Why Aren't Companies in India Investing in Effective Communication Training for Employees?

The Importance of Effective Communication Training in India

Indians take great pride in education and the fact that English is learned and taught from an early age. While the knowledge is great, the execution is flawed. A cross between Hinglish is born, and in many cases, either the speaker has no idea it's wrong or finds an exaggerated accent works better to "identify" with the West.

Challenges in Training Programs

In my years of working in the support system (Training), I have observed restricted budgets and a lack of importance given to a substantial training period dedicated to building someone's soft skills or language communication. We can argue about the ROI, and I am willing to delve into that subject. However, I believe it comes down to the positive correlation between impeccable communication skills and the reflexive reaction by the customers or clients. People are willing to work more, build relationships, compromise, and negotiate with people who speak better.

And when training is organized, it's often haphazard, without a purpose or goal, and rather just to tick it off their client's expectations. You have a classroom full of blank-stared employees with varied proficiency and a trainer just spewing out grammar rules and cultural blips on American basketball and hot dogs for two weeks. I specifically talk about the MNCs here because, face it, in India, the culture of "up-skilling" employees and investing hasn't caught on. The only reason why MNCs do it is that their clients want it.

The Need for Investment in Communication Skills

So my question is this: Why aren't more companies investing in training their employees in communication skills that are more relevant to them? Why is it that when broached, no company is willing to admit that they have a need? And why aren't more HR and L&D departments more willing to invest in their employees' growth and capability?

We can't say all employers are ignoring training. It depends on the nature of the employer's business. When there is no need for client communication, either verbal or written, based on their business process, the employer may not show interest in investing money in employee training. On the other hand, employers in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) providing voice or non-voice services or in the hospitality industry, where client communication is crucial, invest quality time and money in training their employees from a business perspective. Also, during the selection process, they filter candidates with average communication skills, thereby minimizing their training costs to a great extent.

However, it is concerning that many employers view training costs as an "expense" rather than a "future investment." Employers facing higher attrition rates are reluctant to invest in training. Training is not a one-time activity and should not happen as a ritual. Training and Development are continuous processes where training needs are identified, post-training evaluations are carried out, and it should be a cyclic process.

Employers should proactively train their employees by hiring the services of professional trainers like Mr. Dinesh Divekar.