GB512_Knode Jenny Unit 4

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Jun 13, 2024

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1 Researched Proposal To Yvonne Biggs: Creating Esl Program For Team Members Submitted to Yvonne Biggs Director of HR Chick-fil-A Hagerstown/ Sharpsburg Pike Prepared by xxxx Marketing Director Chick-fil-A Hagerstown/ Sharpsburg Pike 10/16/2023

2 Memorandum (Use for internal communications) To: Yvonne Biggs, Director of HR From: Jenny Knode, Director of Marketing Date: 10/16/2023 Subject: ESL Program for Better Communication between FOH and BOH After a year of hardwork and hiring we finally have a full staff for both our Hagerstown and Sharpsburg Pike locations. This is an exciting time for our company and all of our team members. I would like to bring an issue to light that I have noticed at both stores recently. As you are aware most of our kitchen staff is Spanish speaking while our front of house team is english speaking. I have started to notice a disconnect between the two especially during peak hours when communication is most important between BOH and FOH. As you know,the front needs to know that there is a hold on food, that the chicken is dropping, and if we run out of any products. The back needs to know if there are any special orders, if there is a bus coming, and needs updates on the wait outside. I propose we offer free ESL classes to our spanish speaking team members. This not only allows for more efficient communication between all parties, but gives our Spanish speaking team members the opportunity to work on their english which will help them both at work and in their personal lives. At Chick-fil-a, it is part of our company culture to genuinely care for our team members and give them the tools they need to succeed both here at Chick-fil-A and for future endeavors. We have a program in place to pay for our team members' college education through Point University. As long as they stay with the store they will have a free college education. Since education is so important, we should allow a program where our Spanish speaking team members have the opportunity to learn English. This program will allow for better communication with their fellow team members but also open new doors to them that might not have opened if they didn’t know English. This program could be online where it doesn’t interfere with their schedule much like Point University is for the team members who wish to pursue college. An article from the National Immigration Form shared “ An estimated 1 out of every 10 working- age adults in the United States has limited English language skills, holding many back from advancing to more-skilled and better-paying jobs and hindering the competitiveness of many businesses” (National Immigration Form, 2020). By not offering this essential class for all employees who may not know English that well, we are doing them a disservice and not being good stewards. While many of our team members are well experienced and talented, the lack of

3 language skills will severely limit their chances of advancement and economic growth and stability. We want to prepare our team members to excel in whatever they may do, whether it’s staying with Chick-fil-A and growing, or seeking other opportunities outside of the company. I am requesting to find a solution to add an ESL program to our employee benefits program and how by adding it, the program will benefit our Spanish speaking team members and the company. I will achieve this by utilizing scholarly articles from the Purdue Global Library, Google Scholar, and other internet sources. I will be using articles from SHRM and the National Immigration council just to name a few. I will provide preliminary research data to support this proposal idea and to provide Chick-fil-A with the information it needs to make a decision regarding adding ESL has a benefit for working for Chick-fil-A. I have located a number of other major companies that offer ESL classes and have gathered information from their experience to apply to our current and long term situation. I will provide preliminary research data to support my proposal idea, Creating Esl Program For Team Members, and to provide Chick-fil-A with the information it needs to make a decision regarding adding ESL as a benefit for working for Chick-fil-A. Thank you for your time and I look forward to working together on this program. Jenny Knode Director of Marketing Chick-fil-A Hagerstown & Sharpsburg Pike

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4 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to acknowledge the communication challenges between the FOH and BOH. Both departments have been struggling to effectively communicate with each other. Food waste and guest complaints have gone up since our hiring process back in June by 5%. The solution I am proposing is to offer ESL classes as a benefit to working at Chick-fil-A Hagerstown and Chick-fil-A Sharpsburg Pike. Not only will this help both teams effectively communicate with one another, but also allows those team team members to gain the language skill to help them succeed in their future endeavors. Whether that be with Chick-fil-A or elsewhere. In this report I will explain the requirements to start an ESL program at our office. I will go over the time and cost overview. I will also expand on why ESL is such an important program to offer for our work place and the success rates of other companies and individuals who take these classes. The proposal is backed by scholarly articles and insider experience on ESL in the workplace. The key ideas presented in this report are the importance of ESL. “ One out of every 10 working-age adults in the U.S. has limited English-language proficiency” (SHRM,2023, p.2 ). This applies to some of our own FOH and BOH team members. This difficulty in communicating has been hurting both stores. “Excellent communication skills are especially important in the hospitality industry because they can help to build rapport with guests, resolve conflicts, and create a positive overall guest experience.Clear and concise communication helps to avoid misunderstandings and miscommunications that can disrupt the flow of operations” (Les Roches, 2023 p.3). If we include an ESL to our benefit program it will allow for better communications since everyone will be on the same page. We would not need to hire translators nor use a bluetooth translating device. ESL should not be treated as an expense but as a smart investment. In turn we build comradery among our employees and create better career opportunities. However with that being said the average course costs roughly at local community colleges $405 plus $45 for the textbook for each level of ESL. There are five different levels of ESL: Beginner, Intermediate, High-Intermediate, Advanced, and High- Advanced. English Tutor, an online tutoring service, says “ at 3 classes per week, you can complete a conversation course in 9 to 12 months. After completing a full course, expect to communicate like a ‘Western’ thinker, show strong confidence & speak with natural accent” (Online Tutoring, 2023, p.1). This is definitely a long term investment seeing that it does take almost a year to complete each level. However, the reward of having an employee being able to speak, understand, and read English is a lifelong skill that will be useful to them. The conclusions reached in this report highlight the importance of ESL. While a long term investment in both the program and the employee, the program not only fixes a short term problem but allows the team members to work on their own personal development. “ Taking the opportunity to learn English as a Second Language can provide students with a host of benefits – increased economic opportunities, knowledge about other cultures and points of view.It is recommended that we look into offering an ESL program for our employees. We can look to see if Point University offers an ESL program. We could also look into partnering with our local community college, Hagerstown Community College. Table of Contents Memorandum (Use for internal communications) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Table of Contents

5 Background Project Description Budget Presentation Of 3 Stakeholders’ Viewpoints Conclusion References Background Recently we have seen an increase in bad guest complaints (CEMS),over ordering of products which leads to high waste, and speed of service has gone down as well. While most of the team is new. We now also face a language barrier between some of our team members. I have started to notice a disconnect between the two especially during peak hours when communication is most important between the FOH and BOH. GrubHub Mentions “ When you start introducing

6 multiple languages into a restaurant kitchen, you can expect an adjustment period as staff from different linguistic backgrounds learn to communicate. Whether you’re running a Spanish restaurant or you simply have a diverse staff, a few communication and inclusive best practices can create a more welcoming environment for everyone on the team” (GrubHub,2023, p.2). Yusuf 2023 writes For workforces whose English is a second language (ESL), writing in the workplace demands them to understand the complex nature of workplace texts. Workplace writing is a complex process as it is situated within the dynamics of writers and texts (p.1). We have recently hired two interns for a Spanish Internship. These two interns will help translate conversations. We also have leaders who speak English and Spanish fluently to help with conversation. However these team members can’t be here all the time. By providing ESL courses to our team members we are not only fixing a communication issue between the parties at work. We are also allowing the professional development of these team members. “Competency in English is crucial to employability and advancement to the more lucrative and often more creative niches of the workplace” (Myles, 2009, p.3). Research also shows “that workplace English classes do more than attract non-English-speaking immigrants who are eager to expand their language skills. They benefit businesses because improved English proficiency correlates with increased employee engagement and retention” (SHRM,2023, p.2). Here at our store we strive to see our team members grow. We usually promote within. If we offer this, we will have the ability to be great leaders not only for our company but for other businesses in the workforce as well should the team member choose to leave. We are in the business of caring, and we need to care for our team members in the long run. Project Description In order for the ESL to succeed, we need to reach out to corporate to see if they have any recommended partners for ESL. If corporate does then we will follow corporate procedures in order to accurately achieve our goal and to ensure we are following all corporate policies. If corporate does not have a list of partnered ESL programs, we will need to research and find the right program for us. We could reach out to Point University to see if they offer any classes. Since we use them for our post secondary degrees, it could be easier to just continue with them and add ESL onto our account. If in the event Point does not offer ESL. We will need to determine if we want our team to have ESL classes in person or online. This will determine which path we wish to pursue and lead us in the right direction to find the right program. Once we have found the program. We will need to come up with a proper budget to factor in the ESL classes each year. We will also need to come up with an internal marketing campaign to let team members know we offer this great service for them. This could be posters, posts on Basecamps, and promoting this offering in our hiring campaign. ‘

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7 Once we have finances in order and team members signed up, we will be able to start scheduling classes. Once the team has been in their classes for a while we should hopefully start to see some progress occur in terms of communication between FOH and BOH. Budget If we have 35 Spanish speaking employees and they all want to participate in ESL, based on the year time frame to complete a level and the prices set by Online Tutor. We are looking at somewhere around $15,000 to complete one of the 5 levels. All 5 years would be around $75,000 for those 35 all together. If we compare this to the cost of a year of college in Maryland, 22,380 (Reeves, 2023). They are both around the same price. As the graph shows, ESL is cheaper each year compared to Point University. With the exception of the 5th year for ESL learn to obtain a High-Advanced level. Now, like point University, this is free to the team members. Randy, who is the operator of our stores, pays personally for each team member's education. We will need to run this by Randy to make sure he has the budget to do Point and ESL. Presentation Of 3 Stakeholders’ Viewpoints Employees Currently, both BOH and FOH are displeased with the lack of communication and understanding between the two parties. BOH employees have expressed their interest in learning more English

8 because they want to move up and see that growth in themselves. However they all know they need to cross that language barrier in order to see that positive change in themselves. Managers Shift Leads and Directors are just as upset as team members. The shift leads who speak both English and Spanish feel like a messenger pigeon, relaying messages back and forth. If the team was able to speak English they would be able to focus on their jobs and not act as the messenger Customers At the end of the day, our customers suffer due to our lack of communication. Orders are late, forgotten, special orders are brushed aside, and catering does not get the attention it needs. Causing catering orders to come out late and upsetting guests. If we had properly communicated and listened, we could have avoided upsetting our guests. We strive to create a quality experience, but in order to live up to that Chick-fil-A Standard we need to fix our communication problems. RECOMMENDATIONS As mentioned before, I strongly recommend that we look into offering an ESL program for our employees. We should look to see if Point University offers an ESL program. Since we use them for all of our college programs. Point could already have an ESL program in place.It could be as simple as asking them to add it onto our current plan . If not, we could also look into partnering with our local community college, Hagerstown Community College. However, it is always best to contact corporate to best see on how to proceed and to see if they have any programs they recommend. Conclusion In conclusion, in order to create a better experience for our guests we need to work on ourselves as a company. That starts with taking care of our team members. We want to see them succeed and live up to their fullest potential. By adding an ESL class to our benefits program. We not only help the store by creating clearer communication, but we are allowing our team members to succeed. It is our goal at Chick-fil-A to care for others and “win hearts everyday”, and that care extends to our team members. I implore you to please reach out to corporate and see if there’s any programs available for our proposed ESL classes. Please let me know if you have any further questions. xxxxxx Director of Marketing Chick-fil-A Hagerstown 999-999-9999

9 References Cope, D. (2021, February 20). English classes help retain immigrant workers . SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/all-things-work/pages/english-classes-help-retain- immigrant-workers.aspx Cottam, S. (2023, July 11). Communication skills in the hospitality industry . Les Roches. https://lesroches.edu/blog/communication-skills-in-hospitality-industry/#:~:text=Excellent %20communication%20skills%20are%20especially,a%20positive%20overall%20guest %20experience. English Tutor Online. (2015, November 25). Course length - online ESL course length . https://www.englishtutoronline.com/english/course-length/#:~:text=You%20can%20take %20as%20many,confidence%20%26%20speak%20with%20natural%20accent. Igitten@grubhub.com. (2023, March 21). The importance of a multi-lingual restaurant staff . Grubhub for Restaurants. https://get.grubhub.com/blog/multi-lingual-restaurant-staff/ Mubashir. (2023, August 10). What is ESL and why is it important?: NCC . Northwest Career College. https://www.northwestcareercollege.edu/blog/what-is-esl-and-why-is-it- important/#:~:text=Taking%20the%20opportunity%20to%20learn,communicate%20in %20a%20second%20language. Myles, J. (2009, June). June 2009 volume 13, Number 1 - files.eric.ed.gov. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ898196.pdf Reeves, J. (2023, May 23). Average college tuition by State . OnToCollege. https://www.ontocollege.com/average-college-tuition/ Upskilling New Americans: Innovative English training for Career Advancement . National Immigration Forum. (2020, April 9). https://immigrationforum.org/article/upskilling-new- americans-innovative-english-training-for-career-advancement/ Yusuf, N. K., Razak, M. I. A., Rahman, M. F. A., Noor, A. F. M., & Kadir, N. A. A. (2021). A Phenomenological Inquiry into ESL Workplace Writing Experiences. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry , 12 (9), 2669–2678.

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