Required by Law: What PSAPs Should Know about Serving non-English Speakers and Title VI

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Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that any program within the United States receiving federal funding must provide services to non-English speakers in their primary language. Jonathan Levy, Director of Language Services at CyraCom International, discusses how Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) should handle Title VI:

Having a language assistance plan in place is not only a requirement of Title VI, but helps outline effective procedures to avoid language assistance related issues. In places like the District of Columbia, comprehensive planning has made a significant improvement in the way law enforcement and emergency calls are handled in the District’s non-English speaking communities. Assessing the needs of your organization is the first step in implementing a solution compliant with Title VI. More information can also be found at www.lep.gov.

Mitchel

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Voiance Language Services provides multilingual support in over 170 languages to business and government. Organizations use Voiance’s telephone interpretation to facilitate communication with customers. Voiance is a subsidiary of CyraCom International, Inc., the 2nd largest provider of Over-the-Phone Interpretation in the United States.

Are your souls and livestock well? Idioms: Translating the Untranslatable

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One of the difficulties in interpreting and translating is conveying culturally bound idioms from one language to another. CyraCom International’s Akmaral Mukan is part of our Language Services Department, which oversees the training and development of Voiance’s interpreters. She is also an applied linguist who recently developed a leading guide to Kazakh idioms.

Voiance Language Services, LLC is the business and government servicing brand of CyraCom International, Inc. Our financial strength, on-shore infrastructure and large interpreter network are reflected in consolidated reporting through our parent company, CyraCom International, Inc. 

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A Kazakh man greets his neighbor: Мал-жан аман ба? “Are your souls and livestock well?”

The neighbor replies: Аман. Қара домалақтарың тәуір ме? “Well. Are your black spheres feeling better?”

This seemingly simple conversation, somewhat incomprehensible when literally translated, illustrates how challenging it is to convey culturally bound concepts from one language and culture into another. How do you best translate or interpret the Kazakh greeting into English effectively and efficiently? Obviously, it is more than just saying “How are you doing?” Where would livestock, something so important in the Kazakh culture, find its reflection in the English greeting? And why do we refer to small, cute children as black spheres?

The other day, I heard my son’s daycare teacher say ‘hold your horses’ to one of the impatient babies. I immediately wondered how this English idiom would translate.  Would it retain its full flavor in Kazakh, the language of people historically known as horse-riders?  No, not only does it not translate literally, it also does not have a close equivalent involving any type of livestock.

Finding solutions to these types of challenges was one of the reasons I began to compile a dictionary of Kazakh idioms. My goal was to take language learners from everyday vocabulary to complex cultural concepts embedded in simple words. I organized the idioms into cultural categories such as color, number, livestock, clothing, food, nature, etc. so users could see the cultural connection between the idioms. I also provided literal translations which will undoubtedly amuse or baffle my readers, but are very helpful in retaining the idioms in memory. After all, how can one forget ‘a black sphere’ as a reference to a child?

Akmaral

* To learn more, please check out my recently published A Learner’s Dictionary of Kazakh Idioms:

3 Ways Insurance Companies can Attract and Retain Multilingual Customers

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With minority buying power being in the trillions, most companies are looking into how gain the valuable business of these customers. Here are a few ways insurance companies can attract and retain the many customers in this segment who do not speak English:

Multicultural Marketing – Providing funding for and creating well-executed multicultural marketing campaigns is one way to attract multicultural customers. Good marketing campaigns go beyond simple language translation and take into account the target audience’s beliefs, values, age, country of origin, and acculturation levels. A number of companies, including Allstate and State Farm, are taking multicultural marketing to heart by targeting Latinos with effective ad campaigns. In many cases, multicultural marketing results in overall revenue growth.

Multilingual Customer Support Operations – Multicultural marketing should integrate with operations to meet the needs of non-English speakers present in ethnic communities. Using in-language customer support (either bilingual agents or phone interpretation), phone trees, IVRs, and dedicated toll-free numbers for different languages are examples of how operations can serve non-English speakers after a marketing campaign draws them in.

Content Translation- The oldest, and most popular, way to communicate with non-English speakers, translation can be used to explain services and other important information on websites, and make claim forms and policy verbiage understandable, among other uses.

Mitchel

Voiance Language Services provides multilingual support in over 170 languages to business and government. Organizations use Voiance’s telephone interpretation to facilitate communication with customers. Voiance is a subsidiary of CyraCom International, Inc., the 2nd largest provider of Over-the-Phone Interpretation in the United States.

Language Assistance Poised to be Big Part of Customer Service in 2012

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Language assistance is poised to play a big role for many businesses’ customer service-focused strategies in 2012.

“In 2012, smart, forward-looking companies will be viewing customer service in new ways. They will be reengineering their thinking to reshape the customer service paradigm,” said Richard Shapiro, customer service expert and founder and president of The Center For Client Retention.

New ways of thinking are necessary: 9% of the US population is Limited English Proficient (LEP)[1], and offering comprehensive language support will be a must for many organizations in 2012. Is it worth the time and effort to support languages besides English? The short answer is “yes.”

Many companies already invest in LEP markets, and for good reason: US Latinos currently have over 1 trillion dollars in purchasing power, and approximately 30% of this population is Limited English Proficient.[2] Other large LEP populations in the United States are communities from regions like Southeast Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

“When a customer feels that his/her business is welcomed, appreciated and valued the result will be repeat business,” Shapiro added.

The rationale makes sense: if customers receive service in their native language, they will likely be delighted and return for business. This point was illustrated in a recent L.A. Times article. Longo Toyota, located in the diverse region of Southern California, provides dedicated multilingual support to its customers through a 500-person workforce that speaks 35 languages fluently.

“Some of our guests are pleasantly surprised when they learn that they can speak to someone in their native language,” said Vicki McCoy, communications director. “The interaction becomes a more personal and enjoyable experience that often results in repeat business.”

Longo Toyota is a microcosm of how businesses and contact centers across the US are interacting with the multilingual marketplace, and is another sign that there can be ROI on providing language assistance.

Travis

Voiance provides telephone interpretation and other language services for many fortune 500 companies, helping thousands of non-English speakers communicate daily.

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[1] In 2010, LEP individuals accounted for 25.2 million, or 9 percent, of the US population over age 5, according to US Census data

[2] Currently, over 50 million people in the US are Latino, and over 16 million members, or 30%, of this group are Limited English Proficient.

 

Spending More on Latino Advertising Increases Revenue Growth

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The Latino market currently has over 1 trillion dollars in purchasing power. And some industries, more than others, are investing in Latinos and experiencing returns.

A recent report from the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies demonstrates that Latino ad spend positively correlates with revenue growth. The data reveals that spending 25% of total ad budgets on Latino advertising over 5 years, “would generate annual revenue growth of 6.7 Percent.”

The report analyzes the top 500 advertisers in the country from 2006 to 2010 based on how much money they spent on Latino advertising; those that contributed more than 14.2% of their budget are labeled “Best-In-Class,” and the rest follow suit, as shown in the figure below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prominent industries in the “Best in Class” and “Leaders” groups (16% of companies) are Subscription TV, Auto Insurance, Tax Preparation Financial Services, Telecom and Restaurants-QSR (shown in the figure below)[1].  The report cites Allstate, DirecTV, EchoStar Communications (Dish Network, Dish Latino), and State Farm as notable companies within these industries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Followers” and “Laggards” include industries like Packaged Goods, Automotive Manufacturers, Financial Services, and Pharmaceuticals. And those who are “In Denial” constitute approximately 285 of the top 500 advertisers in the country (57%).

The data boldly states, “a 5 percentage point shift in ad spend allocation from non-Hispanic towards Hispanic would yield between [a] 1.1 and 6.6 percentage point increase in overall corporate revenue, [and] a 10 percentage point increase in Hispanic allocation will yield between 2.2% and 11.2% acceleration in annual topline revenue growth.”

While the Latino market represents so much financial opportunity, there are many companies either unwilling or unaware of the potential rewards. However, those that continually invest and focus on “the most appropriate cultural insights to develop integrated strategies from communications to customer experience … will turn ad spend into sustainable revenue growth.”

Andy

[1] The “B-I-C & Leaders Categories: Hispanic Allocation & $ Change 2010 v 2006” graph, as well as industry breakdown information, is taken from a summary pdf of the AHAA report available at http://ahaa.org/downloads/pdf/AHAA_Advertising_Study_2011.pdf

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Voiance Language Services provides language interpretation and translation services, including telephone interpretation, through interpreter contact centers, with over 85,000 square feet of floor space. We manage contact centers, and so do many of our clients, which is part of the Voiance Advantage.

Voiance Chosen as U.S. Department of Education Telephonic Interpretation Provider

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Voiance Language Services, LLC today announced that it has been named as the Telephonic Interpretation provider for Department of Education offices. The Department of Education will now have access to Voiance’s phone interpretation services, available on-demand, 24/7, in over 170 languages.

The Department of Education chose Voiance after a competitive request for proposal process. Voiance will handle the vast majority of calls for the Department through employee interpreters in US-based contact centers.

“We look forward to supporting the goals and mission of the Department of Education,” says Jeremy Woan, Chairman and CEO of Voiance’s parent company, CyraCom International. “Effective communication with Limited English Proficient constituents is essential and we are glad to play a critical role in the Department’s provision of language service.”

About Voiance Language Services, LLC
Voiance Language Services, a subsidiary of CyraCom International, provides 24/7 Over-the-Phone interpretation in over 170 languages and multimedia translation services. With ISO 9001:2008 certified processes, U.S-based contact centers, and a state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure, Voiance delivers effective service to clients in business and government.

CyraCom International is the 2nd largest provider of OPI in the world, according to industry reports, and was named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in the U.S. in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011. In business since 1995, and based in Tucson, Arizona, CyraCom International provides language services to over 2,500 clients. Visit http://www.voiance.com for more.

U.S. Department of Education
The mission of the Department of Education is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. It engages in four major types of activities: Establishes policies related to federal education funding, administers distribution of funds and monitors their use; collects data and oversees research on America’s schools; identifies major issues in education and focuses national attention on them; enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination in programs that receive federal funds. See http://www.ed.gov for more information.

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Voiance Language Services provides multilingual support in over 170 languages to business and government. Organizations use Voiance’s telephone interpretation to facilitate communication with customers. Voiance is a subsidiary of CyraCom International, Inc., the 2nd largest provider of Over-the-Phone Interpretation in the United States.

Despite Economic Downturn, Latinos Stay Optimistic

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US Latinos have been hit particularly hard by the US economic downturn, but remain optimistic.

According to a January Pew Hispanic Research report, despite believing the economy has hurt them more than other groups, 67% of Latinos believe their financial situation will improve in the next year (figure below), which is in marked contrast to the general US population.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is great news because optimism is usually an indicator of consumer confidence; if Latinos feel confident with their finances, they will spend more, contributing to economic growth.

And there is some evidence to support high levels of Latino consumer confidence. For example, in 2011, Latinos were estimated to have spent $77.9 billion in telecommunications services alone, representing one-third of all residential telecom expenditures, according to the Insight Research Corporation.

“Hispanics have surpassed the African American population as the largest minority group in the US, and Hispanic purchasing power is now growing at nearly twice the rate of the general population,” explains Fran Caulfield, Research Director at Insight Research. “There are over 32 million Hispanics online today, their usage grows faster than other groups, they are more connected, and they will demand unique services to match their evolving needs.”

So despite economic woes, all is not doom and gloom for the Latino market.

Mitchel

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Voiance Language Services provides multilingual support in over 170 languages to business and government. Organizations use Voiance’s telephone interpretation to facilitate communication with customers. Voiance is a subsidiary of CyraCom International, Inc., the 2nd largest provider of Over-the-Phone Interpretation in the United States.

“92% of US population growth from Minorities”: What the Census told us in 2011

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In the 2000s, 92% of US population growth came from minority groups – mostly Hispanics and Asians (figure below). These, and other surprising statistics, were what the census revealed about America in 2011.

“One of the things the census really tells us is that diversity is in our future,” says demographer William H. Frey. “All of the growth we have in the child population in this last decade has to do with Hispanics and Asians and other minority groups. I think this is a huge statement for where we’re going for the rest of this century.”

Indeed, significant changes are occurring. According to a Brookings Institution analysis, half the population in 22 large metro areas and 50% of infants under age one are minorities, making the US a “majority minority” nation.

What does this mean for businesses? A lot of things, the most important being that minorities, in the future, will likely be able to determine the success and failure of brands from sheer buying power. Consequently, outreach to these groups using effective marketing campaigns and language services, such as telephone interpretation, are an absolute must in fostering customer loyalty.

Travis

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Voiance provides telephone interpretation and other language services for many fortune 500 companies, helping thousands of non-English speakers communicate daily.

www.voiance.com

Interpretation and Translation: What’s the Difference?

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Everyone knows what language translation is; however, fewer know what language interpretation is.

The difference?

Interpretation = oral communication

Translation = written communication

Distinguishing between the two is important since each requires particular training, qualification, and best-practice methods. So somebody who is an excellent interpreter might not be qualified to be a translator and vice-versa.

Just some food for thought,

Joe

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Voiance Language Services provides multilingual support in over 170 languages to business and government. Organizations use Voiance’s telephone interpretation to facilitate communication with customers. Voiance is a subsidiary of CyraCom International, Inc., the 2nd largest provider of Over-the-Phone Interpretation in the world.

Contact Center Best Practices: Effective Team Sizes

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How do you make your contact center run like clockwork? You can start by evaluating your supervisor team sizes. In my experience, smaller team sizes ensure “sups” can teach, coach and motivate employees, creating more employee engagement.

Highly engaged employees are typically less expensive to manage and more profitable, as companies with engaged employees are “56% more likely to [generate] higher than average customer loyalty*.” Additionally, research shows* these employees will be more productive and have lower turnover rates than average.

I think a “personal touch” from a supervisor – one who has the time to give each team member attention– is an important part of creating engaged employees. This is because personal attention makes people feel important, needed, and a part of a team.

It may seem like a cost-cutting technique to have 50 agents to one supervisor, but I think we have better interpreters that stay around much longer than contact center industry averages as a result of our small-team model. Try creating an ROI model based on the research I quoted above; you may find it’s time to make a change.

-Best Ihegborow

*Parsons C.  (2010). Performance Management in Health Insurance Contact Centers [White Paper]. Retrieved from  http://www.cvpcorp.com/_downloads/cvpWpaper_perfromanceMgmt_v1.pdf

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Voiance Language Services provides multilingual support in over 170 languages to business and government. Organizations use Voiance’s telephone interpretation to facilitate communication with customers. Voiance is a subsidiary of CyraCom International, Inc., the 2nd largest provider of Over-the-Phone Interpretation in the United States.

Voiance Supports Utility Organizations at EMACS

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Voiance Language Services, a 24/7 phone interpretation provider operating US-based contact centers, returns to EMACS this year in support of the utility industry. The conference takes place October 26-28 at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando, Florida.

EMACS helps the utility industry improve customer experience and is formatted to promote information sharing between utility providers. This year, the conference focuses on “Smart Customer Management.”

Voiance assists utility companies by interpreting their non-English customer calls through US-based interpreter contact centers. With many utility organizations looking to cut costs and improve service, Voiance’s onshore business model provides an alternative to high-cost and/or offshore providers.

Visitors to Voiance’s booth will have the chance to win $10,000 and view survey results from a recent Purdue Survey on non-English calls in contact centers.

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Voiance Language Services provides multilingual support in over 170 languages to business and government. Organizations use Voiance’s telephone interpretation to facilitate communication with customers. Voiance is a subsidiary of CyraCom International, Inc., the 2nd largest provider of Over-the-Phone Interpretation in the United States.

Visit Us through Video

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Reply

I’m really excited with what we’ve been able to accomplish through video. You can now see an overview of how we provide phone interpretation at Voiance, including footage of one of our contact centers:

One of our primary differentiators is US-based contact centers. The value proposition is this: when we run our language service operations like a best-in-class contact center, everyone benefits. Cost savings can be passed on to our clients and our clients can expect better service.

You can also sign up to to see more videos which feature our interpreters, contact centers, client experience, and more.

Best,

-Mitchel Forney

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Voiance Language Services provides language interpretation and translation services, including telephone interpretation, through interpreter contact centers, with over 85,000 square feet of floor space. We manage contact centers, and so do many of our clients, which is part of the Voiance Advantage.

“Could you repeat that?”

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Reply

Ask your representatives if they have to repeat themselves. With a growing percentage of the population growing to be over 65, chances are they will probably do it more and more, unless your contact center is adequately prepared. How?

Noise control.

Misunderstandings, like being asked to repeat something, should be measured in dollars and cents. With fewer misunderstandings, you may improve FCR, AHT, and or CSAT scores, adding to the bottom line (or at least making you look good). Your representatives may be happier too (who likes to repeat themselves?). Noise control is particularly important to us here at Voiance because our interpreters need to listen to and generate accurate, meaning-for-meaning renderings of other people’s conversations.

Factors that affect noise are your building’s structure,  materials in your building, cube walls, and digital noise control. Since you may not have control over building structure, let’s discuss the other factors:

  • Materials – glass, wood and hard surface make noise bounce. Carpets and soft materials absorb noise. The more fabric on your center floors or in cubes, the more sound dampening you can achieve. If you have problem areas, you can hang sound dampening materials.
  • Cube Walls – You can save money on shorter cube walls, but higher walls covered in fabric will dampen your noise. With small improvements in FCR, AHT, or CSAT, you may be able to justify upgrading if your walls are short.
  • Digital noise control – You may already be familiar with this. Used throughout your center, the randomness of white noise can disrupt and break down the vibrations of other noises. You can essentially cancel out noise. Doctors in small offices have even been known to use them to protect private conversations.

At our interpretation contact centers we take advantage of short ceilings with sound catching material, lots of carpet and soft materials, high cube walls, and an array of digital ambient noise control devices. Sometimes I think our centers are even quieter than the Marketing department.

-Best Ihegborow

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Voiance Language Services provides language interpretation and translation services, including telephone interpretation, through interpreter contact centers, with over 85,000 square feet of floor space. We manage contact centers, and so do many of our clients, which is part of the Voiance Advantage.

Born in the USA: Customer Satisfaction and US-based Contact Centers

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Remember calling a US-based company only to be connected to an operator someplace else in the world named Peggy?

I do.

According to Claes Fornell International’s Contact Center Satisfaction Index 2010, by CEO Sheri Teodoru, many Americans have had lackluster experiences with offshore contact centers, as indicated by collected data:

Teodoru notes that:

“The issue with offshore contact centers continues to be their effectiveness. Customers are far more likely to be shuffled to multiple agents before their issue is resolved, far more likely to have to call multiple times to resolve the issue, and have significantly fewer issues resolved. Not a recipe for success. [Additionally] Callers have a difficult time understanding offshore agents, which leads to an ineffective and inefficient process.”

As indicated by the report, contact centers located in the US are better equipped at providing customer satisfaction and solutions.

-Andy Bielat

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Voiance Language Services provides language interpretation and translation services, including telephone interpretation, through interpreter contact centers, with over 85,000 square feet of floor space. We manage contact centers, and so do many of our clients, which is part of the Voiance Advantage.

Successfully Interact with your LEP Client Base: Develop a Language Plan

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Reply

With the US becoming more linguistically diversified, businesses must find new ways to interact with the market segments LEP individuals represent.

My advice? Develop a language program.

There are a few basic tenets:

1. Figure out what your language demographics are. (Who is contacting your organization and in what languages?)

2. Train your staff on how to work with those individuals. (Assist and direct individuals to language services such as telephonic language interpretation.)

3. Provide solutions. (Offer Over-the-Phone Interpretation and other relevant language services in order to assist your clientele; ensure that the services are quality-assured and reliable)

Following these steps will enable your business to serve clients more effectively.

-Stephen Gerhart

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Voiance Language Services provides language interpretation and translation services, including telephone interpretation, through interpreter contact centers, with over 85,000 square feet of floor space. We manage contact centers, and so do many of our clients, which is part of the Voiance Advantage.