Darden has introduced a new benefit for restaurant team members called Fast Fluency – which offers Spanish-speaking team members the chance to learn English for free.

For many restaurant team members, English may not be their first language. By spending just a few minutes a day with Fast Fluency on a mobile app, their computer or their phone, team members will be able to speak and write in a new language in months. Upon sign up, they'll even be paired with a language coach to check in and assist them along the way.

“The ability to learn English has had a big impact in my life, “ says Darden President and CEO Rick Cardenas. “My parents fled Cuba and came to the United States, where I was born. I didn’t learn English until kindergarten and taught my mom along the way by answering her in English. As a result, both of us were able to overcome language barriers.”

Fast Fluency is another example of how Darden invests in our team members’ success by offering new ways to help them learn and grow.

Culinary Professional Luis Arias from Yard House in Naples, Florida was one of the first to pilot Fast Fluency last year. With the goal of becoming a sous chef, Luis has used Fast Fluency to sharpen his English and logged 117 hours so far.

Learn more about Luis’s Fast Fluency experience by watching the video below.