2.6 Valuing bilingual workers - National Disability …2.6 Valuing bilingual workers – strategies...

Workbook2.6PersonCentredPracticeAcrossCultures

Valuingbilingualworkers-practicalstrategies

July2016

futures UPFRONT

ThisworkbookhasbeendevelopedforNationalDisabilityServicesby:BarbelWinter,ManagingDirector,futuresUpfrontandMariaKatrivesis,ConsultantandTrainerFirstpublished(July2016)©futuresUpfrontFormoreinformationandforpermissiontoreproducepleasecontact:futuresUpfrontemail:[email protected]:www.futuresupfront.com.au ProducedbyNDSNSWLevel18,1CastlereaghStSydney,NSW2000FundedbyNSWDepartmentofFamilyandCommunityServices.©ThispublicationiscopyrightAllrightsreserved.ExceptasprovidedintheCopyrightAct1968(Commonwealth),nouseofthiswork,whichiswithintheexclusiverightofthecopyrightowners,maybemade.ContactNDS0292563100ndsnsw@nds.org.auwww.nds.org.auAboutNationalDisabilityServicesNationalDisabilityServicesisthepeakbodyfornon-governmentdisabilityservices.Itspurposeistopromotequalityserviceprovisionandlifeopportunitiesforpeoplewithdisability.NDS’sAustralia-widemembershipincludesmorethan1000non-governmentorganisations,whichsupportpeoplewithallformsofdisability.NDSprovidesinformationandnetworkingopportunitiestoitsmembersandpolicyadvicetostate,territoryandfederalgovernments.

Table of Contents

1. Preface.......................................................................................................................21.1 Howtousethisworkbook?..................................................................................................21.2 Whatisthisworkbookabout?..............................................................................................31.3 Outcomes..............................................................................................................................31.4 Whoisthisworkbookfor?....................................................................................................31.5 Howlongwillittaketocomplete?.......................................................................................3

2. TheWorkbook............................................................................................................42.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................42.2 Whoisabilingual/biculturalworker?...................................................................................42.3 Whatarethebenefitsofworkerswithbilingual/biculturalskillsforanorganisation?........52.4 Valuingbilingualworkers:somequicktips..........................................................................72.5 Howdoyouassessthelanguageskillsofbilingualworkers?...............................................82.6 WhenNOTtouseabilingualworker....................................................................................82.7 Whatsystemsshouldbeinplacetosupportworkerswithbilingual/biculturalskills?........9

3. Conclusion.................................................................................................................10

Workbook2.6:Valuingbilingual/biculturalworkers-–somepracticalstrategies

©futuresUpfront|2016|PersonCentredPracticeAcrossCultures

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1. Preface

ThisworkbookispartofaseriesofresourcesforthedisabilityservicessectordesignedbyfuturesUpfrontforNDSwithfundingprovidedbytheNSWDepartmentofFamilyandCommunityServices;Ageing,DisabilityandHomeCare.

1.IndividualPractices–workingwithpeoplefromCALDbackgroundswithdisability

1.1Empathy–apracticetoconnectacrosscultures

1.2Activelistening–unconditionalpositiveregardacrosscultures

1.3Choicemaking–cross-culturaldifferencesandwhatcanwelearnfromthem

1.4ReflectivePractice–whydifferentpointsofviewmatter

1.5Workingeffectivelywithinterpreters

2.OrganisationalPractices–buildingaculturallyresponsiveorganisation

2.1Terminologyanddata–aguidetounderstandingculturaldiversityanddisability

2.2Makingthebusinesscase–whydiversityisgoodforbusiness

2.3Aculturallyresponsivepersoncentredorganisation–keyelements

2.4Leadingtowardsculturalresponsiveness–apracticalguideformanagers,teamleadersandcoaches

2.5Buildingadiverseworkforce–practicalstrategies

2.6Valuingbilingualworkers–strategiestorecruit,trainandretain

3.CommunityEngagement–workingalongsidediversecommunities

3.11Community@atime–culturallyresponsivecommunityengagementprinciplesandelements

3.2MakingLinks–networkingwithCALDCommunities

3.3Cross-culturalstory-basedmarketing–1story@atime

Thisworkbookispartof“Organisationalpractices-buildingaculturallyresponsiveorganisation”series.

1.1 How to use this workbook? Thisworkbookcanbeusedinmanydifferentways,including:

´ Asaself-pacedlearningprogrambyanindividual

´ Asaself-pacedlearningprogramforagroup



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´ Aspartofformaltrainingorganisedbyanorganisation

´ Aspartofcoachingandmentoring.

Thisworkbookincludesexercisesandopportunitiesforreflections(whenworkingbyyourself)ordiscussions(whenworkingwithothers).

Thereisplentyofroominyourworkbooktotakenotesandmakecomments.

1.2 What is this workbook about? Thisworkbookprovidesthecaseforwhyutilisingandvaluingbilingual/biculturalworkersmakesgoodbusinesssense.Itwillgiveyousometipsandtoolstogetthemostoutofyourbilingual/biculturalworkforce.

1.3 Outcomes Attheendoftheworkbookyouwill:

´ Betterunderstandwhoarebilingual/biculturalworkers

´ Understandthebenefitsofutilisingtheskillsofbilingualbiculturalworkers

´ Beabletoapplysomeofthetipsoutlinedintheworkbook

´ Putinplaceprocessestosupportyourbilingual/biculturalworkforce.

1.4 Who is this workbook for? ´ Peopleinanorganisationresponsibleforstrengtheningtheworkforce

´ Anyoneinterestedinmakingtheirorganisationmoreresponsivetothepeopletheysupportandthecommunitiestheyworkin

´ Peoplewhoareinterestedinbuildingadiverseworkforce.

1.5 How long will it take to complete? Thisworkbookwillonlytakeyou45minutestocomplete,includingtheshortvideo.However,ifyougotthroughthetipsat2.7itwilltakeawhilelonger.



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2. The Workbook

2.1 Introduction The2015NDSReport,‘EverybodyCounts:WhyLanguageServicesMatter1’,foundthatbilingual/biculturalworkers:

´ Arewellconnectedintheircommunities

´ Helpbuildlongtermrelationshipswithcommunities

´ Aidcommunicationandfacilitatecross-culturalunderstanding

´ Helpbreakdownbarriers

´ Engendertrustandmakepeoplefeelwelcome.

Yetfeworganisationsactivelyrecruit,utiliseorassessthebilingualskillsoftheirworkforce.

InWorkbook2.2:Makingthebusinesscase-whydiversityisgoodforbusiness,weidentifiedthebenefitsfororganisationswishingtocommunicateandengageeffectivelywithpeoplefromCALDcommunitieswithdisability.

Withorganisationsconsideringwhotheir(potential)clientsare,andidentifyingthebestwaystoprovidesupportservicesforindividuals,oneconsiderationishowtoassistpeoplewhodonotspeakEnglishwellornotatall.UndertheNDIS,peoplewithdisabilitywhodonotspeakEnglishwellornotatallmayreceivefundingforinterpreterservicesaspartoftheirplan.Thebudgetallocationhowever,maynotcoverinterpretersinallsituations.Organisationswhocantapintotheirbilingualworkforcewillhaveacompetitiveedgeinthismarket.

2.2 Who is a bilingual/bicultural worker? Bilingual/biculturalworkersarereferredtoasthoseworkerswhoselinguistic/culturalskillsareacorecomponent,oressentialskilloftheirposition.

Therearealsoworkerswhohavebilingual/biculturalskills,butthoseskillsareskillsarean‘added’bonus.Theirbilingual/biculturalskillsarenotpartofthecorecomponent,noressentialcriteriaoftheirposition.

1ThesebenefitsarebasedonthefindingsfromthesurveyconductedfortheEverybodyCounts:WhyLanguageServicesMatterReport.Ofthe170respondentstotheonlinefrontlineworkerssurvey,33%statedtheywerebilingualandyetofthe130Managerswhorespondedtotheonlineorganisationalsurvey25%statedthattheyactivelyrecruitedforbilingualskillsand7%assessedthebilingualskillsofitsworkforce



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Inthisworkbookwearefocusingonthevaluethatallworkerswithbilingual/biculturalskillsbringtoanorganisation.

Reflections

DoyouknowhowmanyofyourworkersspeakalanguageotherthanEnglish?

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DoyouknowwhatlanguagesotherthanEnglisharespokenbyyourworkers?

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DoyouknowhowmanyoftheworkerswhospeakalanguageotherthanEnglishwouldliketousethatskillatwork?

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DoyouknowhowskilledeachworkerisinthelanguagesotherthanEnglishtheyspeak?

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2.3 What are the benefits of workers with bilingual /bicultural skills for an organisation2? Workerswithbilingual/biculturalskillsbringmanybenefitstoanorganisationasadirectconsequenceoftheirlanguageskillsandculturalknowledge.They:

´ Aidcommunicationandfacilitatecross-culturalunderstanding

´ Helpbreakdownbarriers

´ Engendertrustandmakepeoplefeelwelcome

Inaddition,theymay:

2FuturesUpfront(2015)NDSReport,‘EverybodyCounts:WhyLanguageServicesMatter’,



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´ Bewellconnectedintheircommunities:workerswithbilingual/biculturalskillscanbeawealthofknowledgeandinformationabouttheircommunitiesandareoftenwellplacedtosupportanorganisationtoengageandnetwork.

´ IncreaseaccessbypeoplefromCALDwithdisabilityfromthesamebackground-workerswhoaretrustedbycommunitiescanprovidepathwaysforpeopletoaccessservices.

´ Helpbuildlong-termrelationshipswithcommunities.Theyhaveagreaterunderstandingofissueswithincommunities,andhowtonavigatethesesensitively.

´ Bringdifferentperspectivesandcreativeideastosolvingproblems

´ SupportotherworkerstobetterunderstandculturaldifferenceswhenworkingwithapersonfromCALDwithdisability

´ Expandthediversityoftheworkplace.

Video: A Peacock in the Land of Penguins

Thisisagreatshortvideothathighlightsthebenefitsofdiversity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNeR4bBUj68

´ Reflections

Whatvaluedoeshavingworkerswithbilingual/biculturalskillsbringtoyourorganisation?

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2.4 Valuing bilingual workers: some quick tips Togetthemostoutofyourbilingual/biculturalworkforceconsiderthefollowingsuggestions:

Quick tips

1 YoucanbeginbydoingalanguageaudittoidentifyworkersthatspeakalanguageotherthanEnglish.Youmightdothisasanonlinesurvey(surveymonkeyworkswell)oryoumayalreadycollectthisinformationaboutyourworkers.

2 Considercollectingthefollowinginformation:

´ CountryofBirth

´ Ethnicity

´ MainlanguageotherthanEnglishspokenathome

´ Willingnesstousebilingual/biculturalskillsatwork

´ Areasofinterests,activities,orskills

3 1. Collateresponsesandcomparetolocalareademographicsandtoyourclientprofile(Workbook3.2:MakingLinks-networkingwithCALDCommunities,outlineshowtoaccessdemographicdata)

4 2. Usethisinformationforthebasisofdevelopingalanguageskills/culturalknowledgeregister,andcompile.

5 3. Determinehowyouaregoingtoassessthebilingualandbiculturalskillsofthoseworkerswhoexpressedaninterestonusingthemintheworkplace(see2.5below).

6 4. Considerremunerationoptions

7 5. Developapolicy.Youmayneedtoreviewallyourcommunicationandlanguageservicespoliciestoensuretheyreflecttheroleofbilingualworkers(see2.6below)

8 6. Considerdevelopingabilingualworkerjobdescriptionorreviewexistingjobdescriptionstoincludelanguageskills

9 7. Reviewyourrecruitmentpractices:Activelyencouragepeoplewithbilingual/biculturalskillstoapplyforpositions

10 8. Providetrainingtobilingualworkerssothattheyunderstandtheirspecificresponsibilities

11 9. Providetrainingtoallworkersabouttherolesandresponsibilitiesofbilingual/biculturalworkers



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12 10. Promotethelanguageskills/culturalknowledgeregisteracrosstheorganisation,tothepeopleyousupport,andtothecommunitiesyouworkin.

13 11. Developasystemforrecordingtheoccasionsofuseofthelanguageskillsofworkers

14 12. Monitorandreviewtheeffectivenessofthestrategy

15 13. WhendevelopingengagementstrategiesforworkingwithspecificCALDcommunitiestalktoyourworkersfromthesamecultural/linguisticbackgroundwithbilingual/biculturalskillsfirst.Findoutwhattheyknowabouttheircommunitiesandwhattipstheycangiveyouforengagement.Includetheminanyengagementstrategies.

Applyingtheabovetipswillactivelydemonstratethevalueyouplaceonyourbilingual/biculturalworkforceandhelpyougetthemostoutofthem.

2.5 How do you assess the language skills of bilingual workers? TheNationalAuthorityofAccreditationofTranslatorsandInterpreters(NAATI)canprovideformalassessmentofthelanguageskillsofyourworkers.YoucanaccessNAATI’s2015-16FeesandChargesScheduleat:https://www.naati.com.au/media/1079/fees-and-charges.pdf

Someorganisationschooselessformalapproachestoassessthelanguageskillsoftheirworkers.Forexample,theTransculturalMentalHealthCentre(TCMHC),havedevelopedanumberofinformalprocessestoassessthebilingualskillsoftheirworkers.Theseinclude:

´ Gettingfeedbackfromtheperson/ssupportedbytheworker.

´ Usinga‘languageexpert’oninterviewpanels

´ Buddyingnewworkerswithestablishedbilingualworkerswhocanassesstheirlanguageskills‘onthejob’

´ Assessingthequalityofbilingualresourcesdeveloped.

2.6 When NOT to use a bilingual worker Itishoweverimportanttorememberthatworkerswithbilingualskillscannotreplaceprofessionalinterpretersinallsituations.Professionalinterpretersshouldalwaysbeusedinsituations:

´ whenyouareseekingformalconsent

´ thatarecomplex

´ whereyouarecommunicatinginformationthatislegallybindingor



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´ thatputatriskeithertheorganisationortheperson.

FormoreinformationaboutwhentouseabilingualworkergotoWorkbook1.5WorkingEffectivelywithInterpreters.

2.7 What systems should be in place to support workers with bilingual/bicultural skills? Considerdevelopingpolicyaroundtheuseofbilingual/biculturalworkersfortheorganisation.Someconsiderationsforinclusion:

´ Definitionsandroles(e.g.workerswithbilingual/biculturalskills;bilingual/biculturalworkers,,professionalinterpreter)

´ Embeddinglanguagecompetencyasacoreskillintojobdescriptions

´ Howwillyouassesslanguageskills?

´ Howwillyoukeeparecordofthelanguageskillsofworkers(willyousetupadatabase?

´ Protocolsonusingtheworkersbilingualskills

´ Guidelinesforidentifyingwhichsituationstouseabilingualworkerandwhentouseaprofessionalinterpreter

´ Howtorenumeratesomeoneforuseoftheirlanguageskills

´ Howtomatchworkerstothepeoplesupported.

Ensurethatanypoliciesandproceduresyoudevelopareintegratedintothebroaderorganisationalcontextandembeddedintoyourcontinuousimprovementprocesses.

Ideallypoliciesandproceduresinrelationtotheuseofbilingualworkersshouldbepartofanoverallcommunicationsstrategythataddressesrelatedmultilingualcommunicationissuessuchastheuseofprofessionalinterpretersandtranslationservices.



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3. Conclusion

Workerswithbilingual/biculturalskillsareavaluableresourceforeveryorganisation.Thisworkbookaimedtoassistyoubygivingyousometipsandconsiderationsfordemonstratingthevaluethatworkerswithbilingual/biculturalskillsbringtotheorganisation.

YoumayalsowanttohavealookatWorkbooks2.5Buildingadiverseworkforceand3.2MakingLinks.

Reflections

Whataresomeofthetakeawaymessagesfromthisworkbook?Aretherethingsyoudisagreewith?Wastheresomethingthatsurprisedyou?

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2.6 Valuing bilingual workers - National Disability …2.6 Valuing bilingual workers – strategies...

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