Hospitality and guest satisfaction is a people business. Above all, it’s about people serving people, which equates to guest satisfaction. Therefore, if guest search reviews and ratings for your establishment are less than positive, you could see a decline in registrations and a decrease in your bottom line before you can say, “TripAdvisor”. Most hotel…
Employee Safety for Non-Native English Speakers
The following statements may surprise you. But, believe it or not, studies have shown that unfortunately this is a growing trend in employee safety: Hispanic and Latino workers have the highest workplace fatality rate of any group Hispanic and Latino fatality rates are nearly 50% higher than the overall rate Fatality rates for occupational injury…
Effective Communication: The “It” Factor for Diverse Teams
One of the biggest challenges in any organization is effective communication. It is a skill that has to be learned by each member of the organization for communication to be effective. A lot goes into whether communication is effective or not, including knowing your audience, using the right medium, understanding and respecting differing communication styles,…
Employee Engagement in a Diverse Workforce
On a good day in HR, employee engagement is tricky. Working with different individuals who have different passions, come from different backgrounds, and view work differently presents many challenges in keeping a workforce engaged. This becomes even more of a challenge when we throw in a diverse workforce. For me, the bottom line in employee…
Gender Roles Across Cultures
If you live in the world today, you’ve inevitably seen how interactions and expectations can differ depending on the culture and gender with whom you’re working. Leaving aside the issues that may come up with language, there are many other unspoken factors that come into play when trying to communicate across cultures and genders. Knowing…
What Makes a 21st Century Business Great
The characteristics of a 21st century business can be described through trends, quantitative analysis and qualitative research, but if you were to assess your organization and your role, what values would you discover bring that label to life? I’ve found that I notice three patterns frequently: 1. Value variety in people (CQ and EQ anyone?)…
What is Cultural Competence?
Cultural competency has long been cited as one of the essential business leadership skills of this century– but some are still asking the question, “What exactly is cultural competence? What does it look like?” Cultural competence is simply the ability to communicate- both effectively and appropriately- with those of various cultural backgrounds. This ability, often…
A Personal Approach: The Case for Individualized Language Training
Everyone who has ever taken a foreign language course throughout their education can attest to the fact that learning a language is a difficult endeavor. Many people spend years in their secondary education taking courses in French, or Spanish, or German…. Only to be able to recite rudimentary greetings in a rigidly formal style. The…
‘Tis the Season: Holidays Around the World
The holiday season is fast approaching in the United States. Christmas trees can be seen in windows, and families are preparing to gather around the table to celebrate Thanksgiving. Other cultures, however, have their own holidays to celebrate. Now is a great time to learn about some important holidays around the world! Songkran Songkran is Thailand’s…
The Great Sage or a Close Friend: How Culture Affects Teacher and Student Relationships
As English as a Second Language teachers, one of our main challenges in a one-on-one classroom environment is to get the student to open up to us so we can accurately evaluate their needs and make sure their classes are beneficial. Depending on what culture the student grew up in and ascribes to can greatly…