When the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) launched its risk and compliance training, it couldn’t assume all 50,000 employees in 35 countries understood the concept in the same way. The bank, therefore, took cultural and geographic factors into account when designing and delivering training to ensure it met the diverse needs of each employee group.
Patricia Aquaro, dean of the School of Risk & Compliance for the bank’s BK University (BKU), says the key to global training is to develop global content that then is adjusted locally. “To tailor the global program to suit the nuances of more specific audiences, we created smaller, specialized modules to complement the broad training,” she says.
“We relied on our managers and compliance leaders in each region to tailor the messages to their own geographies and lines of business,” Aquaro explains. That blend of corporate direction and local interpretation helps teams across regions and business lines understand how the principles apply to them.
Conducting training in the local language also helps ensure that key concepts are conveyed accurately, notes Christie Caldwell, director of consulting for Asia-Pacific at Aperian Global, and author of “Leading Across New Borders: How to Succeed as the Center Shifts.” When international training is in English, consider also providing written materials in the local language— particularly if you’re unsure of learners’ English skills.
Also, make sure to align the training to the local culture so it reflects employees’ realities. For example, in Indonesia and other Islamic countries, that means ensuring conservative business attire that keeps learners focused on the message rather than distracted by images they consider inappropriate.
BK University also aligns its training with BNY Mellon’s communications program to ensure that messaging and content are consistent throughout the company. This includes e-mail communications, digital signage, and messages from senior management.
A Requirement, Not a Perk
“Almost all developing societies are relationship driven,” Caldwell says, whereas the U.S. tends to use systems or processes that are equally accessible to all. In the developing world, training often is considered a perquisite and is used as a reward. Consequently, the people who need the training most may be excluded.
Alternatively, managers’ desire to spread training “perks” among their employees actually dilutes the effects of progressive training. By rotating people through classes that are designed to build upon previous knowledge, managers may believe they are acting fairly and improving personnel relations. “Western trainers often assume this is an ethical failure, disorganization, poor time management, or disregard for policies and processes,” Caldwell says. The unfortunate result is that the value of the classes is diminished when no one is fully trained.
BKU tries to address some of these challenges through a diversity and inclusion professional development program introduced in 2015. It brings together individuals with diverse backgrounds from throughout the world to learn strategies to enhance their leadership skills and, in turn, employee effectiveness. “This includes fostering diverse, inclusive environments for their teams,” Aquaro says.
“Our global learning and development model is designed to suit the most basic desktop configuration, so e-learning can be easily accessible,” Aquaro adds. “We also leverage an internal social media platform to deliver training and communications to employees quickly and easily.” Specifically, methods include “live classroom training, virtual classrooms, e-learning, and, recently, social learning. Through Coursera, we introduced our corporate Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) as a finance specialization.”
That variety of training platforms is particularly effective for the organization’s adaptive learning model. Adaptive learning adjusts to individual learners, so “the amount of time spent on a particular topic changes based upon the needs of the learner,” Aquaro says. A test-out option allows “employees who demonstrate knowledge of the topic and attain a satisfactory score on the initial assessment to receive credit for course completion.”
One caveat: Technological access varies geographically. Employees may not have access to computers or inexpensive long-distance phone calls from home for virtual training. Therefore, Caldwell says, “don’t assume access to or familiarity with U.S. technology.”
On the other hand, be aware that many nations have leapfrogged directly to high-tech solutions. “Much of Africa skipped landlines and went straight to mobile phones,” Caldwell points out.
Professional Skills Development
Although the skills needed to succeed in emerging economies aren’t notably different from those expected by multinational corporations, the context may differ.
“Look at key social, political, historical, and economic contextual factors that may have had an impact on participants’ starting point for skill development,” Caldwell advises. For example, she continues, the Iraq trade embargo (1990-2003) and subsequent wars limited Iraqis’ access to technology and to business concepts developed during that time.
In developing regions, Caldwell specifically recommends training employees regarding the organization’s expectations around project ownership, accountability, personal initiative, time management, and performance measurement.
Cultural Learning Differences
“Trainees are likely to have very different learning styles and expectations for the facilitator, based on the local educational system and cultural norms,” Caldwell notes.
Cultures that value hierarchy, personal restraint, and indirect communication tend to create environments in which questions are perceived negatively. Therefore, “trainees may be uncomfortable showing they don’t understand something.”
Cultures in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan that have strong oral traditions respond well to stories. “Training that includes personal stories and emotions and that goes beyond facts or theories is usually highly impactful for those environments,” Caldwell says.
Actual lesson content may need to change, too. Education systems in hierarchical cultures often rely on rote memorization rather than developing critical thinking, Caldwell points out. “Therefore, the ability to draw conclusions from data often isn’t honed.”
The result is that engagement cannot be measured by learners’ willingness to debate issues or respond to facilitators’ questions. Such behaviors are considered inappropriate. Instead, Caldwell says, “confirm understanding through comprehension checks, frequent reviews, and hands-on application of key concepts.” She also uses games and other fun interactions in training.
To overcome such challenges, BKU focuses on practicality and quickly putting the learning into action.
BKU’s Risk Compliance training, for example, is scenariobased. “It’s balanced and broad enough for all employees to understand how the principles apply to them. We rely on local managers to reinforce the messages, provide clarity, and ensure understanding,” Aquaro says.
Additionally, she continues, “we believe you have to put learning into practice quickly after training to drive long-term behavior change.”
Logistics Matter Even More Abroad
Setting training times and locations goes beyond considering time zones. “Also consider the availability of safe and public transportation. For example,” Caldwell says, “some countries have special transportation to ensure women’s safety.” Training schedules should consider such factors, as well as the effect of inadequate infrastructure that makes travel times unpredictable.
Cultural restrictions in much of the Islamic world often limit the ability of women to travel alone or with men who are not members of their family. Therefore, managers in those cultures should ensure that female trainees have a female travel companion so they may participate in training, Caldwell says.
Also, be attuned to relevant religious and civic holidays, customs, and dietary norms. Caldwell advises a keen attention to politics, too, to minimize disturbances by strikes that shut down public transportation and government offices and make movement in a city difficult or dangerous.
