A grocery chain in Northern Virginia found a simple way to help workers move up: teach them English, for free.
It's a program at Giant Food, and it started with Anne Louis, an HR partner for 20 local stores. She noticed a hardworking deli employee with real potential, but management worried the required food safety exam might hold that person back. Anne didn't see it as a dealbreaker.
The hard part was finding a teacher. It took two years, until she connected with the Loudoun Literacy Council. The classes launched in 2023. They run eight to ten weeks, an hour at a time, in small groups so each employee gets personal attention.
The results speak for themselves. Out of 35 employees who've taken the classes, at least 17 have been promoted into full-time jobs or department manager roles. Graduations are a VIP event, with everyone from store managers to the HR director turning out to celebrate.
Take Johandra Rivas. She's from Nicaragua, and the classes built her confidence talking with customers. She's now the 26-year-old boss of the deli at the Giant in Town Center at Sterling.
Anne says other companies should try it, because it pays off for workers and the business.