Your supervisors are not going to become benefits experts, and there is no reason that they should. They do, however, need to understand just how important benefits are.
We now know that bilingual supervisors have an enormous impact on benefits understanding and utilization. However, they are not prepared to give advice on this topic, and often wind up providing misleading, incomplete, or outright incorrect information.
Spanish-speaking employees often feel that if one of them accepts a promotion, that person has sold out to the Dark Side. He is no longer one of “us,” he is one of “them.”
Bilingual supervisors and foremen are very rarely prepared to give well-informed, up-to-date advice about employee benefits. However, all too often, they are all too willing to address questions they don't really know the answers to.
Spanish speakers very often think that an employer would prefer to replace a higher-paid senior employee with a new-hire who will work for less per hour.
Very often, Spanish speaking employees have been raised to be very wary of corruption and “estafas,” or scams, and often it would not surprise them at all to learn that their employer was doing something illegal or unethical.
Our system is difficult enough to navigate for those of us born and raised here. So people who come to this country from Latin America to work are often extremely confused, as they are accustomed to a very different way of doing things.
DebugScreen: mobile
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"uri": "/2019/07/12/light-bulb-moment-numero-11-even-more-pointers-for-supporting-bilingual-supervisors-benefits-communications/",
"title": "Light Bulb Moment Número 11: Even more pointers for supporting bilingual supervisors' benefits communications",
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"summary": " Your supervisors are not going to become benefits experts, and there is no reason that they should. They do, however, need to understand just how important benefits are. ",
"body": null
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"uri": "/2019/06/11/light-bulb-moment-numero-10-more-pointers-for-supporting-bilingual-supervisors/",
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"summary": "I am going to give some more advice here, and you may not be happy about it. So be forewarned. ",
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{
"uri": "/2019/05/01/light-bulb-moment-numero-9-supporting-bilingual-supervisors-in-benefits-communication/",
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"summary": "We now know that bilingual supervisors have an enormous impact on benefits understanding and utilization. However, they are not prepared to give advice on this topic, and often wind up providing misleading, incomplete, or outright incorrect information.",
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{
"uri": "/2019/04/23/light-bulb-moment-numero-8-the-role-of-bilingual-supervisors-in-benefits-communication-part-three/",
"title": "Light Bulb Moment Número 8: The role of bilingual supervisors in benefits communication, part three",
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"summary": "Spanish-speaking employees often feel that if one of them accepts a promotion, that person has sold out to the Dark Side. He is no longer one of “us,” he is one of “them.” ",
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{
"uri": "/2019/04/18/light-bulb-moment-numero-7-the-role-of-bilingual-supervisors-in-benefits-communication-continued/",
"title": "Light Bulb Moment Número 7: The role of bilingual supervisors in benefits communication, continued",
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"summary": "There are a few common benefits questions that might be brought to a bilingual supervisor, rather than to HR or the broker. ",
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{
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"title": "Light Bulb Moment Número 6: More on the role of bilingual supervisors in benefits communication",
"byline": "Melissa Burkhart",
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"uri": "/2019/03/11/light-bulb-moment-numero-5-the-role-of-bilingual-supervisors-in-benefits-communication/",
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"summary": "When a benefits package needs to be explained in Spanish, employers, brokers, and benefits managers normally turn to two strategies. ",
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"uri": "/2019/02/05/light-bulb-moment-numero-4-spanish-speakers-often-feel-they-are-easily-replaceable-and-dont-understand-the-cost-of-turnover/",
"title": "Light Bulb Moment Número 4: Spanish speakers often feel they are easily replaceable and don't understand the cost of turnover",
"byline": "Melissa Burkhart",
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"summary": "Spanish speakers very often think that an employer would prefer to replace a higher-paid senior employee with a new-hire who will work for less per hour.",
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{
"uri": "/2019/01/23/light-bulb-moment-numero-3-spanish-speakers-are-often-skeptical-of-having-money-taken-out-of-paychecks/",
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},
{
"uri": "/2019/01/17/light-bulb-moment-numero-2-health-care-systems-in-latin-america-are-very-different-from-ours/",
"title": "Light Bulb Moment Número 2: Health care systems in Latin America are very different from ours ",
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"prettyDate": "January 17, 2019",
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}
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}
}
