| Vuepoint held its most recent biannual Client Forum, where Rick Taniguchi of Toyota Motor, Europe (TME) delivered a presentation on the unique challenges associated with localizing e-learning content for training a multinational, multilingual workforce.
As General Manager, Toyota Academy Europe, Mr. Taniguchi is responsible for creating e-learning-based training for 3,500 retail outlets in 26 countries, comprising 23 different languages and numerous cultural differences. Training employees across Europe requires a delicate mix of delivering the right content, to the right people, at the right time – in their local language and in a manner relevant to their local culture. As a Vuepoint client, TME is currently using the company’s flagship e-learning product, the Vuepoint Learning System (VLS), to develop and disseminate training content to TME employees and to the Retail Network.
“The key to developing e-learning training platforms for a multinational workforce is to keep the de facto content as simple and universal as possible, including icons, graphics and general wording that are not culture-specific,” said Mr. Taniguchi. “Content that requires minimal customization maintains the brand promise enterprise-wide.”
The Vuepoint Client Forum is a biannual event that provides a platform for the company’s clients to share knowledge with each other and with the company’s product developers with the common goal of optimizing the collective usage of the VLS. Client feedback obtained during the forum provides critical input to product developers on what features and functions are most needed in future versions of the VLS. Clients are invited to give presentations on best practices and practical knowledge gleaned from their unique experiences using the VLS in their specific business environments.
“Rick Taniguchi’s presentation is not only timely – given the globalization challenges facing many of our clients today – but practical in that he dispensed invaluable advice on how to utilize the Vuepoint Learning System to overcome geographical and cultural hurdles,” said Ara Ohanian, president and CEO, Vuepoint. “Companies using the VLS are able to rapidly transfer product and brand knowledge to all employees – which has been integral to our clients’ efforts to raise sales at the point of purchase – where the employee directly interacts with a prospect.”
|