“We are excited ... I think that all of us are going to be envious and just very proud that Gordon Food Service is in our community and offering this program,” said Kerry Pedraza, executive director of the United Way of Clark, Champaign and Madison counties, who spoke at the meeting.
Jahed said the program started about two years ago, and Ohio’s division was the first.
“Kindred is basically a program which we hire new Americans, so all the people who are refugees, asylum seekers or literally anybody could be a part of this program as long as they’re new Americans, they’re new to the country. The eligibility criteria is that you should have been in the country for less than five years, and if you meet that requirement, then you become a part of the Kindred program,” she said.
The program focuses on several components including retention, diversity, doing the right thing, understanding, skill development and a welcoming community.
“Whenever we try to bring somebody in our workforce, they face a lot of challenges, especially with the language barrier so we really try to make sure that we are trying to provide them with the right support and really set them up for success,” Jahed said.
Kindred is in seven divisions, including Ohio. It has had people from 13 countries who are now a part of the program.
The hiring process and resources
The program partners with local refugee resettlement agencies that help submit applications. Then they work on the pre-screening, in which a member from the talent acquisition team reaches out to the applicants and helps them through that process.
“We understand that there is a language barrier. We have access to 24/7 interpretation, and that’s also on the phone, so whenever somebody from my TA team is reaching to these applicants who mention in their application that they are not able to communicate in English, then what we do is we have an interpreter join that call that comes from our TA team and then that’s how we do the pre-screening,” Jahed said.
Jahed said they try to make sure they have an on-site interpreter available for interviews “to make sure that we give them everything that’s needed to succeed in the interview.” They also partner with the local agencies on preparing applicants for what to expect in the interviews.
“Sometimes they don’t really understand a lot about the American culture, how to really talk about the things that the employers really are looking for,” she said.
Interpreters also help with onboarding to explain things such as safety issues or other aspects the manager wants communicated, and all important documents are translated into the hire’s native language.
“It’s really important for all our managers and even people from our HR teams to understand that things work differently than other parts of the world and how they can better communicate with the folks that they’re bringing in from different cultures,” Jahed said.
GFS provides transportation for the first 90 days, all translation services and interactive sessions where people can ask questions and share their experiences.
Challenges
Jahed said there are a lot of challenges involved in hiring new Americans, but the biggest are the language barrier and transportation.
“There is no substitute for knowing the language, and we understand that,” she said.
They have set up on-site English classes and are working to develop more solutions for transportation. That includes encouraging carpooling, contracts with rideshare services, and connecting with employees at local non-profits to help guide them with securing an auto loan or with purchasing a vehicle.
Jahed said the hiring process is selective and policies are strict, but they also want to get quality employees.
“I think that is something that we are really trying to communicate with the folks even before the interview process ... I’ve noticed in our friends who are new to the country that they really struggle with understanding those policies and that sometimes leads to termination,” she said. “Although we put in so much effort and there’s so many resources that really go into that, that is something that we are trying to communicate in advance so that really does not lead to that point.”
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