Business case studies – ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steel company, needed to asses the English level of almost 1,000 employees scattered throughout different countries. By choosing the World Speaking Linguistic Audit, they were able to do complete this complex task in only seven weeks.
The company
With over 326,000 employees in more than 60 countries, ArcelorMittal is a leader in all major global steel markets, including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging.
The challenge
When ArcelorMittal decided that English needed to become the working language in the Stainless Steel division, the first step was to assess the language proficiency of their workforce.
World Speaking had only 7 weeks to test a thousand employees across the globe. In order to ensure program success, ArcelorMittal also needed a multi-lingual online interface and local support service.
“Even though none of our sites are located in English speaking countries, we decided that English had to become the work language of the Stainless Steel division. In a very short amount of time, an oral and written language evaluation of a thousand people had to be completed. Therefore, we needed to find an assessment that was both easy to comprehend and to launch in 29 different countries.”
Agnès Chenard, Director of Workforce Development.
This intricate project was completed on time, thanks to World Speaking’s online audit technology adapted to ArcelorMittal’s specific needs.
The partnership
ArcelorMittal needed to perform a corporate linguistic level audit in order to put together an accurate inventory of their employees’ language skills. This was the starting point for a project aimed at making English the official language of the stainless steel sector.
The assessment was divided into two parts. First, each participant received a personal login code in order to complete the online evaluation. This consisted of grammar, vocabulary and oral expression questions which allowed World Speaking to access each learners listening and reading skills. The second part of the audit consisted of a live, one-on-one oral test with a trainer.
To ensure the participation of every employee, it was important to provide the learners with a convenient and easy way to schedule their session. Each learner scheduled their testing session via an online booking platform, the NetPlanning. With NetPlanning learners could chose the time slot most convenient to them, regardless of their geographic location. Specialized native teachers were mobilized to offer a large range of availabilities covering different time zones. At their scheduled hour, a teacher called each learner to evaluate their oral skills through a 10 minute interview.
“We especially appreciated the friendliness of the telephone consultants,” said Agnes Chenard, “With the quality of contact, the test was not viewed as a screening tool by our employees but rather as an opportunity to find out their language level.”
The World Speaking difference
A key advantage of the World Speaking assessment tool was its ability to save time by automating the registration process. This allowed for other value added activities such as personalized HR contacts.
To guarantee the global success of the project, ArcelorMittal also needed to overcome a major challenge: receive localized attention on a global scale. World Speaking made this possible. First, a global project manager entirely dedicated to the program coordination was assigned. Then, local teams were formed to provide support in different languages to both employees and training managers.
“This system was so fast and easy to implement. All it took was just letting World Speaking know the details for each trainee to be evaluated, and they did the rest. It is complete and ergonomic with the latest multi language interfaces, making it so easy to use!”
Agnès Chenard, Director of Workforce Development.
The Results
The results of each test were immediately available online to both the trainee and the HR directors. World Speaking consultants and local Training Managers also organized local briefing sessions to help interpret the data. The reports highlighted individuals’ aptitude as well as provided ArcelorMittal with their employees’ vital language level information.
World Speaking supplied each learner with a detailed breakdown of their vocabulary, grammar, comprehension and oral expression points. This allowed ArcelorMittal to better plan their language training programs using World Speaking recommendations.
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