Overcome Workplace Language Barriers
April 2008

Our increasingly diverse population enables us to hire highly talented employees from other cultures. But different cultures often mean different languages and employees who have a limited command of standard English. That can be a problem.

How can you communicate effectively and involve all your employees if you’re not sure all of them understand what you’re saying or writing? How can you ensure that all employees feel they are heard and understood, whether they’re from Cairo, IL or Cairo, Egypt? And how can you be sure you understand what they are saying, if they can’t say it well in English or are too embarrassed to try?

English Only?

One easy, but problematic, option that many companies adopt — at least on a de facto basis — is a “standard-English-only” approach. However, most experts agree that this often causes more harm than good. It hurts morale, impedes development of relationships among your diverse cultures and fosters miscommunication. There may be legal concerns as well, depending on your state and city laws.

At the same time, employers must be aware of legitimate needs for English communication to meet customer needs and ensure safety. As you deal with language problems, remember the basic goal: to create an organizational culture where language is not a barrier to an inclusive and productive work environment.

Focus on the Job

Most importantly, focus on the job itself. Carol Miaskoff and Earnest Haffner, of the government’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Office of Legal Counsel, have written that “an employer may require English proficiency when it is needed for satisfactory job performance.” But, as they noted in an online discussion, such requirements need to be reasonably applied. It may, for example, be sufficient to have only one English speaker per shift, rather than requiring all workers on the shift to speak fluent English.

What Is English?

Even when employees are native English speakers, miscommunication can occur if you assume that a woman from Bangalore and a man from Jamaica will understand the standard English you use. English use and idiom vary not only all over the world, but in different areas of the United States.

A few years ago, one well-educated HR officer from London, working for a large Midwest corporation, leaned into an office to tell one of his female American colleagues that, “I’ll knock you up at 6.” It wasn’t until he saw all the amused and bemused expressions that he realized the term has a different meaning in America than it does in the UK. (In Great Britain, to “knock someone up” simply means to call on them.)

Be Practical

While it is not legally required that employers translate work-related documents such as policy manuals into multiple languages, it may be a practical necessity in order to ensure understanding and compliance.

Paul F. Davis, a mediator and conflictresolution specialist in Goldenrod, FL, suggests that employers show good faith by learning at least some key words of non-English-speaking employees’ languages and asking them in turn to improve their English in order to enhance their promotion possibilities.

Getting Language Right

Davis also offers some basic recommendations for HR managers who deal with employees with limited or non-standard English language skills:

• Listen carefully before you speak.
• Ask questions to ensure clarity.
• Never assume you know what was said. Repeat what you think was said to confirm understanding.
• State the course of action you intend to pursue based on the information given.
• Be polite and respectful, not demanding or impatient.
• Respect the individual, regardless of your preferences and beliefs.
• If there is any doubt, seek a translator or other means of overcoming any language barrier that interferes with the basic goal - communication.
• Don't ask your employees to do something you are unwilling to do yourself.

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