Training a team that does not share a language
A safety course, a product training, an onboarding. Delivered once, followed by everybody in their own language.
In a workforce of several nationalities, mandatory training is either repeated per language or delivered in one and signed off as understood. The second is what usually happens, and it is precisely the problem: the signature does not mean it was understood.
Where the audio comes from
From the trainer's microphone, or from the computer if the course is online. It is the same setup as a classroom, except that here being able to show the training was delivered in each person's language usually matters.
How it is set up
- 1
The course room is registered with the language it is delivered in.
- 2
The trainer uses their usual microphone, in the room or online.
- 3
Each attendee picks their language when they open the link.
- 4
The transcript stays per language, with timings, as a record of what was said.
Why it fits training
The course is delivered once
No repeating the same session per language, no hiring trainers by tongue.
A record of what was said
The transcript per language, with its timings, is the evidence of what was explained and how. For mandatory training, that matters.
It can be looked up afterwards
Whoever did not catch something rereads it in their language, without interrupting anybody.
The same online or in the room
In person with a microphone, or inside a Teams meeting. The same credit and the same result.
When this is not for you
If the training has legal standing in a specific language — a health and safety certificate, say — machine translation does not stand in for it. It makes the course better understood; it does not turn a course given in Spanish into a course given in Polish for legal purposes.
Questions people ask
- Does it count as training delivered in that language?
- It depends on the rules that apply to you, and generally no. It makes it understood; it does not convert a course given in one language into one given in another for legal purposes.
- Can I give it to somebody who could not attend?
- The transcript, yes. If you want the audio, record the session and upload it afterwards — which is also cheaper than live.
- How many languages can I have open?
- All fourteen, at once, out of the same audio. The first costs a whole minute and each one after it 0.35.
- Does anything get installed on staff computers?
- No. A link in the browser, or the app inside Teams if the course runs there.