[Mac]

I continue to amaze myself; each time I go for a new challenge, I aim for the fence.

Not only am I trying to train a new maintenance employee, its in a language I have no flipping clue about. I could squeak my way by in Spanish but the employee in question is from the Czech Republic. I must give him credit, he is very eager to learn but he usually does not understand what he is being told. Aside from continually showing him, and re-showing him, and re-showing him, and re-showing him, etc, is there anything else anyone has tried with any degree of success? I am certainly not at my wits end as he does show potential but speeding up the learning curve sure would be awesome. Thanks!

[LandArts]

I've found most employees with a language barrier pay intense attention and once they've got it, they've got it...makes me wonder if your guy is really all that bright?

[Cochran]

Jak se mas, Mac. How did you communicate to Spanish speakers before you could comprehend the language? You may think about taking that same approach. Try to find a Czech/English dictionary to help you out. I wonder if there is a Czech/English translation site on the internet like you can find with Spanish/English translation...you could type in what you want to say and it would translate it and you could print it out to help the employee understand.

What I do--and it takes more training time than most of us actually have, especially this time of year--is work one-on-one with the individual and not just show them how to do it, but use simple English and then ask for the translation in their native language. I also ask them to repeat the English that I used while I repeat the language they used. This how I actually became (almost) fluent in Spanish. This is really time-consuming but I have tremendous success with this method.

Czech is probably hard to find someone who understands the language. We speak alot of Czech in my area, but it's the slang Bohemian style Czech.

Of course, LandArts could have a point, if you've shown him and he doesn't get it maybe he's not too bright or he's not very interested. Or he could just be confused since he doesn't understand what you're saying and he may need to start with simpler tasks...

[Fine Edge]

try free-translation.com.
Works for my Spanish, I think they have other languages too!

[Mac]

Landarts, I have found myself wondering the same thing also. We shall see how this turns out. After re-reading your post, I think part of the issue is that I am having to retrain this guy. He came from the company I purchased this winter and he thinks he knows the process; only problem is that he came from a company with no standards to my company with extremely high standards. When you say they pay intense attention, I agree with you- but this one isnt, probably because of what I just said. Hmmm.

Cochran, I appreciate the specifics that worked for you. I am going to have to give them a try. I sure would not mind learning Czech if it helps me communicate with him.

FE, appreciate that link - I thought about it already but I have not had the time to get there in the evenings.

[Mac]

Originally Posted by LandArts

I've found most employees with a language barrier pay intense attention and once they've got it, they've got it...makes me wonder if your guy is really all that bright?

Im pleased to report back that this individual, for the most part, finally "has it". He is not on it 100% of the time but 90ish% is workable for now.

I tried saying something in English and asking for his Czech translation back and from what I understood his response to say, he only has less than a high school education so he doesnt even know much Czech. Part of me feels bad for him, until he screws up something ive told him dozens of times - then i just get ticked as all get out. Anyways, the above comments were definitely helpful and I wanted you all to know I appreciate them.

[ashley3356]

That's good news!
I think if employees that speak another language try hard they will succeed at some point, but there are always some that don't want to learn and also pretend not to understand - this is where it get complicated!

[Mac]

Im fairly sure this one understands so much more than he leads on. Oh well, each day I pray for grace - and each day I get an opportunity to show it.

[jshilan]

Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. Learn how to lay out your designs on the ground (patios, bedlines, etc. and "x"s and "o"s for plant material). I have found that marker paint is the universal language. Do your back a favor and buy a "marker paint wand" too.

2. Sometimes ask your employees a question where the answer is "no". They learn very quickly to say yes to any question we ask because this is the answer we usally want to hear.