Executive Housekeeping Today - February 2008 - (Page 16) FOreign-BOrn WOrkers (continued from previous page) ers. Besides using a buddy system, the department also offers ESL classes four hours per week for 20 weeks during the staff members’ work schedules. The department also provides Arabic classes for those who want to learn the local language. In addition, the housekeeping department provides a six-month on-the-job training program that includes practical assessments and online certification in order to ensure quality and consistency. And, in the case of foreign-born workers, the department uses videos and DVDs that do not contain any speaking and uses some cartoons in order to break down practical training step-by-step. McGee’s department also utilizes color and picture training aids in order to break language barriers within his department. In addition, they will bring interpreters in to help the staff while they are in the process of learning English from the ESL courses. And, like the department at Reynard’s facility, new employees are given a basic understanding of the work requirements through a buddy system. They are shown and led Ronna Timpa, President of Workplace ESL Solutions LLC (pictured middle), stands with foreign-born workers at The Signature, a five-star hotel in Las Vegas. She was hired to help their employees get ready for Mobil; therefore, she worked with Mobil and the management at the hotel to make sure she was teaching the housekeepers specific language that was aligned with the Signature Standards. through demonstrations of the cleaning expectations and are then placed with a working supervisor for a period of about two weeks. The supervisor will observe the work performance during that period and make arrangements for further training/demonstrations if necessary. This way, training is standardized for everyone within the department. Timpa says that it’s important for the housekeeping staff to learn English so they can communicate with other employees and guests that visit the facility. For example, learning to ask for extra towels or an extra blanket; reporting a lost and found item to security; reporting an overflowing toilet to engineering; reporting a burned out light bulb to housekeeping; and giving information/directions to guests and customers is very important to the image of the facility. Furthermore, employees should learn English that is specific to their workplace, such as the motto A foreign-born supervisor at the University of Maryland leads an educational session for the housekeeping staff in order to standardize expectations for the department. 6 Executive Housekeeping Today/February 2008
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