Thread: How can employers help employees who speak different languag

http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles ... 5owens.asp

Agenda: Multilingual Workforces
Multilingual Workforces
How can employers help employees who speak different languages
work in harmony?

By Donna M. Owens

When David Hodges launched a gourmet food business in 2002, his first apprentice was a newly arrived Mexican immigrant with a solid work ethic but shaky English.

“I met Javier while volunteering, teaching English in a local literacy program,� says Hodges, owner of Palazzo Foods, a producer of specialty bread products in Collingswood, N.J. “He spoke limited English, but honestly, my Spanish was a whole lot worse.�

At first the two struggled to communicate at workâ€â€