Were you aware of the startling fact that right here in the United States, at least 25.5 million people earn a living, buy goods and services, and provide for their families without ever speaking much English?

According to the U.S. Census, in 1990 this accounted for 13 percent of the nation’s population–a figure that has continued to climb during the past eight years. While the majority of foreign-speaking people once clustered around border towns and major points of entry, today’s immigrant communities thrive in metropolitan areas across the country, from Maine to Hawaii.

Spanish is the most widely spoken foreign tongue in the U.S., spoken by 13.2 million adults. French has claimed the number two spot, followed by German, Chinese, Tagalog, Polish, Korean, East Indian dialects such as Hindi-Urdu, Vietnamese and Japanese.

As businesses ranging in size from Fortune 500 companies to SOHOs are discovering, non-English speaking populations can provide a wealth of business opportunities. They are finding that ethnic segments are a goldmine both as a source of workers and a new market niche to target.

Why hire someone who does not speak fluent English? Two reasons stand out. First, by adding one non-English speaking employee to your payroll, you enable your company to communicate with a substantial new market. The second reason is that a booming economy has made good workers increasingly hard to find.

"Because today’s labor market is so tight, ethnic communities have become untapped labor pools that small businesses need to consider," asserts Jose Brisk, president of Staffworks Staffing services in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "If you are resourceful and creative, you will find a better selection of employees among these groups than with a standard English newspaper ad."

Non-English speaking communities offer a range of workers : from low wage, low skill persons to talented technical and managerial workers. "Motivation to get and keep jobs is particularly high for these individuals," Brisk reports. "That means lower absenteeism, better retention and higher productivity for your operation." These workers have traditionally faced high unemployment rates and few job opportunities because of their English deficiencies.

Despite these advantages, building a multilingual workforce for your company is not a shoot-from-the-hip scenario. It requires an investment in time and money.

The first step is critically assessing the needs of your organization. Where could non-English speakers best fit in? What would they need to know to do top quality work? The value underlying these questions is to define the job skills potential employees will need in order to be an asset to your company.

Literacy is also an issue. What are the language skills of your current workforce and of your anticipated hires? This will directly influence elements in your training budget. If your employees are literate in a given language, then written training materials can be developed in their native language. Audiovisual resources would be more appropriate for workers with limited literacy. Videotapes might be used effectively to bridge the gap between illiterate workers and a more linguistically proficient group of employees.

According to Lisa Mednick, president of English Resources (see sidebar), the second step in making a successful investment in the multilingual labor pool is to assess your in-house training. If your program and materials are out-of-date or generally insufficient, now is the time to develop a new curriculum.

Include these elements in your revised program: performance quality control, safety regulations, and guidelines for avoiding insurance liability and worker compensation claims.

Also consider creating a multilingual training network with bilingual employees, interpreters and those who currently train new workers.

Rather than go it alone, consider using outside training expertise. Your trade association is an excellent first stop, as any ready-made materials they have will save you time and money. Community colleges often offer industry-specific training courses that could line up with your needs as well.

A third alternative is your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC). SBDCs can link you to many community and government training services for small businesses. The Yellow Pages is another resource, with its listings for many kinds of training companies. If none of these options fills your needs, independent consultants like English Resources will tailor programs to your specific situation.

Posting ads in community and college newspapers, as well as non-English language newspapers, can help reach your intended workforce. Another resource is local religious groups that often play a significant role in the lives of recent immigrants, and can operate in the capacity of job placement centers for members.

Technical and trade schools also actively seek employers who require the skills of their graduates–many of whom come from non-English speaking communities.

"Using an interpreter or consultant to evaluate candidates could be a very effective timesaver," notes Mednick. As you recruit workers, remember your legal responsibilities with regard to the immigration status of prospective employees.

Having taken the time to invest in workers with diverse language skills, it is important to critically assess how well your training program worked. Fine tuning your training programs can result in more productive employees today, lower your training costs in the long run and increase your profits in the years to come.

AFC, an 11-year-old Compton, California-based company, leases "mini-sushi bars" to major grocery store chains in 42 states. It offers more than 30 kinds of sushi as well as several all-natural related products like ginger, seaweed, vinegar-based salad dressing and tea.

Ryuji Ishii, president, says that English is the company’s "official" language, but sushi is what brings all the employees together. "Our warehouse staff speaks Spanish, I am from Japan, and most of my marketing department speaks English, although a few are bilingual.

"We recruit our chefs from all over Asia. They must be sociable, polite and like to communicate. But they don’t have to be fluent in English," explains Ishii.

AFC does not provide language instruction to its overseas chefs. Ishii believes that despite any prior exposure, living in America and being immersed in the English language produce quick improvement in the specialized vocabulary of the trade.

In spring of 1998, AFC introduced a first for the American market, the sushi kit. It allows consumers to build their own rolls at home using the freshest ingredients and step-by-step instructions.

With 300 franchises generating $30 million in U.S. sales, AFC’s cross-cultural outreach continues: sushi bars opened in Canadian grocery stores and Puerto Rico last winter. "Our goal is to reach 500 stores and $50 million in sales by the end of 1998," Ishii concludes. "Money and sushi—they’re both green!"

Many businesses are turning to companies such as Torrance, California-based English Resources to deal with workplace language barriers. This communications training and cross-cultural consulting firm designs English as a Second Language (ESL) programs to assess and train non-native employees.

According to its president, Lisa Mednick, "We do a thorough check on client needs so we can then offer solutions that work. For example, if a bank employee takes an overly long time to complete a customer transaction, developing a checklist or written instructions may be effective. On the other hand, if this employee needs to fulfill a manager’s request by phone, she may need listening skills instruction and practice."

English Resource’s newest program is QuickWrite, an online writing tutorial through which business letters, faxes, proposals or other written materials may be sent via e-mail to its writing specialists—who make corrections and suggestions. Mednick believes that "this is an invaluable tool for the non-native professional under the gun to make a good impression."

Excerpted with permission from Small Business Success, Volume XI, produced by Pacific Bell Directory in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration.