4 Reasons You Need Your HR Documents in Spanish

If you are a small business owner or corporate CEO who operates with in the United States, and provides employment to those who are not native English speakers, this one is for you.

As a functional business, you are probably already aware that a large part of your HR Department should be focused on creating a job title, job descriptions, employment contracts, employee handbooks, company policies, employee benefits, and a company culture your new hires will seek out. But are you aware it is equally important to have all of those process and additional HR documents translated into Spanish?

As it is the second most popular language spoken in the United States workforce, you are only holding your company’s employees back if you are not properly providing them the most important hr documents. It is when provided the proper bilingual human resources that your employees can read and understand their documents, that they will be more engaged and invested in their work.

Still not sure if you’re ready to translate your HR documents from English to Spanish, below are five reasons why.

1. Be in Compliance with Federal Law.

Federal law requires that employers provide certain documents, such as the employee handbook, payroll records, employment contract, company policies, and health insurance opportunities in a language that employees can understand. So if you have even one Spanish-speaking employee, you’ll need to have your HR documents translated into Spanish to comply with Federal HR Department Standards.

When HR documents are translated into Spanish, your employees will be able to understand their rights and responsibilities to the best of their abilities giving them the ability to speak up when they do not understand your employment terms making you an inclusive employer. This will also mean you’ll have a greater chance at avoiding misunderstandings and conflicts within your recruitment process and following into your performance evaluations.

2. Communicate More Effectively with Your Employees.

When you have properly displayed the job description and provided the opportunity for your Spanish speaking employees to experience the HR processes, you’ll improve overall communication with your employees long-term. You are setting them up for success and lowering your need for constant performance management because they’ll be able to understand what is expected of them from the start.

After all, effective communication is essential for maintaining a positive and productive work environment for all of your employees. This includes:

• Making sure that your HR department is always accessible.
• Ensuring employee handbooks and other materials should be clear and easy to find
• Encourage open dialogue between employees and managers.

Lastly, as you encourage communication with your employees as the leader within the business you need to listening to your employees and effectually communicating your own expectations and goals clearly.

3. Create Trust With Your HR Professionals

Your employees need to be able to understand their rights and responsibilities at any time during their employment contract. HR documents contain important information about an employee’s job descriptions, tax forms, job responsibilities, their offer letter, records of poor performance, background checks, legal information, and the additional human resource documents you need to reference since their start date.

If your employees are unable to read or reference these documents, they may not know what is expected of them or what their legal rights are which is against the federal law. This can cause distrust and have resignation letters hitting the HR Team quicker than the job ads can bring them in.

4. Correctly Train New Employees Who Do Not Speak English Fluently

Training new employees is always a challenge, but it can be especially difficult when there are language barriers present. So in order to ensure that everyone is on the same page and safe, it is important to take some extra steps when training a new employee.

First, provide training materials in both English and the employee’s native language just like the employee handbook and other important HR documents. We’ve spoken above about the many benefits your new employee will have from properly translated documents.

Second, use visual aids as much as possible. Pictures and diagrams can be very helpful in conveying information about common procedures.

Third, be patient and take the time to answer any questions that the employee may have for the HR Department or managers. By taking these extra steps, you can make sure that your new employees are properly trained and ready to hit the ground running.

Are You Ready To Translate You HR Documents? Get Started Today!

At the end of the day, having HR checklist documents translated into Spanish is beneficial for both you and your employees. By making your onboarding process more inclusive, you’ll avoid extended misunderstandings and conflict, improve overall company communication, make your workplace more productive, and attract and retain top talent.

All of this is possible with the help of a professional translation service, like English to Spanish Raleigh who can make sure that your HR documents are properly translated and that they serve their purpose: to protect both you and your employees. Contact one of our translator below or call 919-995-2986!