5 Tips To Mitigate Online Training Globalization Risks

5 Tips To Mitigate Online Training Globalization Risks
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Summary: You cannot foresee every bump in the road, but knowing the risks involved can help you plan ahead. In this article, I’ll explore 5 common online training globalization pitfalls and tips to avoid them.

How To Mitigate 5 Online Training Globalization Risks

The primary players in every online training project on a global scale still remain content developers, online learners, online instructors, project managers, and system administrators. Every transaction of information between these people is fraught with perils. Hackers from all regions can tamper and modify information as it is being transferred or uploaded. Or your L&D team doesn’t keep the accounting department up to date with budgeting details. Knowing how to mitigate these risks is essential for the success of your global online training program. Here are 5 online training globalization risks and tips to mitigate them. Some may be unavoidable. However, you can still reduce the impact they have on your expense sheet and deployment timeline.

eBook Release: How To Create Online Training Experiences For A Worldwide Audience
eBook Release
How To Create Online Training Experiences For A Worldwide Audience
A summary of all you need to know in order to develop online training content for a global audience.

1. Monetary Risk

One of the major online training globalization risks is without a doubt the market risk. Will you get a substantial ROI? Will the increase in employee productivity justify the significant costs involved, such as purchasing new technology, hiring, and modification costs? Incurring losses after globalizing an online training program is every manager’s worst nightmare.

Proper Prior Market Research
To minimize monetary risk, analyze the demand before introducing your online training course in every country. This way, you will avoid instances where you launch an online training course where it's not wanted or needed. For example, employees don’t require the compliance online training course in their region because they have completely different laws and regulations. You can also conduct proper research on your competition and come up with creative ways to do things better than them. For instance, they currently provide mini-workshops in local markets to boost engagement and get employees actively involved.

2. Copyright Risks

Content creators are charged with developing meaningful online training materials that are quickly consumable for your remote workforce. While performing their duty, they face the risk of illegitimate use of material by the users. In a normal situation, only a corporate learner should have access to online training resources. Can your organization have a full guarantee that the information will not be shared without full permissions, though? Online training tutorials and other training material are at risk of being shared once they reach corporate learners. If the proper security protocols aren’t in place, virtually any online training material can be stolen, shared or reused illegitimately.

Digital Right Management For Online Training Resources  
Digital Right Management (DRM) should be used for copyright protection and license agreement. DRM guarantees the safety of online training content and prevents unauthorized copying. Using DRM assures authors that the learning material they share is safe and they feel secure working with you. Therefore, content creators and developers are more likely to join your eLearning team and bring their expertise with them instead of being afraid that all their hard work will be for naught, thanks to unscrupulous data sharing.

3. Content Quality Risk

Once you go global, how effective online training course will be is not a certain thing. There is no guarantee how people will receive your online training content. You might be a reputable institution who prides itself on a top-notch online training program. But if you develop sub-standard material, your reputation is at risk. Content quality is greatly affected by culture. For example, online training content that is good for one culture may be considered sub-standard for another. This is based on societal norms, beliefs, and personal biases.

Careful Design And Testing Of Online Training Content 
Careful design and testing help minimize content quality risks. Ensure that you design your online training programs to fit the needs of every target group. Establish pilot programs before, so that you can test how effective they truly are and how they will be received in every region. You should also consider focus groups in every locale to test the waters and gather valuable feedback.

4. Privacy Risks

In many cases, online training programs involve group collaboration. For example, employees engage in online discussions. This information, together with what online instructors contribute to the online discussions, is stored electronically. This storage poses great privacy risks to the participants if safety measures for the Learning Management System aren’t in place. The login information of corporate learners and online instructors is also stored online and, if compromised, translates to a breach of privacy.

Cryptography
Cryptography warrants confidentiality. Cryptography refers to the art of preventing third parties from accessing private information by constructing and analyzing protocols. Using cryptography for your global online training course will prevent third parties from accessing private information. This way, you will prevent instances of breach of privacy and ensure that your user data is safe and sound. As a result, employees won’t have to worry about their information falling into the wrong hands, which makes them more likely to participate in the online training experience. Another safety precaution to think about is using firewall controls outside access to your LMS platform. With a strong firewall, direct access to your local network is prevented, hence you lock out hackers.

5. Managing High Initial Costs

High initial costs are unavoidable when going global. You will require new sophisticated technology, new staff and proper training for all team members. All these things require you to dig deeper into your pockets. At times, unexpected costs may arise, such as higher translation costs than what you had budgeted for or lengthy revisions that delay deployment and incur more expenses.

Proper Planning And Budgeting 
It is always wise to leave a margin of uncertainty in your budget when going global. At times, costs may arise and pose challenges that you didn’t account for. You can minimize high initial costs by creating a detailed timeline and an accurate budget right from the start. This should include maintenance costs that are required to upkeep your localized online training content.

This knowledge helps you plan ahead and mitigate online training globalization risks. Do your homework beforehand to determine what your localized audiences require and the best way to keep your data safe from prying eyes. You should also conduct several test rounds to ensure that your online training content is relevant and relatable in every region.

Are you ready to expand your online training program on a global scale? Download our free eBook Going Global: How To Create Online Training Experiences For A Worldwide Audience for tips on how to globalize online training and find the best LMS for your remote workforce. It also features a step-by-step guide to globalizing your online training content and explores the unexpected benefits of expanding your corporate eLearning program.

Originally published on March 15, 2018