Liberty Tax Service Hiring Spanish Speakers

Liberty Tax Takes Fresh Approach to Staffing Spanish Speakers

RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Four years ago John Hewitt, CEO of Liberty Tax Service, issued a call to action. Based on the success of several Liberty offices in non-traditional Hispanic areas, he predicted an opportunity.

Hewitt created a Hispanic Services Division at Liberty and hired a consultant to begin an aggressive educational campaign for franchisees. Hispanics had traditionally been a fringe segment in the tax preparation industry with budget dollars allocated only in California or Florida. Tax preparation companies made attempts to penetrate the market segment with limited success. The overall conclusion being that foreign-born Hispanics preferred to use notaries or mom and pop outfits. Tax offices couldn't afford to hire interpreters so communication was a constant dilemma.

And what Liberty Tax discovered in training was that having full time Spanish speakers was a non-negotiable requirement for success.

However, with the battle for bilingual candidates being waged all over the country, hiring competent Spanish speakers has been a tall order. A recent survey from EmpleosCB.com found that 48% of hiring managers are focused on finding Spanish speakers for 2008.

Tax offices are at a disadvantage since the average pay for staff is below what a bilingual Spanish speaker can command. So every tax season, a struggle ensures as tax companies seek to fill the positions. It can get ugly with rival companies accusing each other of stealing employees. Notes are even left on cars outside of tax offices encouraging bilingual staff to come to work for the competition.

This year John Hewitt decided to take a new approach. Liberty Tax Service is offering a full scholarship valued at $2,000 to the Interpreter Training Institute for bilingual employees. In exchange, employees sign a contract agreeing to work for the full tax season at Liberty Tax Service. The innovative employment advertisements explain to potential candidates that the hourly rate may not be what other companies pay but the educational perk truly can't be beaten.

Many bilinguals dream of becoming professional interpreters but the cost of training is prohibitive. Yet with only a ten-week commitment to Liberty Tax, their education is covered.

The Wharton School of Business says that employees who are given sponsorships such as this have stronger motivation and morale as well as higher productivity levels. John Hewitt responded, "We expect this program to be beneficial to the employee, the client and the tax office as well. The quality of prospective applicants is going to be higher, the stores will get the benefit of the student's new knowledge put into practice in the workplace and the client has a better experience all the way around."

Industry buzz is already predicting that Liberty Tax will not be struggling to hire bilinguals this tax season. Jihan Issa with Atlantic Staffing remarked, "I wouldn't be surprised if Liberty ends up with a waiting list."