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I think my company's desperation-hiring is gonna bite them in the ass real soon. We have one part-timer who can only speak Spanish (used to have two, but one was let go due to an inability to follow directions), and really no department wants to deal with him. Shuffles is pretty much the only one in the store who can actually communicate with him, but that has become a problem for everyone else (unnecessary step in asking the dude anything).
Now, we have two very new hires who only speak Haitian. No English, no Spanish (the hiring manager spoke to them through a translator, which makes me wonder are they going to need a translator with them every day?). The only person in the store who speaks Haitian fluently is another cashier and she is not going to be happy when she finds out she's expected to be the liaison between these two new hires and everyone else. Of course, any lack of comprehension on their part is going to come down on the rest of us.
I'm all for immigrants getting jobs, but if you want to be hired by a company wouldn't you at least make an effort to learn basics of the language? I'm not even sure how they filled out the online application as it's English/Spanish only. Google Translate is all well and good, but you can't expect to rely on a translation service in the workplace all the time.
Now, we have two very new hires who only speak Haitian. No English, no Spanish (the hiring manager spoke to them through a translator, which makes me wonder are they going to need a translator with them every day?). The only person in the store who speaks Haitian fluently is another cashier and she is not going to be happy when she finds out she's expected to be the liaison between these two new hires and everyone else. Of course, any lack of comprehension on their part is going to come down on the rest of us.
I'm all for immigrants getting jobs, but if you want to be hired by a company wouldn't you at least make an effort to learn basics of the language? I'm not even sure how they filled out the online application as it's English/Spanish only. Google Translate is all well and good, but you can't expect to rely on a translation service in the workplace all the time.