Breaking Down (Language) Barriers: Compass Group at Microsoft’s English as a Second Language Program

1,076 Engagement Hours. 110 Associates. 2 English Learning Platforms. 1 Goal: People First. Last summer, the Eurest Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Action Council (DEIAC) identified through a quarterly survey that language barriers are one of the greatest hindrances to career advancement and development for associates in the food service industry.

In an employee’s average workday, language proficiency is crucial because it influences their ability to provide excellent customer service, understand and implement food safety protocols, and build relationships inside and outside of the workplace. If an associate can’t communicate in their organization’s designated language, this could be isolating and limit potential growth opportunities.

To foster a more inclusive environment, the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Action Council nominated Daisy Mendes, Compass Group at Microsoft’s Learning and Development Specialist, to lead and create an English as a Second Language (ESL) committee to bridge the gap. One of her first tasks was to develop an English Program that would improve communication skills and provide a Diversity & Inclusion platform to support associates with their career development and advancement.

About the English as a Second Language Program

After thorough research, Daisy Mendes and her team determined there were two main areas of improvement for English learners: basic language skills for beginners and pronunciation for intermediate participants.

To tailor the experience to both language levels, Daisy and her committee researched various learning platforms and decided to test VoxyEnGen and Blue Canoe because of their customizable curriculum, minimal time commitment and optimization for smartphones and tablets.

For our entry-level English learners, we used VoxyEnGen, which “offers digital programs designed to empower New Americans by providing skill-focused English lessons with an emphasis on task-based and real-life scenarios.” Through this platform, the curriculum can be tailored to each employee and their respective role, such as an accounting course for Finance team members or a food safety course for the Operations team. Additionally, participants were able to set the platform in their native language, making it easier to navigate the 100+ courses available to them. ?

For our associates wanting to improve their English communication skills, we used Blue Canoe, which is “an app that uses the Color Vowel? System, a revolutionary 20 year old methodology used by 10,000+ ESL teachers around the world that rewires the brain” with pronunciation and fluency techniques. Through gamified learning and artificial intelligence, our associates with a basic English foundation improved their pronunciation by recording themselves speaking and receiving immediate feedback (and points!) from the app.

To determine who would participate in the pilot, we hosted a kick-off call with our unit managers to tell them about the initiative and brief them on the nomination process. While managers were encouraged to share the program with those who they thought would benefit most, the program was offered to all associates and all who signed up did so voluntarily.

The Compass Group at Microsoft team successfully nominated 110 associates to participate in the pilot!

The Positive Impact on our Associates

Upon completion of the English Program pilot, our Compass Group at Microsoft associates not only improved their language skills and were the most active participants across the entire pilot, but also shared increased engagement and communication confidence at work, improved stewardship and experienced a positive impact in their personal lives and community.

Becky Liu, one of our baristas from Café 37, started as a participant on Blue Canoe and quickly became one of the platform’s top users; in fact, she was contacted by Blue Canoe’s Head of Education Karen Taylor to share her testimony on their YouTube channel! Since Becky had such a positive experience with the first platform, Daisy Mendes recommended that she pilot VoxyEnGen too (where she also became a top user).

After testing both platforms, Becky expressed that she learned many “important lessons [and] tips to apply in [her] daily life” and feels that she gained “more confidence to use [English] after the lessons,” especially around work-specific topics like health and safety. Throughout the pilot, Becky often asked her manager to “reserve quiet meeting rooms after her shifts” so that she could “practice and receive one on one virtual coaching” through the apps. ??

As a testament to Becky’s active participation and progress, her manager and teammates have noticed a significant improvement in her confidence and increased communication within the team and guests. According to Becky’s manager Jina Harris, “Becky slows down now when she communicates and really articulates which words she is going to use,” making it easier for her to express herself in English. In the past, Jina shared that “Becky would get nervous and shy away if she didn’t quite understand and now she no longer does this!”

From the Blue Canoe pilot, where our associates improved their English pronunciation, Mary Hope “Chai” Barcinas from Café 86 is proud of how far she has come in her pronunciation and proudly shared that “people can understand [her] more now that [she] can pronounce better” in English. Bertha Alvarado, one of our associates from the Charlotte campus, shared that Blue Canoe has taught her “many words that [she] can [use] in a conversation,” and has given her the confidence to correct her sister’s mistakes in English, which makes her “feel very proud of [herself to] be able to teach” what she’s learned too.

Although the initial pilot has ended, several Compass Group at Microsoft employees (Becky Liu, Bertha Alvarado and Nelly Beth Hayward) are still actively engaged in Blue Canoe’s Whatsapp group where they can answer questions and connect with other students from the platform. When we asked Bertha what the best part about the pilot was, she mentioned she was “very grateful to [her] professors for their patience and dedication” and how she enjoyed meeting “different people from different countries who are [also] very interested in learning more of this beautiful English language.” ?

What’s Next?

Thanks to the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve received from participants, managers, team members and even guests on our associates’ improvement in English communication, we’re looking forward to launching the second phase of the English as a Second Language Program, which we will be extending to a group of participants from the pilot.

From this experience, we’ve learned that breaking down language barriers is essential to true inclusion; when our associates feel confident engaging in conversations, everyone benefits from them sharing their own ideas and contributions. Additionally, the English Program participants felt that their potential was valued and recognized, which translated directly to positive retention and inspired them to pursue internal growth opportunities. Overall, the impact of the program went beyond professional development; our participants shared it aided them in connecting within their communities as well.?