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Why Every Company Should Translate Their Employee Manual into Spanish

Absent an accurate translation of the Employee Handbook, Latino or Hispanic American employees of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) cannot understand your company’s culture and policies, which will undoubtedly result in misunderstandings and lawsuits.

Google Translate and other machine translations are not reliable mechanisms for translating Employee Manuals or other essential workplace documents.  Frequently, online translations convey an entirely different meaning than what the original document writer wanted to relate.   In addition, translation errors can create a considerable negative impact on your brand’s identity or might become the reason for the potential litigation and loss in revenue.  Free online translations can end up costing your company more in the long run than it would if you would hire a professional and insured translator.

You might be thinking, why is it even necessary to translate the employee handbook into Spanish. Take a look at these facts, which emphasize the dire need for Spanish translation!

Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the U.S. Approximately 41.76 million people spoke Spanish at home in 2019.

The Hispanic market has achieved over a billion dollars in purchasing power. The number is rising rapidly as Spanish speakers migrate to the U.S. for education, business, and employment.

Given the landscape, it is crucial to offer Spanish-translated business documents to Hispanic/Latino workers in a manner in which Hispanic/Latino employees can completely understand the company culture and its policies.

Language barriers can considerably affect the morale and productivity of employees.  Any company that hires Limited English Proficient (LEP) persons should have their policies, SOP’s, and training manuals translated into Spanish or other native languages of their employees.

Spanish Language for U.S. Employers

Spanish speakers are the second-largest population in the U.S., totaling 54 million out of 328 million (total population). The overall Latino population will see an increase of up to 60 million by the year 2060.

Forward-thinking business owners, managers, and Human Resource Departments can’t afford to leave essential manuals and policies untranslated. How do you know whether something must be translated or not?  It’s pretty simple; if it was worth putting it on paper in English, it must have an accurate and professional translation into Spanish for your LEP employees.