Human Resource Blog

Considerations When Hiring a Job Candidate with a Thick Accent

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There is a job candidate for our company that is qualified in every way, except that she has a very thick accent that is difficult to understand. How might we handle this situation?

You are in a bit of a tough situation. It is always important for your employees to be able to communicate. They need to be able to communicate with one another on projects and they need to be able to communicate with your employees. Also, when there is an emergency, your employees will always need to be able to efficiently and effectively communicate. As such, it might be okay for you to require that your employees all speak the same language or the languages of other employees so that they can communicate.

It is important for you to be aware of the Title VII requirements. Title VII is a federal document that requires that all employers treat their employees and potential employees the same way. Title VII helps to ensure that the places of work do not discriminate against an employee based on the employee’s national origin. National origin includes such things as ethnicity, accent, and characteristics associated with a person’s national origin.

Here are some general guidelines for dealing with potentially wonderful employees that have thick accents:

It can be bad to establish blanket policies with regards to accents. Blanket policies make it difficult to consistently enforce the same policies for all employees. Instead, make sure that you only have language and accent requirements and restrictions when the employee needs to communicate with other employees or with customers.

Make sure that you enforce the rules fairly across the company. It is never legal to say that your employees cannot speak their language of origin while at work. However, if you have employees that have thick accents, it may be easier for them to speak in their native language and you may have to make sure that they stick with the language that is appropriate for your place of work.

Make sure that all of your employees are subjected to the same policies. You may have to make these policies public so that all employees can see them.

Also, be sure that your employees can read English well, even if they have thick accents. Many companies will hire employees with the understanding that they can communicate in written and verbal form equally as well, but they might have a deficit in one area that could be harmful.