The cashier of the Lidl supermarket in Breda scans all groceries super fast. Beep, beep, beep. So far nothing remarkable, but when the somewhat older customer asks whether the deposit receipt has been scanned properly, things go wrong.
The cashier mumbles something unintelligible and points to a button on her work clothes, which shows an English flag. She also does not understand simple cash register language or words such as ‘money’ and ‘cash’. It leads to difficult communication, especially with the older customers of this branch who sometimes do not speak English. “Sorry. No Dutch,” she says.
A Dutch-speaking colleague comes to her aid and answers the questions of the customers. “Several foreign employees work here,” she says when asked.
Exceptional situation
However, the supermarket chain does not have figures on the number of non-Dutch employees. “Because of our diversity policy and because of the current labor market, we include English-speaking employees in our organization to a modest extent,” said a spokesperson for Lidl, who indicates that English is also partly the working language for internal communication.
“In connection with customer friendliness, we prefer that we can speak to our customers in Dutch. However, in an exceptional situation this is not the case.”
At McDonald’s, the chance that you will be helped by an English-speaking employee at the counter is quite high. “With the increase in the number of residents in the Netherlands with a non-Dutch background, it is also the case that more people with foreign roots work for us,” the fast food chain says. It does depend on the location. “Where more English-speaking people live or study near a restaurant, more English-speaking colleagues often work in our restaurants.”
Language lessons for staff
Employment contracts have recently also been offered in English at McDonald’s, the vacancy website is currently being translated into English and part of the multi-day training courses for managers at the head office in Utrecht will be offered in English in the near future.
“We always try to adapt to the needs. We also offer language lessons.”
Lifeguard from Ukraine
Several lifeguards from Ukraine have recently started working at the Hilversum swimming school De Winter Sport. “They reported themselves here. They really wanted to work and had experience in giving sports lessons,” says swimming school owner Shiva de Winter, who is happy with his new employees. You want motivated people at the bath and they were really motivated, he explains.
“They also learn Dutch at a rapid pace. The supervisors do not necessarily have to speak Dutch, but the swimming teachers do. They are now accompanying a Dutch teacher so that they can master the swimming terms.”
Close bath
Several vacancies are open at the swimming school. If these employees had not reported, De Winter might have had to close the pool with free swimming at certain hours or the swimming school could have given fewer swimming lessons.
“The shortage of swimming teachers is also a national problem, which means that waiting lists are increasing at some locations. During the corona crisis, many employees left their job and went to do something else.”
New inflow is therefore important, says De Winter. “The most important thing is that someone can teach children well, because that is really a profession in its own right. Good communication skills are the most important thing. You have to be able to convey the material. It is not a problem that it is not in flawless Dutch.”
Balance
More English-speaking employees also work at the traditional Dutch HEMA than a few years ago, but the company does not keep track of numbers, according to a spokesperson. “It mainly happens in the cities. The Netherlands is a very diverse country. We want to be a reflection of society and be there for everyone. That means that we are open to English-speaking employees.”
Where they are deployed is determined per store and per employee. Only at the filling team or also at the checkout or cake department? At the same time, the company wants to take into account customers who do not speak English. “For that reason, our branch managers ensure that there is a good balance between Dutch and English-speaking employees. And you see that there are more English-speaking customers in the cities and therefore more English-speaking employees.”
Vacancies are only drawn up in Dutch, unless it concerns very specific positions. For example in tech. The company also does not offer Dutch lessons. “But you see that the foreign staff pick up a lot of the Dutch language through contact with colleagues and customers.”
437,000 vacancies
There is still a serious shortage of personnel. At the end of March, 437,000 vacancies were open, Statistics Netherlands calculated. There were 122 vacancies for every 100 unemployed in the first quarter. Three-quarters of entrepreneurs suffer from it. Over 40 percent also experiences the shortage as the main obstacle in their business operations, for example because they have to say ‘no’ to customers. Entrepreneurs in the hospitality and retail sector most often experience a shortage of personnel.
Nevertheless, the staff shortage is not the most important reason to hire employees who do not speak Dutch, according to retail chain Zeeman. “Our motivation to be open to this is indeed the shortage on the labor market, but even more so our desire for diversity and of course our social role in society.”
Dropping Perfect Netherlands as a requirement
Zeeman has dropped the language requirement, particularly in the larger stores where several employees work. “We have many shops where people work in a small occupation. There, every employee must also be able to run the cash register so that others can take a break, and speaking Dutch is then desirable.”
There are more options in the larger stores and the retail chain has become ‘more open’ to candidates with a disadvantage in the labor market, such as a language deficiency.
However, the retail chain only recruits for the stores in Dutch. It is different for the logistics functions. “At the distribution center in Alphen aan den Rijn, we work a lot with non-Dutch speaking colleagues. These vacancies are therefore also online in English. We are also looking at whether we can offer language courses again through the social work company, Rijnvicus.”
Also shift at head office
A shift can also be seen at Zeeman’s head office. “Very often the Dutch language is still required here, but here too we see a shift. Here, too, the reason is not so much the shortage on the labor market, but mainly the fact that we have shops in eight countries, and with that, and with our customers in those countries.”
2023-09-01 11:59:10
#increasingly #normal #due #staff #shortages
