HR
: Good morning Mr. Kevin. How are you doing today?
Manager
: Good morning Mr. John. I am fine. Thank you.
: I am glad we held a meeting to address some of the concerns of the management and the
employees regarding the language differences in the workplace. As you know most of the
workforce in our company speak Spanish quite well but are not fluent in English. As a result
of this,Management cannot clearly communicate with the employees and this is a major
concern for the company.
HR
: Yes. I am well aware of it. Many implications arise as a result of language differences
between the management and workforce. I have heard many times from the management
that the workers do not understand what the management tries to tell them. Like sometimes
they do not understand their roles in the job and they cannot clarify their doubts with the
supervisors or the management.
Manager
: This issue can be dangerous for the company in the long run.
HR
: Can you highlight some of the problems or conflicts that can arise because of
miscommunications.
Manager
: Yes.For instance,
Intercultural misunderstanding occurs as a result of
Miscommunications between the management and employees which can slow productivity
and undermine the capacity of employees to develop their skills.
HR
: And also language proficiency can handicap the company in its attempt to reach the
business goals.
Manager
: I have also witnessed that the regulatory constraints are not understood by many
employees because of their inability to understand English. As I was talking to the supervisor
about the safety training measures for the employees, he said that a training was conducted
for the employees two weeks ago, but the majority of the workforce was unable to
understand what the training was talking about. Because of their failure to learn the safety
measures in the workplace, they can easily hurt themselves while working.
HR
: The management has also mentioned that it is getting difficult with the workforce as they
cannot even understand a simple vocabulary.
Manager
:I understand . We have to come up with a solution for solving this issue.
HR
: So, What do you propose to solve this issue? As our company is struggling to contain
costs, so whatever measures we put forward, we have to keep in mind that they should be
cost effective.
Manager
: As per my opinion, few of the management workers can learn Spanish and few of
the workforce can be offered English classes. As of this also depends on the clientele as
which of the
Language their client knows. According to that they can make decisions on learning these
two languages.
HR
: And I think, one can acquire a teacher for a few hours to justlearn simple vocabulary so
as to understand the other person. It also depends on the location of the company.
Manager
: Another solution could be that the company hires a few bilingual employees. As if
the higher authorities only know the Spanish, so that there is not always the case that they
do direct contact with the workers, so the hiring of a few bilingual employees can solve the
problem in this scenario. Bilingual employees are readily available and can be cost effective
too.
HR
: Good communication can improve problem solving and thus help in decision making.
Even to acquire a client, one needs to be vocal as there is a need to maintain a balance
between a good listener and a speaker. Communication is the key.
Manager
: Perfect. I hope the measures we put forward help the management and the
