Eduardo Figueroa - The Next Level of Training – Spanish Language Leadership Training

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter. 

How Eduardo is helping Spanish and English speakers improve their careers one training at a time.  

In Season 3, Episode 48 of Roofing Road Trips, Heidi J. Ellsworth visits with Eduardo Figueroa of Better Employees about the importance of providing leadership training for roofing contractors’ Latinx employees. Better Employees is a bilingual and bicultural training company dedicated to teaching individuals how to become better employees, supervisors and managers. In this podcast, Eduardo shares how Better Employees offers tailor-made programs in Spanish or English to a variety of companies on a regular basis, both in the U.S. and Mexico. Having worked with Antis Roofing, Eduardo is proud to bring his leadership training to the roofing industry. 

Eduardo is originally from Mexico and has more than 20 years of experience providing leadership development training for the Latinx community.  

“I have been teaching Latinos how to be better leaders, better supervisors, better managers. And I'm helping companies [to increase their] profits by bringing out the best in their employees,” said Eduardo. “So that's what I do, and I enjoy it, and I love to talk about this.” 

Eduardo worked for the Small Business Development Center as a consultant and has his master's degree in business administration as well as an engineering degree. He started developing his own leadership material about 25 years ago, and has grown exponentially ever since. 

“I have a lot of information and I love leadership,” said Eduardo. "And not many people are doing leadership training in Spanish.” 

Heidi and Eduardo continued to discuss how impactful it is for people to receive leadership training in their first language. Eduardo says he sees an immediate result in his Spanish speaking students looking to improve their careers and life through leadership training.  

"There is a construction company in Orange County [who] found me through the internet. [They] had hired another leadership trainer for a crew who preferred to speak in Spanish or learn in Spanish, and they were translating,” said Eduardo. “[The CEO] said, ‘Well let's do one session. I will see how it works. If I like it, I will hire you to do more sessions.’ So I did a session and immediately he said, ‘Yes. Now I see the big difference. People smiling, paying attention, they're engaged, they ask questions.’ That didn't happen before because now they feel comfortable.” 

Not only does Eduardo speak fluent Spanish, but he is also part of the Mexican and Mexican-American cultural community. 

"So, there is that connection that makes [for] more effective training,” said Eduardo. “It happens with any language. So, it's not just the language but also that you identify with that trainer.” 

Listen to the entire podcast to hear more from Eduardo and how he is helping Spanish- and English-speaking employees, supervisors and managers improve their work life.