Imperial
Tobacco
Multi-language eLearning induction
One
of the biggest challenges facing multi-national organisations
is ensuring that all new staff receive consistent, high
quality induction training. Traditional classroom induction
courses are expensive to run (travel, accommodation, time
away from the business, etc.), inefficient for small numbers
and inflexible.
In 2006 Imperial Tobacco selected
TNA to create a CD-ROM based induction program that would
lead new employees through every aspect of the company’s
business, from its origins through a review of the tobacco
industry, the company’s manufacturing, sales and
support operations, its vision and values, and its future
direction.
The program is narrated throughout
and includes interactive video interviews with senior
management.
An important requirement was that the program content
must be able to be easily translated into other languages
without re-programming. This is something we have handled
many times before, with projects managed and delivered
by TNA in Japanese, Russian, Arabic and most European
languages.
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The induction program delivered to Imperial Tobacco has
all its on-screen text (including menu button labels,
screen titling and instructions) and voiceover narration
held in external files (xml and mp3).
The tool provided by TNA automates
the creation of new xml files directly from the storyboard
script Word files. So, to produce a German version for
example would simply require our client (or TNA if they
preferred) to follow these steps:
- translate English Word scripts
to German
- generate German xml files using TNA tool
- record German version of narration from translated script
- edit and save German mp3 files, using file names from
script
- place German xml and mp3 files in appropriate folders
The eLearning would now be able
to run in English and German! The use of xml files also
enables Unicode fonts to be specified for the display
of ‘double byte’ and ‘right to left’
languages such as Arabic.
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