Many multinational organizations are in a state of flux often switching from centralized to decentralized models for everything from HR to Learning & Development to Marketing. There are clearly advantages and disadvantages of each model and demands from the business regions for a local vs. global approach are often at play.

When it comes to corporate learning, many organizations struggle to roll out global programs for a variety of reasons – most notably the difficulty in finding truly global learning partners that can also provide local support at a reasonable cost.

“A centralized and global plan allows us to rely upon a standardized platform worldwide.”

In the case of global language training programs, few companies have achieved success and instead have adopted a patchwork approach with numerous vendors across multiple regions. This inefficient model delivers varying standards of learning outcomes and poor visibility and transparency of return of investment.

In the case of Medline Europe, previously each of the Medline offices across Europe, Asia and Africa was responsible for its own language training provision.

“In most countries, we had different language training plans, with varying degrees of success.”

María Martínez, HR Manager
Medline Iberia (Spain and Portugal).

The idea of standardizing training policies arose back in 2013, when Medline’s Madrid office first started working with Learnlight and learned more about Learnlight’s unique global capability.

“At the start, we worked with Learnlight along with other training providers,” recalls María. “Thanks to [their] virtual training [programs], Learnlight allowed us to start courses at different times and offered us flexibility when it came to changing the approach to lessons, the trainer, or the times when employees could log on and access their training. A system with pre-scheduled face-to-face lessons can hinder attendance and even cause learners to drop out,” she commented.

Based on the success of the new learning approach and innovative technology, María shared her findings with HR teams in other Medline countries. Her proposal to roll out this new learning model was well received. The first step saw a pilot project launched to test the learning platform and new training methods in the other countries. The success of this pilot then saw the full rollout to all employees across 14 countries.

“A centralized and global plan allows us to rely upon a standardized platform worldwide.”

María Martínez HR Manager
Medline Iberia (Spain and Portugal).