Business Solutions

Case Study
Tata Consultancy Services

Case Study: Version 1.1

Business Solutions  1

Introduction

Good communication is the key to organizational success today. With

businesses In 46 countries, TCS wants to make sure employees
communicate effectively in English with global customers and
colleagues, regardless of their geographical location. To enable this,
TCS selected Pearson English Business Solutions ONE platform for
its efficacy, scalability, and financial viability. This award-winning, on-
demand, cloud-based solution develops Business English skills while
providing instant, on-the-job support for work tasks in English such
as writing emails or handling negotiations.

Industry
IT Services
Business Solutions
Consulting
Business Solutions 
Business Challenge
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting
and business solutions organization that delivers real
results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty
no other firm can match. We have more than 300,000
associates of 122 nationalities operating out of 46
countries globally.
In a global environment, communication is the key to
keep operations running smoothly in organizations.
As the global footprint of TCS expands, it becomes
imperative that the diverse workforce spread across
geographies develops proficiency in English to conduct
business and collaborate with teams globally.
The Culture & Languages Initiatives (CLI) from the TCS
Global Talent Development team drives competency
and proficiency in English across the organization. The
focus of the Business English training program was to
meet the challenge created by the scale and spread of
employees and the pressing need to make the program
work successfully by adapting the companys business
model. The other challenge was to train employees
working in client projects to take time out and attend
training in a predominantly classroom mode.
The solution was to move away from the traditional
instructor-led teaching methods towards flexible
anytime, anywhere learning that allowed employees
to acquire new skills on their own time, at their own
pace and in their own space. A program that would
quickly show demonstrable Business English skill-level
improvements while optimizing the productivity and
impact of the consultant going through the training was
the need of the hour.
2
Solution
TCS selected Pearson English Business Solutions ONE
platform, an on-demand, cloud-based solution offering
24/7 access to 10 levels of interactive Business English
coursework, speaking and pronunciation tools, live
virtual group classes, industry-specific terms and more.
Designed to deliver immediate results, ONE develops
Business English proficiency, while also providing instant
and relevant on-the-job support for work tasks such
as writing emails as well as contextual and cultural
learning that can be directly applied to more complex
duties, like negotiating, giving presentations, holding
conference calls and writing business documents.
ONE develops Business English proficiency,
while also providing instant and relevant on-
the-job support for work tasks
As part of a three-year contract from 2012 2015, 750
licenses were budgeted globally, with LATAM, India
and China seeing the majority of usage. Program
participants were selected by their managers based on
a direct business need to improve their English skills.
The CLI team set a basic target of having participating
employees advance two levels in 100 hours over a four-
month period. Using self-study material, e-learning and
virtual classroom interactions, the Pearson English ONE
learners were able to experience anytime, anywhere
learning on a variety of devices across various
environments and be selective in their learning.
To support the learners in achieving their targets, the
program featured a complete suite of reporting tools,
checkpoints and feedback loops to monitor progress.
Frequent dashboards sent to the learners, supervisors
and other stakeholders reported performance against
the targets.
To measure the impact of the program more thoroughly,
Pearson English Business Solutions and TCS conducted
surveys with local HR staff, assessing any changes in
skill levels and implementations on the job.
Business Solutions  3

Results
Having a common language results in smooth operation
of a large organization like TCS, improving productivity
and time efficiency. Surveys conducted for business
leaders showed at least 20% improvement in working
relationships and productivity, and a 33% improvement Qualitative feedback from business leaders on these
in time efficiency and customer satisfaction. parameters showcases the success of the initiative:

Before After

Associates are able to communicate and

Smooth Working Relationship
between fluent speakers of English
and participants who underwent this
program
Associate always had the fear of
communicating their thoughts freely
and were always passive due to the
fear of being misjudged.
express more confidently than the ones
who did not undergo the program. They
have better clarity of thought and have
been able to improve their diction and
vocabulary.

Associates are now spending less time

Productivity
(Is more work getting done now that
there is less of a language barrier?)
Associate delays their work due to
in translating and comprehending. This
the language barrier. This has always
has helped in better productivity and a
impacted the productivity.
planned and focused approach.

Today they understand the process

Efficiency of Time
(Is less time required now to understand
each other on mail or phone or face-to-
face due to a common language?)
Associate spends a lot of time
better, make less mistakes and are more
translating and trying to interpret. The
compliant. This helps in handling time
objectives are never met within the
in the most efficient manner and better
stipulated time frame.
utilization of time.

Platform is very user friendly and its an

Associates were always finding it excellent mix of listening and writing,
Customer Satisfaction
difficult to meet expectations. and the program has benefitted a lot of
associates.
Business Solutions  4

Additional data on the 750 licenses covered under the

current agreement:

59% of the enrolled participants have successfully

completed 2 Levels within a short term of 4 months.
This percentage goes up to 71% if we consider
one level movement from their original level. This
exceeds the expectation set during a normal course of
deployment.

Over 38k hours spent by the current set of learners,

thereby averaging 49 hours/user (ALL Users)

Over 162K Activities been completed with an average

of 208 Activities per user (ALL USERS)

Over 162K Activities been completed with an average

of 208 Activities per user (ALL USERS)

Ending Average Competency Level (based on coursed

passed) - 6.2 (slightly lower than the 2 Level target*)

About TCS Talent Development

Conclusion
Building on the results, TCS continues to expand the
rollout of the program across more countries, enabling
employees to access the learning anytime, anywhere.
In April 2015, a pilot program was rolled out into LATAM
to offer Employees family members (up to 4 members)
access to the digital learning platform they use from
Pearson at a subsidized cost. This will enhance the
employees learning as they can practice at home and
create a trickle effect within the community. Programs
like this demonstrate why TCS is recognized as a Top
Employer in Europe, Latin America and North America
according to an assessment by the Top Employers
Institute and continues to invest in the continuous
learning and excellence of its employees.
The Talent Development function is responsible for
designing and delivering learning programs to enhance
human capital of the organization across technology,
domain and leadership areas through its major
programs - Initial Learning Program (ILP), Continuous
Learning Program (CLP) and Leadership Development
Program (LDP).
The fast pace of organizational growth geographically
and in new technology areas has resulted in the re-
definition of the organizational learning direction from
being predominantly classroom to virtual. Anytime,
anywhere learning - facilitated by iQlass rooms,
eLearning, social learning, and virtual certifications
while leveraging the power of MOOCS.

Visit the below sites to learn more:

Tata Consultancy Services: www.tcs.com
Pearson English: www.globalenglish.com
Contact a Pearson English Representative: www.globalenglish.com/purchase/contact
2015 Pearson English, a division of Pearson plc