Diversity MBA Magazine - Summer 2008 - (Page 55)

EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT These statistics suggest that the American labor Doing It Right force may potentially suffer from a severe case of underemployment where the talent pool needed to How can you design, develop, or help implement a fill key positions may become insufficient. That may program to help integrate young Hispanics at your be bad news for the retiring baby boomers that rely company, particularly if you don’t speak Spanish? on wage earners to support their pensions, but it does Although knowledge of Spanish can be helpful, open a window of opportunity for experienced execuhaving a solid appreciation for the 30-plus cultures tives. Companies looking to fill entry level positions that comprise the Hispanic population is more with Hispanic candidates will need plenty of assistance important. Most people unfamiliar with Hispanic to properly welcome, manage, leverage, and retain cultures tend to equate the ability to speak Spanish this burgeoning workforce, estimated to surpass 27 with being Hispanic, but the truth is that not all Hismillion by 2016. panics are bilingual and many are only fluent in How, then, can Hispanic executives prepare to make English. In fact, the Spanish language plays only a themselves more marketable to an employer? minor role in making a Hispanic Hispanic. Customs First and foremost, they should favor companies and traditions handed down from earlier generathat are seriously preparing their employees to absorb tions, along with accepted teachings from the Cathoa younger Hispanic talent pool. Key ini- Most people unfamiliar with Hispanic cultures tend to equate the tiatives to identify ability to speak Spanish with being Hispanic, but the truth is that not should include comprehensive training all Hispanics are bilingual and many are only fluent in English. programs taught by qualified instructors who have experience teaching lic Church are far more prominent. Hispanics, mentorship programs designed to move To brush up on Spanish culture one could travel to Hispanic candidates up the corporate ladder, and Central or South America. Even with a brief visit to a meaningful scholarship funding efforts with local Hisfew countries such as Peru, Mexico, or Guatemala, one panic non-profit organizations. can begin to appreciate the wide variety of Spanish If your employer lacks a comprehensive initiative to accents and commonly used words and phrases. Some attract and retain Hispanic employees, then either countries use similar words for completely different encourage it to develop a new program or seriously meanings; for example, camion in Mexico is a transit consider working for another company. Firms that fail bus, while in Venezuela the same word is used to to recognize and prepare to integrate young Hispanic describe a heavy duty dump truck. Imagine the confuprofessionals into their workplace will eventually lose sion when a Mexican student living in Venezuela were their market to a competitor who does. Over the next to ask which camion to take to school! five to 10 years the need to integrate Hispanics in the If traveling is out of the question, one can still gain workplace will become paramount. Key issues driving a viable experience by getting involved with non-profit this change will have less to do about achieving harorganizations that serve Hispanic neighborhoods such mony in the workplace and more about balancing the as the Boys and Girls Club of America. Most of these supply and demand between 78 million retirees in organizations are filled with the very same Hispanics need of a steady pension and a soon-to-be equal numthat one day will be looking for employment. Learning ber of young Hispanic professionals seeking a viable to mingle with Hispanics now, especially while they career path. are still young, is an excellent way to become exposed If what we were taught in Economics 101 about free to a wide variety of Hispanic cultures without leaving markets being governed by the balance between supUS soil. Over time, many of these cultural encounters ply and demand holds true, then over time one could with Hispanics will undoubtedly help any executive to expect retirees to elect politicians who write legislation become better prepared for the future workplace that in favor of integrating Hispanics in our communities lies ahead. |dMBA| -- not because retirees have had a sudden change of heart for granting amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants but rather because the trade-offs from having Tom Kadala, a graduate of Cornell University their pension checks cut off due to unacceptable levels and the Harvard Business School, is the presiof underemployment in the US will have become dent of ResearchPAYS, Inc. (www.researchpays. apparent. These same retirees could also exercise net)., a strategic business consulting firm deditheir combined leverage on US financial markets by cated to the development and expansion of Hisonly investing in companies that seriously support panic consumer markets. He can be reached at corporate training programs for Hispanic employees. tom@researchpays.net. 55 June 2008 Top 1 0 0 Unde r 5 0 D i ve rse Le ade rs http://www.researchpays.net http://www.researchpays.net

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Diversity MBA Magazine - Summer 2008

Diversity MBA Magazine - Summer 2008 Contents Letters to the Editor In Your Own Hands Editor's View Find Your Power Voice Business Briefs Off the Shelf The Fourth Annual Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Corporate Executives Negotiation: The Art of Persuasion or Zero Sum Game? Career Planning for Tomorrow's Hispanic Workforce Who's Who In Diversity Entrepreneur Profile: Anita Santiago: Doing It Her Way Businesses that Keep On Giving Rising Sun Going Global: Will An International Assignment Benefit Your Career Work-Life Balance and the C-Suite: An Oxymoron? A Call to Save Travel: Off the Beaten Path - Chile Drawing the Line – Latin Art Exhibit The New Taste of Latin Cuisine American Sabor: Exhibit Highlights Latino Influence in Pop Music Crafting Specialized Business Degrees Latest MBA Salary Suggests MBA Is A Safe Haven Gadgets & Gizmos Gone Phishing – How Scammers Mine Private Data From Web Surfers Advertiser's Index The Meaning of Sanctuary

Diversity MBA Magazine - Summer 2008

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