BUCO Celebrates Diversity through Language
Nelson Mandela famously said, if you talk to someone in a language they understand, it goes to their head. If you talk to them in their own language, that goes to their heart.
Which is exactly what BUCO Honeydew set out to do this past International Mother Tongue Day, celebrated on the 21st of February. The BUCO Honeydew team is made up of 150 diverse employees, all speaking one or more of the eleven official South African languages. BUCO decided to translate various phrases into the different languages and made welcoming badges for all the employees to wear on the day. The team was encouraged to greet and assist customers in their home languages.
This unique approach to helping customers soon resulted in a day filled with laughter, good will and celebrating diversity. The team also gained a better understanding of their customers and fellow staff members cultural background, spoken language, as well as highlighted what sets them apart, and what brings them together.
Adding to the fun was a camera crew who roamed the store and took video footage of the different employees talking in their home language to customers and posting the results on BUCO’s Facebook page - spreading the word, so to speak, even further.
All in all, a great day celebrating diversity, the beauty of language and the persuasive power of reaching out to customers in the language they love. So much so, that BUCO will be looking at expanding this initiative to their other stores next year and touching the hearts of many more customers.
To see the video, please follow this link here