Landscape Management, March 2010
DONT BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY Your Hispanic employees attitudes and approaches to work can create some on the job challenges BY BARBARA MULHERN continued on page 62 picture yourself in this situation You have an all Hispanic or nearly all Hispanic crew One of the crewmembers isnt pulling his weight But you dont fi nd out about it until you personally visit one of his job sites or you dont fi nd out about it at all Well put these guys Hispanic workers together on crews says Maria Anaya a bilingual Latina woman who serves as a liaison between Spanish speaking workers and management at Kujawa Enterprises Inc KEI in Oak Creek WI Theyll never come to us and say Hes not doing what he needs to be doing Anaya says Instead another guy will pick up the slack Its almost a code of honor among the crews We have to go out and watch them to see whos working and who isnt Understanding your Hispanic workers cultures not only will improve relationships it also makes good business LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET MARCH 2010 60 sense Potential barriers Here are some additional cultural issues you may come across that can be barriers to effective communication and or safe work practices Risk taking Risk taking is viewed as the norm in certain countries such as Mexico particularly among young Hispanic males In one incident in California a 19 year old Mexican native who had been doing landscaping PHOTOS COURTESY RICK ROLLO KUJAWA ENTERPRISES INC KEI When training your Hispanic workers closely watch their facial expressions to see if they really understand Then have them repeat back to you what they just learned
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