Your Spanish-speaking workforce could cost you thousands of dollars a year
--- unless you learn the inside secrets you need to manage them effectively!
Latin American immigrants are among the hardest working employees a company can
have. Yet, many employers complain about job performance problems.
Case Study: “Boss or Dictator?”
What? After Maria was promoted to manufacturing supervisor, production dropped, absenteeism increased and overall bad morale predominated. Management, unable to figure out what went wrong, asked Sheri Long to intervene. She interviewed the employees, who complained that Maria had changed from being their buddy to acting like an unreasonable, demanding dictator.
Why? The dictator boss approach is the pervasive management style in Mexico.
~ Business School Director at Mexico’s esteemed university, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Solution: Provide leadership training in Spanish that shows your Latinos in leadership positions how to adapt their strengths to the U.S. style of managing people.
|
Have you had complaints like these?
-
“Maria didn’t show up yesterday and never called.”
-
“Juan says, ‘Yes, Boss’ and doesn’t do what I ask him to do!”
-
“My Latino workers are always complaining and gossiping about each other.”
-
“Lupe misses deadlines even after we agree on a completion date.”
-
“My workers’ compensation claims are skyrocketing.”
-
At times it becomes such a problem that employers like you want to throw up their hands, fire everyone and start over.
Sound familiar?
If so, here’s good news!
Usually these costly problems are NOT due to whom you’ve hired, but how you manage them.
Specialized methods based on sound management principles can help you resolve job performance issues and maximize your Hispanic immigrant employees’ contribution to the company.
Now let me share the secret I alluded to above.
You can avoid these problems!
 Hi! I'm Sheri Long. My consulting company is Amigos At Work. I help management understand and work with cultural
and language differences so your Hispanic immigrants go from being
untapped “Diamonds in the Rough” to applying their talents to helping your
company excel.
Case Study: “Yes, Boss.”
What? A dairy farmer asked Juan to dig a small ditch by the barn while he ran errands. Juan responded, “Yes, Boss.", so the farmer thought Juan understood where he wanted the ditch. When he returned a few hours later, he was surprised to find a ditch dug all the way around his house!
What happened? Out of respect, Mexican employees answer “Yes, Boss.” They never question the boss’ instructions, even if they don’t quite understand them.
~Human Resources Director at a Tijuana maquiladora
Solution: Train supervisors in cross-cultural communication so they learn
to ask Spanish-speaking workers to repeat back what they understood, rather than
asking for a yes or no answer. Coach Hispanic employees on how to ask their
bosses to clarify their instructions.
|
|
For instance, a California garment processing plant increased production by 30% after Amigos at Work educated management on cross-cultural relations and conducted leadership training in Spanish for the production manager, supervisors and leads. Your company can improve results from this untapped talent pool as well.
It’s not your fault that you don’t have the right keys to unlock the
potential these immigrant workers bring to your company. The techniques
are simply not discussed because not many people know them.
Case Study: Deadlines
What? Ricardo, the Latino team leader at a printer, consistently promised
deadlines he couldn’t meet. Customers complained and nothing changed. So some
customers left and found more reliable printers.
Why? Deadline translates to ‘plazo de entrega’ which literally means
‘period of delivery’. In English ‘deadline’ translates to ‘date and time of
delivery’. Period refers to a span of time, not a distinct date and time. These
semantics could possibly account for a more relaxed concept of deadline found in
Latin America
~ Sheri Long, contributor to HR Hero Ezine feature, Team in Trouble
Solution: Educate his supervisor in the meaning of time in different
cultures. Show the supervisor how to help Ricardo develop a plan to establish
realistic deadlines and hold him accountable for following his plan.
|
|
I understand
the cross-cultural dynamics because I have dedicated my 25-year career to helping Latinos succeed in dealing with American cultural differences. I grew up with migrant
Hispanic workers who lived and worked on our family farm near the Mexican
border in Yuma, Arizona. When I attended the University of the Americas in
Mexico City for two years my entire social life was immersed in the local culture.
This lifetime of first-hand personal and professional experience, plus my advanced degree, uniquely qualifies me to teach you the tools you need to develop your Hispanic employees’ untapped potential.
In fact, I guarantee it!
If you don’t experience a 10% improvement, I’ll refund your money.
Contact me to discuss what methods will work best for your company.
|
