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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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.