American companies are increasingly having to learn how to manage bilingual workforces. In some cases this means leveraging the advantages of being able to conduct business in two languages with one set of staff, in others it means the greater challenge of learning to manage staff whose native, and perhaps only language differs from that of their management.

It is this latter issue that we will particularly focus on in this article, as it is vital for companies to meet this challenge effectively if they are to survive.

A great many issues can arise from poor employer/employee communications, depending on the nature of the employer's business, but common to all businesses are issues of:

·        Reduced productivity;

·        Poor efficiency;

·        Health and safety;

·        Low employee morale/poor staff-management relations.

There are several areas to consider when developing a strategy to manage a bilingual workforce, each of which can be used to compliment other measures.

Determine Your Requirements

In some areas, the linguistic requirements for workers may not be easy to define – for example, in construction and agriculture – how much English or Spanish is enough to do the job?

In other types of job, however, determining and defining language requirements is a vital part of recruitment. Warehouses and distribution centers, for example, often have large numbers of staff involved in following printed instructions for picking orders, storing goods and other similar tasks. In this case, a written comprehension test can be devised to establish their level of English comprehension. It is worth noting that their spoken English might not need to be up to the same level as their written comprehension.

Two-Way Street

Many employers are increasingly taking a proactive approach to removing the language barriers in a bilingual work environment by not only encouraging their workers to learn English, but encouraging and facilitating their managerial staff in learning Spanish.

This approach has been proven to offer a number of advantages. Incidences of miscommunication, sometimes with dire safety implications, can be avoided. The need for translators is considerably reduced, and workers feel more respected when their supervisors make some effort to speak Spanish, even if not fluently, improving morale and employee relations.

Similar benefits can be observed as a result of Spanish-speaking employees learning English. Improvements in confidence, productivity and team morale are seen when communication barriers between staff, and sometimes customers, are removed.

It's important to remember that a little can go a long way with languages. Just being able to handle basic conversation helps gain respect, trust and goodwill – vital in any working environment.

Start from the Beginning

It has been well-documented that the quality of an employee's induction process can have an effect on their success and happiness in that role, and in an organisation that employees a significant number of non-native English speakers, it can be worth making the employee induction process available in Spanish. This can help to ensure that the new employee starts their career at that company with a thorough understanding of the policies and procedures they need to follow, and a positive impression of and attitude towards the management of the company.

In the medium-term, such investment can pay generous dividends, as future problems are avoided.

There is no doubt that bilingual workplaces are going to become more and more common in the United States, and so it is clear that companies and managers who learn early how to manage bilingual workforces will benefit in the short, medium and long-term by developing more productive, efficient, safe and profitable workforces for their businesses.