How do you make sure that the communication of policies, safety and in-house procedures are communicated most effectively to employees with limited English? Bilingual employees can be helpful in the day-to-day interpreting of verbal communications, yet for written translations, it becomes more complicated.
Communicating With the Diverse Immigrant Workforce in the U.S.
Fazoli´s, based in Lexington, Kentucky, has over 400 restaurants in 32 states. 90% of their Back of the House staff are Hispanics who speak little or no English. They are hard working and valued employees and smooth running operations cannot be slowed by their lack of English skills. So Fazoli´s has all of its training materials and recipes translated into Spanish. Through some costly mistakes, they learned that finding the right translators was key to effective written Spanish communication.
"We need our Mexican employee in California or Texas to understand the information as effortlessly as the Dominican in New York or the Guatemalan in Colorado," notes Keith Kildron, Manager of Associate Learning for Fazoli´s. As Fazoli´s discovered, Spanish-speakers use vocabulary specific to their country of origin. There are words that all nationalities understand, yet there are, for example, many Mexican words and expressions that are unfamiliar to those from other Spanish-speaking countries, and vice versa.
Kildron furthers, "Not all words and terms can be translated literally or they need to be explained in Spanish. Like most restaurants, we have in-house lingo, terms and branding issues to consider. For example, we have our ´pizza shake,´ which is our special blend of herbs and spices that is put on our pizzas. Our former translation company used the Spanish word for ´milkshake.´" "We appreciate our current translators who call us to ask us for explanations of specialized terms. We now feel confident that the Spanish document will express exactly what we mean in the English version."
Anita Sarad, Manager Benefits of Hilton Hotels World Headquarters in Beverly Hills, Calif., is proud that Hilton is ranked #13 in Fortune magazine´s list of America´s 50 Best Companies for Diversity in 2004. Sarad says, "We translate much of our important communications to Spanish because Spanish-speakers comprise the largest language group outside of English. We realize that it benefits not only our employees with limited English, but also our native Spanish-speakers who have learned to speak English, as they can understand such information as their medical benefits so much better in their own language. They appreciate that we make the effort."
"We had an instance where we had a document translated and the target employees didn´t understand the translation. We learned that there is a difference in a document that is translated word-for-word and one that actually makes sense so it is understood," continues Sarad. "We then found translators able to analyze a document and thoroughly understand it so the intent would come across to our employees. When we hired new translators I really depended on references from experienced H.R. colleagues."
Dave & Buster´s Restaurants, based in Dallas, Texas, has 34 locations in the U.S. and around the world. They had their employee handbook translated to Spanish as it was important to them to use the handbook as a tool to convey their culture, benefits and professional development opportunities to all their employees, while providing at the same time to provide a legal document. The handbook includes a glossary of in-house lingo that is very specific to the daily functions of the restaurants. Their translators spent time in a store with management and various Spanish-speaking team members to discuss the meaning of the lingo so they would be clearly explained in the Spanish version.
Legal Considerations for Translations
"Regulations vary from state to state. In California, for example, companies with 50 or more employees and where of ten percent or more of the employees speak a language other than English as their primary language need to pay attention. These companies are legally required to translate certain policies and notices into the language or languages spoken by these groups of employees." According to Carol D. Carty, employment attorney for Rutan & Tucker, LLP in Costa Mesa, Calif.. "Generally, businesses employing workers who have limited English reading skills should at a minimum translate the following policies: the equal employment opportunity policy, the policy against harassment, the at will employment policy, pregnancy disability leave and family care leave policies, voting rights policies, rest and meal break policies, conflict resolution policies, disciplinary policies and safety rules," furthers Carty.
From a legal standpoint, employee handbook policies are the first line of defense for employers in the event of an employee lawsuit. "From a practical standpoint, employees whose primary language is not English, may be more susceptible to isolation in the workplace and more in need of reference materials in their own language to understand policies and practices in the workplace. After all, a productive contributing employee is good for business," adds Carty.
Even the most well written employee handbook policies contain terms and technical language. A translator must be well educated in the language he/she is translating to and also have a strong command of and understand the tricky nuances of English. The translator must also be well-versed in employment policies and practices. "I prefer to use a translator who is well informed regarding the changing legal environment in which the workplace policies are being implemented," states Carty.
Translation is An Art and A Science
According to Hispanic Trends magazine, 87% of companies surveyed indicated that they prefer to work with language specialists. You need a translator who understands not only the words, but also the meaning. It takes skill and practice to be a translator and is not just a function of being bilingual. Be cautious in using an employee who happens to be bilingual to translate communications and consider that this is also taking a legal risk.
Many second-generation Hispanics, for example, learned to speak Spanish at home, but never studied it formally or learned to write it well. They are also unaware that their vocabulary may be unwittingly imbued with "Spanglish" terms and might use words such as "tournamento" for "tournament" when the correct Spanish word is "torneo," or "yarda" for "yard" instead of "jardÂn," or "lonche" for lunch when the correct word is "almuerzo." Utilizing someone like this to translate your employee handbook is akin to having an 8th grader write the handbook in the first place.
Literal translations can lead to confusion and even insults. For example, at an exhibit booth at a conference where English-speakers and Spanish-speakers were target audiences, an organization displayed a bilingual banner indicating that it was a non-profit organization. The Spanish version didn´t use the correct term for a non-profit organization, which is "organizaci"n sin fines de lucro," but translated the term literally, so that the Spanish version boldly stated that the organization was "not lucrative."
This issue can be especially important in the advertising and marketing arenas such as when the Dairy Association´s famous advertising campaign "Got Milk?" was translated directly into Spanish, which means, "Are you lactating?" (And other more negative connotations in street Spanish). Another example is when an airline advertised the luxury of their travel experience with the slogan "fly in leather," which was in Spanish as "fly naked."
What steps can you take to help ensure better translations for your documents? Below are some pointers.
Tips in Selecting a Translation Company:1. Work with professional translators who know the subject matter and terminology of your company documents. They should also be willing to work with you and be prepared to ask for clarifications of terms and lingo. You want to be sure they communicate just what you mean, not just produce casual, literal text.
2. The translators should be native speakers of the language they are writing and should have been educated in that language so they are well-versed in grammar, syntax and spelling. They should good writers in that language so they pay attention to flow and clarity in the translation.
3. A project is best completed by one translator/editor team so that they are consistent with terminology, flow and "generic" language. The U.S. is unique with its diverse Spanish-speaking workforce. The translators should be sensitive to this and be from different countries so they can check each other for regional vocabulary and be sure that they use generic or "newscaster" language.
4. Don´t wait until the last minute and expect an overnight job -- translating is time-consuming. You may jeopardize quality by expecting a too rapid turn around. A general rule of thumb is to translate 2,000 words per day. This may vary by translator and by complexity of the material, but this is a basic guide for planning.
5. Budget sufficiently for translations. Most translators charge by the word and the cost can vary, depending on the language, the complexity or legality of the topic and the difficulty of the terminology. Don´t choose your translators just based on the lowest cost; choose them based on the quality outcome and in meeting your other expectations.
6. On-line translation software has its place - for single words and some simple, direct phrases. Even a simple phrase can be risky A computer program cannot always grasp verbs from adjectives, for example. Among the hazards was a translation was about an employee who was fired, but the computer translation referred to the employee as being "burned." Another classic blooper was the past tense of "see" was not translated as "saw," but the tool used for cutting.
7. Outsourcing to other countries can be tempting, because they often offer lower rates, but it has its pitfalls. There is the danger of using regional language that can inappropriate for our diverse workforce in the U.S. Further, it is difficult to expect a company in Argentina or Mexico, for instance, to understand U.S. employment law, safety issues or other specifics and nuances related to your employment-related communication.
8. Be sure to begin with a clear, well-written English document. The better the original document, including consistent wording and good syntax and grammar, the better the translation. It should not be the translator´s job to interpret the English. A poorly written English source document will increase the likelihood of a faulty translation.
When considering the needs of your diverse workforce, companies will want to provide their employees with the communication tools to do their jobs better and to meet compliance requirements. As Hispanics and other immigrant groups continue to arrive in the coming years, it is best to be prepared. And high quality translations will help to meet your communications needs and will show your employees with limited English skills that you care enough to communicate in their own language.