What do Nobel prize-winning physicist Max Planck and management guru Peter Drucker have in common? Like many great thinkers of all kinds, they saw that one key principle was tied to success and goal achievement more than any other. There are several versions of their theory, but essentially it is this: “What gets measured, gets better.”
In business, profits are a fundamental measure of success, but many different metrics contribute to the result. Companies that track their overall progress towards stated goals—called “key performance indicators” or KPIs—often realize that investing in the language skills and capabilities of their people can drive profits in a number of ways.
Better measurement, better decisions
Are your employees developing the kind of language skills and abilities that are most practical and relevant to your company’s needs and real-world situations? Defining your language-learning KPIs will help you to see if a program is targeting and addressing the specific areas, behaviours or changes you and the learner really want to focus on.
Language-learning providers commonly track metrics like time-spent learning, vocabulary growth, or level progression. To be truly effective, especially in business, we believe that learners must be able to “perform” in the language, with suitable vocabulary, grammar…and at levels appropriate to the industry and their role in it.
Metrics chart the path of progress
Are learners becoming able to write effective reports? Deliver impactful presentations? Do their communications resonate with their audiences? This level of proficiency requires confidence and delivery skills, as well as vocabulary and good pronunciation.
For employees learning a new language, honest measurement allows them to see their progress. They come to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses, which, in turn, enables training to be customized or adjusted for them personally. Nothing is more encouraging and confidence-building for a learner than seeing the gap start to close between what they can do today and what they want to achieve in the future.
Language Advantage coaches also have the training and abilities to help those interested in tracking general language-ability levels as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) or the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB).
Clear targets, greater precision
Learners develop strong, trusting relationships with their coaches. This spikes interest and a willingness to take chances, because there is no risk of negative judgment or fear of making a mistake. Coaches who have these relationships with learners are better able to adapt lessons and focus on features that are the most “fit for purpose.” Students learn more quickly and with more confidence. They develop good learning habits that they take with them as they continue to develop their skills and comfort level in the new language.
Clearly, employers and the employee-learners themselves are interested in quick, lasting improvement in people’s ability to work, converse or perform specific tasks in the new language they are learning. This, along with the individual learner’s beliefs about their own abilities, language proficiency and areas they most want to improve, is what matters. Add some objective metrics about their progress and its impact on the company’s KPIs and you may be convinced that, with respect to your company’s language-learning programs, it is indeed true that “what get’s measured, really does get better.”
