In the U.S. labor force, one out of every two new workers was born elsewhere. With immigration reform looming on the horizon, many employers are uncertain what the implications will be for their club. What is certain and unchanging, however, is the need to develop and retain good workers. With an Hispanic workforce, whether in the clubhouse, on the golf course or in other areas of the club, a key component to success is helping bridge the language gap.
Do we train our non-English speaking staff to learn English? Do we train our English-speaking managers to learn Spanish? Do we translate our employee handbooks and other materials into Spanish? These are common questions, not just in clubs but also across industries, as employers struggle with a multilingual workforce – and with largely English-only management.
English training: English language skills are crucial for your employees. Guest interactions may not be among the official duties of a dishwasher or groundskeeper, but it’s crucial that they at the very least be able to greet guests and answer basic questions, as well as have the confidence to smile and give eye contact when doing so.
It often takes years to learn English, but learning basic, job-specific English can be accomplished in a relatively short time. Employers who offer onsite English training find not only an improvement in guest service, but also higher morale and engagement, fewer accidents, increased productivity and lower turnover among employees
Spanish training: “Our business is English” is a common statement used to explain why management has not learned Spanish. However, when your managers and staff learn enough Spanish to greet and compliment employees and ask how their kids are doing – not to mention learn about Latino culture – you’ll find a more positive work environment where employees feel valued and appreciated and want to do a better job for you. Even a half-day workshop can help accomplish this, but there are numerous other helpful onsite and offsite options.
Translations: To translate or not to translate? With so many written materials, from employee handbooks to open enrollment details to safety information, it’s difficult to know how to prioritize. On top of that is the question of whether translating these documents serves to discourage employees from learning English. It doesn’t. While learning to speak English is a lengthy process, being able to read and understand the advanced language of your harassment policy and medical insurance options is far beyond where many immigrants will ever get in their language skills.
Translate everything you can, and focus your energies on helping your employees develop the two most important skills that will help that at work and in the community: listening and speaking. Keep in mind, however, that over 40 percent of the U.S. Latino population has less than a high school education.
Given that, the more reader-friendly your documents can be (e.g. bullet points over long paragraphs, incorporating images and diagrams), the better. And don’t assume that just because you translate a document, your employees will read and understand it. With important policy changes, for example, be sure to have a Spanish-speaker verbally walk employees through important points.
The language gap in the workplace can be frustrating, but it can also be dangerous, inefficient and costly. Investing in developing the language skills of your non-English speaking employees, teaching your management some key Spanish expressions and translating your written materials will pay off numerous times over and help make sure that nothing gets lost in translation.
