Developing effective communication strategies for the Spanish and Haitian-Creole-speaking workforce in hotel companies

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore effective communication strategies for Spanish-speaking and Haitian-Creole-speaking employees in hotel companies. Design/methodology/approach: A case study approach was employed. Three employee, focus group interviews and semi-structured interviews with 12 managers were conducted in a resort hotel in Orlando to elicit critical factors related to effective communication strategies with Spanish-speaking and Haitian-Creole-speaking employees. Findings: It was found that the case study company mainly communicated with its employees through daily meetings, daily written information (e.g. hot sheets), wall postings, e-mails, and periodic monthly/quarterly meetings. It was found that bilingual employees often worked as unpaid translators and assisted their colleagues. Spanish and Haitian-Creole-speaking employees felt that not being proficient in English hindered their promotion opportunities. Differences were observed among English, Spanish, and Haitian-Creole-speaking employees in terms of style of communication. Some native-speaking employees seemed to refrain from communicating with non-English-speaking employees unless they communicated in English. Haitian-Creole-speaking employees spoke to other employees about only work-related issues. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies looking into communication strategies and challenges for Spanish and Haitian-Creole-speaking employees in hotel companies.