[lg policy] Ireland: When getting Fresh with your staff gets hopelessly lost in translation
Harold Schiffman
hfsclpp at gmail.com
Mon Mar 9 01:06:19 UTC 2015
When getting Fresh with your staff gets hopelessly lost in translation
*PUBLISHED*08/03/2015 | 02:30
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<?Subject=When%20getting%20Fresh%20with%20your%20staff%20gets%20hopelessly%20lost%20in%20translation%20-%20Independent.ie&Body=When%20getting%20Fresh%20with%20your%20staff%20gets%20hopelessly%20lost%20in%20translation%0A%0AVariety%20is%20the%20primary%20boast%20of%20the%20supermarket%20industry,%20and%20the%20earliest%20supermarkets%20were%20actually%20known%20as%20%27variety%20stores%27.%20Shoppers%20flock%20to%20these%20large-form%20grocery%20outlets%20because%20of%20the%20seemingly%20infinite%20choice%20arrayed%20on%20their%20shelves.%20%0A%0Ahttp://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/when-getting-fresh-with-your-staff-gets-hopelessly-lost-in-translation-31044298.html>
Variety is the primary boast of the supermarket industry, and the earliest
supermarkets were actually known as 'variety stores'. Shoppers flock to
these large-form grocery outlets because of the seemingly infinite choice
arrayed on their shelves.
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Yet, despite the rich abundance, there is little danger a customer will be
overwhelmed. That's because convenience is one of the secondary boasts of
the supermarket industry. Each shop is divided into clearly-marked sections
- meat, dairy, fruit 'n' veg etc - and individual products can be selected
with ease. With good reason, supermarkets are also known as convenience
stores.
Theoretically, the blending of variety with convenience should also be a
guiding principle when it comes to customer service in an increasingly
multi-cultural age. Many retail stores are staffed by employees from a
variety of countries. For the convenience of all concerned, it seems
entirely reasonable shop workers should strive to communicate with
customers in English, the common tongue of the general populace.
However, words are loaded weapons and poorly-deployed words have a nasty
habit of backfiring - as we were reminded last week by a rancorous
controversy about efforts to impose language restrictions on staff at a
Dublin supermarket.
The row began when management of the Fresh group issued a circular
instructing its employees to speak English at all times, including while on
their breaks. Fresh has been in business for over five years and has four
stores - the company employs 156 people from 20 different countries. The
diversity of the workforce reflects the ethnic composition of the
population in the city where the shops are located - and this is as it
should be. Nevertheless, store managers say the use of an assortment of
languages on the shop floor has led to "misunderstandings". It has also
resulted in a small number of customer complaints. Hence the felt-need for
a language rule book.
Good memo-writing is an art-form and skilled practitioners know how to
issue instructions without sounding like they are barking orders or barking
mad. Unfortunately, all too many memos are written in haste and the effort
by Fresh's HR department to lay out its "communication policy" was a case
in point. The circular starts reasonably enough, outlining the rationale
behind the promotion of English as the company's lingua franca, but quickly
degenerates into something more akin to a tongue-lashing.
Staff were told that even if they are working alongside a colleague from
the same country, they should refrain from using their native language. The
memo also warned employees heard speaking anything other than English could
be "subject to disciplinary action". Even a word out of place, it seemed,
would trigger a crackdown by the in-store language police.
Predictably, it wasn't long before the circular went global. A copy of the
memo was published on the satirical website Broadsheet.ie, and its contents
soon became the subject of widespread derisive comment on social media. OTT
charges of xenophobia and employee harassment abounded, and some
over-excitable correspondents even accused the supermarket chain of racism.
Fresh's Facebook page was inundated with abusive messages.
Much of the criticism centred on the circular's threatening tone. The
prohibition on speaking any language other than English during rest breaks
was rightly denounced as heavy-handed and unenforceable.
Testimony from other contributors highlighted the complexities involved in
the imposition of hard and fast language rules. Customers of overseas
descent explained they enjoy using Fresh stores precisely because of the
opportunity to exchange a few words in their mother tongue with fellow
ex-pats. Irish-language enthusiasts also entered the fray, arguing the
English-only policy was an affront to their cultural rights
As the lines of attack proliferated, company bosses moved to quell the
outrage. Noel Smith, founder and MD of the Fresh chain, issued a statement
apologising for any offence caused. He conceded "mistakes" were made in the
formulation and expression of the chain's language policy, and said an
updated approach had been devised in consultation with employees. "We are
encouraging our staff to speak English or Irish in the workplace and this
doesn't apply to rest periods," Smith explained.
That should have been the end of it. Even after the public apology,
however, Fresh continued to receive disparaging comments and hate mail. The
virulence of the response was regrettable as the central issue the company
was seeking to address is an important one.
Good customer service in an English-speaking nation requires frontline
staff are willing and able to speak English. Most of us have encountered
situations where an employee's inadequate grasp of the language has
rendered communications impossible. The problems which arise are not the
individual staff member's fault but rather a manifestation of employer
carelessness. A company that sends out someone with poor English to
represent it is not a company that values customer relations.
A shared language is a prerequisite for a shared society. Supermarkets
provide a pretty good model for what a diverse but integrated society could
look like: it would be unfortunate if we allowed piety or timidity to blind
us to the fact that variety and convenience are eminently compatible.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/when-getting-fresh-with-your-staff-gets-hopelessly-lost-in-translation-31044298.html
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