Text version scenario

Subcontractors on our site play a key role to the success of our projects. However, we do not always take care of them as we should. In a recent project for example, our documents and information were only provided in one language, although we knew that the subcontractors speak a different language. We provided very little assistance to help them understand the information. This did not promote an inclusive or safe culture.

Discussion question

• Have you experienced subcontractors dealing with language and/or inclusiveness issues?
• How did you approach it?
• What did you learn from it?

Things to consider

We can learn from these situations to help us truly live our values. While there are no clear-cut solutions, we can consider the following actions:

• Spend enough time upfront - during the contracting process and initial stages of the relationship - to help subcontractors understand project specific needs and requirements, and identify barriers to effective communication.
• Discuss spending time building trust with our subcontractors and treat them inclusively so that they feel comfortable raising issues and understanding our point of view.
• Discuss how lack of understanding due to language issues can cause safety problems
• Display courage in expressing the right thing to be inclusive with subcontractors even when it may not be popular with team members or require additional resources.