materials, such as for pharmaceutical manufacturing, financial management, assembly line production, etc.
- Delivery of training through on-site, online or telephone programs or programs at ALTA's central training center
- Testing as an integral part of the program
ALTA can adapt to special needs, such as acquisition of F-1 visas, making complete arrangements for intensive programs, and reporting of performance.
English Accent Reduction
Making an accent more easily understood by native American English speakers is vital in many organizations. ALTA offers accent reduction programs available for specific job functions including call-center agents, programmers and software developers, back-office processing personnel, and medical professionals. Train-the-trainer programs are also offered. ALTA offers programs at our training center or on-site group programs both inside and outside the U.S. Online programs are also available.
ALTA also offers Accent Reduction programs for individual employees. Programs are available from ALTA by telephone or in a classroom setting through an ALTA-Certified Accent Reduction Provider.
Foreign Language Skill Development
Communicating effectively in another language is often necessary for business success. ALTA provides language training whether your organization's need is for just the basics for an individual or for thousands of employees to communicate at an advanced level. ALTA provides solutions that have one or more of the following:
- Training in any business language including less common languages
- Definition of the targeted level of skill
- Development of customized training materials, such as for production supervisors, off-shore managers, technology transfer engineers, etc.
- Delivery of training through on-site, online and telephone programs or intensive programs at ALTA's central training center
- Testing as an integral part of the program
Writing Skills Development
Effective writing is an essential skill for many jobs. ALTA specializes in analyzing the specific writing problems that an employee has and developing a customized program to raise performance to the targeted level. This type of skill development is frequently required for employees whose first language is not English, and occasionally for native English speakers. Programs can be on-site, by telephone or at the ALTA training center. Group programs are also available when needed.
Supervising Across Cultures
The characteristics of a good supervisor in one culture are frequently quite different from the characteristics of a good supervisor in another culture. Communication, delegation, breadth of view, development...every aspect of the supervisor-employee relationship can vary. The experienced, successful supervisor in one culture can be a failure in another culture. Understanding how culture affects the supervisor-employee relationship is essential for people who supervise workers from another culture. ALTA provides specific training programs for supervisors to help them understand the cultural differences and develop more effective approaches to leading workers from other cultures. Programs can be specific to one culture or be targeted to working with multiple cultures.
Cultural Differences in Teams
When a team is formed to accomplish a project, clear goals and a defined structure are set. Team members are chosen to represent the appropriate functions, to bring the necessary skills and to work cooperatively to get the job done. Successfully completing a project requires utilizing the different perspectives, backgrounds and skills of the team members effectively. When team members come from different cultural backgrounds, there is an added dimension of difficulty. Cultural differences in seemingly fundamental areas, such as how meetings are conducted, keeping to the schedule and providing feedback, can lead to unexpected and significant problems. These cultural differences can often threaten the success of the entire project. ALTA's Intercultural Teamwork programs identifies both the important cultural differences among the team members and provides solutions for turning cultural differences into advantages rather than problems. Team members benefit most from training at the start of a project to avoid major problems. Programs are also useful after problems have arisen to help steer the project back on course.
Working with International Business Cultures
When your organization has a business need to work with people from another culture, overcoming cultural differences immediately becomes important. It is more than knowing how to greet someone or learning a few words of the language. It is learning the significant differences that drive behavior so that you can appropriately adjust your actions to make your communication most effective and meet your goals. ALTA's "Working With..." programs, such as with Japanese, Mexicans, Chinese, Indians, French, Brazilians, etc. are half to full-day programs that provide the understanding of the target culture.
For more information click on Contact ALTA Language Solutions above, or call Danielle Reier at 404.920.3820.
