Home Depot seeking to hire more Hispanics

Written by Nelson Ortiz, Hispanicsurf.com News

February 17, 2005 -- Home Depot Inc., the nation's largest home improvement store chain, is launching a partnership with four national Hispanic organizations to recruit more Spanish-speaking employees.

The strategy is one that proponents say can help retailers find talented workers and boost sales at the same time.

Home Depot plans to find more job candidates, especially ones who speak both English and Spanish, for full-time and part-time positions.

Home Depot is partnering with The National Council of La Reza, the ASPIRA Association, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and SER-Jobs for Progress to attract and recruit full and part-time workers across the country. Daniel Borges, an eight-year Home Depot employee from Venezuela, said the program is a great idea.

"Customers shop where they feel welcome and comfortable and get the products and information they need," said Borges, who sported a badge saying "Yo hablo Espanol" --- I speak Spanish.

"I have many regular customers who have told me they are comfortable coming to this store because they know we have bilingual associates."

Many big companies already are targeting the Spanish-speaking population with services and advertisements, including Qwest Communications International Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Home Depot rival Lowe's Companies Inc., based in Mooresville, N.C., has worked with employment agencies in several states to help diversify its workforce of 160,000 people. It also has worked with the military to hire soldiers looking to go into the private sector.

While Lowe's has not implemented any formal national hiring partnerships with the Hispanic community, it has tried to boost the number of Hispanic employees at stores in communities that are predominantly Hispanic. The 1,075-store chain has done that at stores in parts of southern Florida, Texas and California.

"There is certainly a business advantage to having a workforce that reflects the community," Lowe's spokeswoman Chris Ahearn said.

By 2008, Hispanics are expected to have roughly $1 trillion in annual purchasing power.