Getting a good retention rate for English courses in London.

Getting A Good Retention Rate For English Courses

Posted on May 17, 2023

We wish everyone was as hot on staff English training as we are. But when things get busy at work, sometimes it’s the students’ managers who talk them into working overtime rather than going to that English class.

So to avoid this, talk to the line managers before the course starts. Emphasise that the staff will be able to do their jobs better and stick around longer if they speak better English and they’re happy.

The staff really want these English courses, right? When they sign something to say they understand their company is paying for this and they will attend, it makes a real  psychological difference to their attendance.

Some of our clients get the students to pay part of the course. The courses are pretty cost effective per person so even half the course fee doesn’t add up to that much. And when people pay for courses, they’re more likely to make the most of them.

Anyone can organise themselves to commit to a course if they know it’s only a couple of months.

Are you anticipating being snowed under at Christmas with everyone on overtime? No problem, we’ll just schedule a break then.

Pop Your Head Into The Training Room Now And Again

We keep track of attendance in our English courses but there’s nothing like the manager keeping a visible eye on you to keep you coming to class.

When do the staff finish their shifts? If it’s way before the class, this is likely to harm your retention rate for English courses.

The best time for English classes is usually shortly after the staff finish. This avoids employees having to hang around when they’d rather be on their way home. Alternatively, right before shifts start can be a good option.

Going back to the students’ line manager buy-in, make sure they’re not on the rota to work when they should be in English class.

We can do the registers or you can, we’re easy. But it’s important to keep track of repeat offenders so we can ask you what happened. Sometimes we lose students due to staff turnover, in which case you can replace that student if you’d like.

The worst thing that can happen is that staff drop out of their English classes  because they don’t like something. Not everyone is as assertive as we’d hope, and some feel their level of English holds them back from complaining.

That’s why this year we started to send online feedback forms to students as well as getting feedback from HR. Students can fill the forms in their own languages and it helps us see what’s what.

Only Work With The Most Personable And Engaging Teachers In London

Our wonderful teachers are what sets our English courses apart from those of other providers. Yes, the language is important but a good teacher needs to be motivating too in order to keep the students coming back.

What Happens If Students Do Drop Out?

The first thing is to solicit feedback from that student, could we have done something better? If they didn’t like something about the teacher, scheduling or anything else, it’s possible their classmates also feel the same.

When you get staff English training at your company through Orchid English, you can substitute one student for another if the original student drops out. We don’t want you to waste your investment, and then another employee can benefit.

We hope this article answered your questions on how to get a good retention rate for English courses. It’s certainly something to keep an eye on but with good planning we should be able to keep numbers high throughout the course. 

Pop us an email here for great English classes at your company in London or give us a call on 020 8150 7239. 
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