Bridging the Communication
(and Safety) Gap

Crate & Barrel: Bridging the Communication (and Safety) Gap

Icon of the design world, Crate & Barrel has a reputation for stylish, high-quality and contemporary furniture, home goods, and decor. Founded in 1962, the company has grown into a global home furnishings brand operating more than 100 retail locations with franchise partners in nine countries, featuring a sleek customer experience and smooth logistics process. The company employs approximately 7,500 people across Crate & Barrel and sister brand CB2, which focuses on contemporary design and urban living, and has an estimated revenue of $2.5 billion.

Crate & Barrel’s Logistics and Distribution segment includes four state-of-the-art distribution centers totaling over 2.5 million square feet, with these hubs handling 300,000 units coming and going each day to support retail, catalog, and internet business channels. Part of their major distribution network includes two key centers located in the suburbs of Chicago not far from the company’s headquarters. These warehouses are the logistical heart of the operation, where speed, efficiency, and safety all depend on clear communication.

Clear Communication Fosters Human Connection

Crate & Barrel “leads with a modern mindset of human connection and purpose.” This philosophy certainly extends to employees where Crate & Barrel desires to invest deeply in their well-being. At the core of connection? Language.

Crate & Barrel faced a growing issue: a communication divide between Spanish-speaking warehouse employees and English-speaking supervisors, leads, and office staff. The disconnect was more than an inconvenience; it presented a potentially dangerous work situation.

Without a shared language, employees were regularly pulling bilingual coworkers off task to translate. This slowed productivity and created confusion. Even worse, it put people at risk. When instructions about machine use, emergency procedures, or even day-to-day warehouse rules aren’t understood, the margin for error is too high.

Crate and Barrel approached Fluency Corp to provide Spanish and English language training for supervisors, leads, and warehouse employees with a clear mission:

1. Improve English and Spanish language competency
2. Find ways to improve the process of feedback from supervisor to employee and vice versa
3. Help leads and supervisors provide accurate, clear instructions so they are easily understood
4. Increase confidence for non-native speakers

While the focus was on better communication, the outcome Crate & Barrel desired was an increase in safety, efficiency, and upward mobility.

Encourage and facilitate more honest communication (feedback sessions) between employees and supervisors.

Fluency Corp’s Solution

Fluency Corp doesn’t offer cookie-cutter solutions. We don’t show up with a textbook and hope a few general warehouse terms stick. We build everything from the ground up.

Fluency Corp teamed up with Crate & Barrel to design a 30-hour pilot program for two specific warehouse locations outside Chicago. Before determining program modules, designing curriculum or conducting assessments, we first needed to experience the challenges of the employees for ourselves by immersing our team in their environment.

We started by meeting with the leads and supervisors, and for two hours, we asked a simple question: “What did you say yesterday?” Then, we listened. We captured everything – the instructions, corrections, safety reminders, the real conversations happening on the floor every day.

No off-the-shelf book exists for this kind of training. From this deep dive session, we identified three high-impact communication categories that mattered most for day-to-day operational success:

Giving Instruction

Everyday processes, requests, and workflows that keep the warehouse running smoothly.

Once we had captured the raw material, our teachers built out highly practical, scenario-based lessons to help employees confidently navigate these conversations. Classes were capped at 12 people to ensure every learner had time to speak (the number one request learners have while in class is more time to talk!)

This is more than learning English for the sake of learning English. Fluency Corp language training is far beyond checking a box and learning basic language skills. This is an intentionally designed curriculum based on real life communication specific to this job, in this environment, with these machines, tools, and products.

It is Communication Designed to Change Lives and Change the Workplace.

Crate & Barrel’s Team Results

The results for the team at Crate & Barrel have been instrumental in fostering growth, employee well-being, and productivity. Consistent feedback and regular communication among different levels of employees are creating a safer work environment and leading to productivity increases. Employees now have the confidence to approach their managers and discuss potential problems and explain on-the-job challenges with great detail, allowing issues to be handled quickly and efficiently.

Ultimately what does this mean for these warehouses outside of Chicago? Employees are able to avoid injury which means fewer missed days of work. Fewer mistakes are being made because instead of being confused, employees go to supervisors to discuss safety concerns or potential issues instead of waiting until they become a real problem.

In fact, Fluency Corp added several exchange classes so lead supervisors or managers could participate in a practice class. We began with prompts and allowed employees to practice talking about common issues or challenges with their managers. This exercise “broke the ice,” leading to greater understanding and confidence, so employees felt they could confidently explain any problems before they became issues on the warehouse floor.

Everyone has moved up one level in fluency. For Crate & Barrel, an investment of 30 hours of highly specific language training means employees not only feel valued but they have a better quality work environment, a high retention rate, and greater rates of upward mobility within the logistics and distribution segment.

One potential challenge for Crate & Barrel was the time investment of their human resources team. Reporting to executives often requires extensive documentation, reporting, and justification for such an investment in employee training. What sets Fluency Corp apart from other language learning programs is that our team handles all of it for you. Fluency Corp places no extra requirements for reporting, feedback, or participation monitoring on internal human resources. Founder Micah Bellieu says, “You tell us about your company, and we’ll do the rest.”

The Fluency Corp Model is Repeatable and Comprehensive.

We Can Accommodate Any Challenge Your Company May Have

Yes! My Company has Language Goals.

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