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Construction is a booming business in Texas. The latest numbers from 2016 show it鈥檚 a in the state. There鈥檚 more demand for construction workers than there are people willing to do the jobs, and that means it鈥檚 gotten hard for contractors like Denis Phocas to hold onto qualified workers.
鈥淭here鈥檚 so much work and unemployment rate is at an all-time low 鈥� that these folks they know that they鈥檙e needed,鈥� says Phocas. 鈥淪o, they can say, 鈥榊ou know? The guy down the road is offering me $2 more an hour. See you!鈥� Holding unto people is much more challenging than you think.鈥�
That鈥檚 why some Texas contractors are trying something new to improve retention. They鈥檙e focusing not just on more money, but also more cultural sensitivity.
I鈥檓 at the working lunch the Associated General Contractors of Texas has put together. About 20 construction contractors from around central Texas are here today. They鈥檙e listening to a presentation from consultant Bradley Hartmann.
Hartmann tells them they need to do better 鈥� they need to learn at least a little bit of Spanish. He says a little will go a long way with their workers.
But Hartmann isn鈥檛 teaching Spanish 101. He focuses on a few shortcuts he says will help these contractors use the language more often as a sign of good will.
鈥淪o, what we try to do is to give you these kind-of loops where you can be in control, but you have tactics to manage within the language,鈥� Hartman says.
One loop starts by asking 鈥淗ay problemas?鈥� Are there any problems?
鈥淎nd if you get some kind of feedback that says 鈥榥o鈥� you can simply say 鈥極K, excelente. Gracias.鈥� And if there is some sort of feedback that there is [a problem] 鈥� you can simply say 鈥楧贸nde?鈥� What does 鈥榙贸nde鈥� mean?鈥�
鈥淲here,鈥� the group answers.
Hartmann tells the contractors fluency is not essential, but the basics are necessary.
鈥淵ou can then feel comfortable leading that conversation. But, again, a way to engage shows interest,鈥� Hartman says.
by the advocacy organization Workers Defense Project and the University of Texas at Austin found 81 percent of construction workers in Texas are Hispanic. The overwhelming majority, 73 percent, are foreign-born, meaning Spanish is the language they鈥檙e most comfortable with.
Beyond the language, there are cultural differences, too.
鈥淚 thought that was a really interesting point, something I hadn鈥檛 thought of before,鈥� says Kim Bowser, who attended the class.
She wanted to fully digest what she had learned, so we caught up later.
鈥淪o, my big takeaway from taking the class was the Power-Distance-Index,鈥� she says.
That鈥檚 the concept that Hartmann used to show how uncomfortable foreign-born Hispanic workers can be when it comes to questioning authority, or even asking questions. That鈥檚 because challenging authority is perceived in many Hispanic cultures as a sign of disrespect.
That could be a problem for Kim Bowser since she works for an electrical contractor. Not asking questions could lead to catastrophic outcomes.
鈥淲e have guidelines. They don鈥檛 operate live. There鈥檚 no power on. But, you know? There鈥檚 still things [that] can be done incorrectly if you are not asking the clarifying question,鈥� Bowser says.
Construction contractor Denis Phocas was also at the training session. He was deep in thought when I approached him. He told me he moved to the U.S. from Zimbabwe.
鈥淲hen you moved from Africa, did you think 鈥� 鈥業 can do this. I speak English.鈥� Did you know you were going to be working with so many Hispanic workers?鈥� I asked.
鈥淚 did not know,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 always managed to figure it out to some degree because I am of Greek descent and the Greeks and the Latinos we have some common denominator 鈥� the way we handle our families. But my reason for coming here today is to better my understanding.鈥�
Then I asked if there is one thing he learned today.
鈥淭oday what I learned was the 鈥榯rust-factor.鈥� That element of trust was an important factor and it never occurred to me that trust was the issue,鈥� he says.
鈥淲hat is one thing or one problem that you may be facing that you think 鈥榦h, maybe this is a trust issue,鈥欌�� I ask.
鈥淭he pride 鈥� a Hispanic employee, because I don鈥檛 speak the language 鈥� if I spoke the language, I wouldn鈥檛 have this problem,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 have noticed over time that if I challenge one of them, they get offended. And we challenge them from an English perspective, which comes off even worse. Whereas if I challenged them in a Hispanic way 鈥� if I challenged them in Spanish 鈥� it wouldn鈥檛 hit their pride as much.鈥�
Other contractors told me they didn鈥檛 know that in many Hispanic cultures, looking down when someone in authority is speaking is a way to show respect. In Texas, that can be misunderstood 鈥� a contractor may get frustrated thinking, 鈥淲hy can鈥檛 they look at me when I鈥檓 speaking to them?鈥� or 鈥淲hy are they ignoring me?鈥� That simple but meaningful misunderstanding can sever the relationship.
Hartmann says avoiding this requires contractors to find common ground.
鈥淟astly, keep in mind 鈥� appreciation is one of our deepest human needs. And in the environment, we have now 鈥� the ways we go out of the way to say 鈥楾hank you. I appreciate the hard work鈥� 鈥� it鈥檚 often one of the differentiators that we see when people know they can go someplace else and get 50 cents more an hour. So keep that in mind.鈥�
For these contractors, it鈥檚 worth it. They say every time a worker leaves, it鈥檚 $30,000 down the drain 鈥� that鈥檚 how much they say it costs to train someone new.
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