Overcoming Language Barriers Over the Phone – WEBINAR


Offered on September 11 & 21

Photo by Breakingpic on Pexels.com

NOTE:  The content of this webinar has been originally delivered to over 400 participants  sector-wide across Canada, within a  3-hour workshop time frame.   Approximate length is 1 hours and 30 minutes.

In this interactive,  practically-based webinar you will learn how to: · Tell if the caller has a genuine language barrier or merely a heavier accent. · Understand and decipher common distorted pronunciation and grammatical patterns with helpful tips and tricks. · Speak more clearly. · Read numbers and spell using an ESL alphabet. · Tell what tense the caller is speaking. · Guide the caller to obtaining vital information. · Calm distressed callers with three simple words. · Deal with common stressors including impolite and uncooperative callers. ·  Simplify industry terms using clear language .Past participants have included:  9-1-1 call takers,   receptionists, intake workers, crisis centre workers, program coordinators, salespeople and police officers.
This webinar includes an electronic job aid.

Learn more and register at https://www.diversityatworkcommunications.com/events/webinar-overcoming-language-barriers-on-the-phone

WEBINARS – September 2020


Excited to announce our line-up of practically-based webinars which are sure to help you create a more inclusive workplace for you and your customers.

See our calendar. Click on the link to get the full details. https://www.diversityatworkcommunications.com/webinars



Would you like to receive the latest news about our professional development and publications?

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Great Customer Service Begins with Knowing How to Work with Language Barriers


coverEvelina Silveira, President, Diversity at Work

Customer service is about communication. A fruitful experience will result in both customer and agent satisfaction. Customer service training implies both the agent and the customer comprehend English, but that is not always the case.

According to Statistics Canada 2016, 2% of the Canadian population cannot speak English or French. The percentage is likely to soar, especially with recent news of mass migration and immigration proposed by the federal government.

Conditional on where you live, or the service you may provide, the percentage of people who lack English proficiency skills may be more substantial. Consider if you are a non-profit agency which delivers employment services to newcomers, or a store located in the heart of an ethnic community? All of these variations may result in a greater need for competencies in working with customer and clients who have language barriers.

While the encounter will be more challenging, it is not unmanageable. You can still provide courteous, attentive and results-oriented customer service. “Going-the-extra-mile” can contribute to customer loyalty; increased brand identification within a community; word-of-mouth advertising; but most of all, the satisfaction of providing them with what they want.

The various strategies and tips we will explore in this issue can be easily adapted to serving customers with learning and cognitive delays. Why? Patience, clear communication, and a willingness to “think-out-side-the-box” are requirements for reaching people with barriers.

In this issue of  Your Diverse Customer Training Ezine, you will learn how to communicate with people who have language barriers.

The contents of this issue include:

  • how to tell the difference between a strong accent and a language barrier
  • guide to reading letters and numbers over the telephone
  • common idioms to avoid
  • 8 Rules for Better Understanding
  • How to Make Your Communication Clearer
  • Case Study
  • Links to Training Resources

 

Purchase your Pdf version here:

Your Diverse Customer -Serving Customers With Language Barriers

$20.00

911 Call Taker Training


callerrevDo you currently work as a call taker?  Have you noticed the increase from callers who have low-English levels of proficiency? Chances are you have, as our research shows that call takers are receiving a larger call volume from this demographic.  The bad news?  You probably have never received any specific tips besides speak slowly and clearly.

This is when Diversity at Work’s training comes to the rescue.

You will learn everything on the flyer and much more.

We are pleased to report that participant evaluations consistently indicate that they feel their performance will improve as a result of taking this workshop.  The good part?  Even call takers with over 30 years of experience felt that way, too.

Call us today! We travel. Customization is available on request.

Reduce caller and call taker stress, triage calls effectively and provide a more equitable service.

To learn more about our business and the trainer, Evelina Silveira, please visit http://www.yourdiversityatwork.com.

 

The Guide to Workplace Inclusion


Preview and Purchase at www.yourdiversityatwork.com/ebook/

Read  below what others have said about our book:

linked in

ENDORSEMENTS:

This is an important and timely book for those who want more inclusive workplaces. It moves seamlessly from concepts and terminology and translates them into practical and actionable ideas. All readers, no matter where they are on their diversity and inclusive journey, will find something valuable in this book. Evelina Silveira and Jill Walters have created an impressive resource that includes examples of promising practices from across the globe. This should be every HR professional’s companion!

~Ratna Omidvar, executive director, Global Diversity Exchange, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University

The No-Nonsense Guide to Workplace Inclusion provides a thorough and engaging roadmap of the journey toward organizational inclusion. The authors write from a position of rich, credible experience, with the result that this Guide can help companies capitalize on opportunities and skirt problems on the road to fuller inclusion of an increasingly diverse workplace. Filled with examples and evidence-based solutions, this Guide is a valuable tool for any organization working on building and strengthening its culture of inclusiveness.

~Alison Konrad, PhD, professor of organizational behaviour, Ivey Business School, London, Canada

Managing diversity and creating inclusive workplaces can seem like a daunting challenge for many organisations, but Evelina and Jill have produced a really accessible, highly practical guide to help organisations get going. What we particularly liked was that it was packed full of real examples and illustrations and lots of useful links and tools.

~Tracy Powley, director, Focal Point Training and Consultancy Ltd, United Kingdom

Because inclusion is one of the core values of the USTA, it is important for me to lead, motivate and work well with individuals of diverse backgrounds, capabilities and interests in order to achieve the outcomes we’ve set for ourselves. This book is a great resource for any organization looking to create a successful culture of inclusion.

~D.A. Abrams, chief diversity & inclusion officer, United States Tennis Association/ author, Diversity & Inclusion: The Big Six Formula for Success

This book goes a long way in addressing the systemic discrimination faced by the LGBTQ2 community in the workplace. It tells you what you need to do and gives you the resources to do it. It makes it easy for any workplace to become more inclusive in their hiring, recruitment and retention practices. I highly recommend it for every workplace.

~ Deb Al-Hamza, past president, Pride London Festival/ diversity social worker, Children’s Aid Society of London & Middlesex

I think this book is very comprehensive! There is very valuable information from ‘Foundations for creating an Inclusive Business Environment’ to ‘Best Practices in Diversity.’ I see the value for small to medium businesses that lack a dedicated human resources professional or lack the experience with implementing policies and procedures to promote an inclusive environment; however, larger businesses can also benefit greatly from the examples, detail and strategy offered. I will continue to visit many of the resources offered in the future and have made note of some of the examples.

~Lesley Oliver, diversity & accessibility coordinator, Equity & Human Rights Services, University of Western Ontario

The book is strategic, concrete and to the point. The various examples make it relevant to readers and practical. I also like the fact it is rooted in personal experiences and takes a holistic approach. The book makes one reflect on what is not obvious, helps avoid assumptions and discusses unconscious bias.

~Magali Toussaint, international career and cross-cultural coach/ diversity professional, Netherlands, http://about.me/magali.toussaint

 

 

 

 

Hurray! It’s Hockey Night in Punjabi!


By:  Evelina Silveira, President Diversity at Work

What is more Canadian than hockey? Maple syrup or poutine? No, not even that!  So what do you get when you add our favourite symbol with a sprinkle of Indo-Pakistani culture? Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi!

You don’t have to understand Punjabi to appreciate the game. In fact, some of the enjoyment comes from listening to the broadcasters shout out a score.

The elation is magnified in Punjabi!

On the surface, Hockey Night in Punjabi may seem like just a hockey game moderated in another language, but its impact is far-reaching.

It’s a testament to:

  •  the “power of the buck”. It makes for great business. Punjabi is one of the most widely spoken of immigrant languages in Canada. This is a great way to expand the brand and sell! Market segmentation allows for new opportunities for growth.       Whoever thought of this was a genius!

 

  • from an integration point of view, it shows you can adapt and enjoy cultural aspects of a new country and make them your own.

 

  •  it tells us sport can bring people together whether you are an Indian-Punjabi speaker or a Pakistani one, cultural differences can be set aside to enjoy the game.

Not unlike the Punjabi spectators, when my parents came to Canada they had never seen a hockey game.  Football (soccer) was their sport of choice back home as ice rinks and snow were no where to be found.  However before long, they discovered the joys of watching Hockey Night in Canada every Saturday.  My mother could enthusiastically rhyme off the names of her favourite team — The Toronto Maple Leafs (this was the  70’s); complete with a Portuguese version of their name.  Before long, each trip to the corner store meant I had a new set of hockey cards with pictures of toothless Darryl Sittler and Eddy Shack!  I never really got into the game on TV, but did not want to break my mother’s heart. I accepted the hockey cards just the same appreciating them for the stick of bubble gum.

Integration into a new culture is not an easy thing to do, but every effort must be made to look at the brighter parts of what it can offer. Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi tells us while cricket may always be the beloved sport in India and Pakistan, cultural adaptation is possible and necessary.

From a business perspective, it shows us immigrants have spending power and taking a one-size-fits all model may mean missing out on economic opportunities.

So, hurrah for Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi!  You score on many levels!

 

 

 

 

Pickles on Pizza: Is Your Customer Service Up To Par?


canning-728269_640Written by:  Evelina Silveira, President, Diversity at Work

It’s a weekday lunch hour and my  Russian friend Natasha and I, dart to Subway for our  repas.  Deviating from our regular sandwich choice, we go for the Pizza.

Now, time to build our pizza and the clerk asks us what we would like.  I look at the choices and say:  “Olives and peppers, please.”  Natasha follows me but adds “pickles.”  “Pickles?” the clerk asks.  “Yes, pickles” my friend replies.  With an odd look on her face the clerk replies:  “No, we can’t do that!”  “Why?” my friend asks.  “You have lots of pickles!”   The clerk said:  “I’m sorry we don’t serve pickles on pizza.”  While all of this was happening I was chuckling and my friend did not know why.  I did not realize that perhaps I was being insensitive.  But I was analyzing this experience from a cultural and a customer service lens.

A pizza consists of many ingredients we often find in sandwiches.  Bread, meat, cheese and sometimes vegetables.  In a way it is an open-faced sandwich (I’m sure my Italian readers will hate me for this!).  And Slavs like pickles especially on their sandwiches.  So if you analyze it from this perspective it makes a lot of sense about why Natasha would  want pickles on her pizza!  However, I was trying to tell my friend that perhaps one of the reasons why the clerk was not allowed to give her pickles on her pizza was because it would interfere with the profit margin. Probably the pizza had been priced based with only a few toppings?

In any case, this left a bad impression.  What would you have done?  I would have given her the pickles even if it costed more.  Each customer experience should have a happy ending.

Is there a pickle problem in your customer service delivery?  Are you creating unnecessary barriers or being too inflexible and thus missing out on much needed ethnic and niche market sales?  It could be a simple fix that could make a difference between acquiring a whole new group of customers or turning them off. Having various feedback mechanisms in place to see what is working and what needs improvement is a good place to start.

Actions You Can Take To Increase Intercultural Understanding in the Workplace


By:  Evelina Silveira,  President, Diversity at Work

1. Start up a Diversity Book Club or Discussion Group    You can take turns assigning a reading which is pertinent to your work and designate a regular meeting time for your discussions. Tailor it to your industry and the specific knowledge you would like to gain.
For example:
Indian-Style of Leadership – This could help organizations who have a number of New Canadian Indian employees gain an understanding of the differences in leadership style in India. It can give leaders an awareness of what some of the challenges these employees may have based on their previous work experiences and help them become more acclimatized to a Canadian workplace.
Cultural Differences in the Way Disabilities are Communicated. The way cultural groups talk about disabilities tells us a lot about their values and how people with disabilities are treated in their communities.
Plagiarism Around the World – Understanding how different countries feel about and define plagiarism is important in preparing international students for post-secondary education.

2. Spearhead Employee Resource Groups These groups can provide valuable information to advance the goals of your organization. If you happen to have a New Canadians ERG, it can be drawn upon to provide education to the rest of the employees and make suggestions for program development and provide insight into new markets.

3. Infuse Cultural Tidbits Into Existing Vehicles of Communication Whether you have an intranet, a regular newsletter or hang up posters, don’t miss out on an opportunity to encourage cultural learning. What about your staff or departmental meetings? After all, when we learn about other cultures, we learn a lot about ourselves!

4. Examine Your Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives Is there a way you can increase your interactions with some of the major cultural groups in your community? Volunteer at a settlement agency? Be a mentor? Consider sponsoring cultural events.

5. Increase or Begin to Offer Student Placements/ Co-ops Work with local agencies serving diverse clientele and post-secondary institutions to bring diverse workers to your organization. You will be amazed at how much you learn from the experience!

6. Take a Cultural Competency Inventory Ask employees if they have: knowledge of a second language, experience from work abroad and cross-cultural education. Having this information handy can be a real help when you are considering the appropriate people for foreign assignments or need some emergency assistance with a culturally diverse client who you are having difficulty communicating

Creating an Employer Brand to Attract New Canadians and Generation Y


Three Smiling Businesswomen

An excerpt from Diversity and Inclusion on a Budget:  How to have a more engaged and innovative workforce with little or no dollars written by Evelina Silveira and Jill Walters.

Let hard-to-reach groups know that there’s an opportunity for employment with your organization by showcasing a broad spectrum of employees in your company literature and on your website. Let your employees know what your goals are in terms of a representative workforce, and that you value their suggestions and help. Ask if they would be willing to share their history with the company. This is a great way to demonstrate that you can be an employer of choice for diverse applicants.

Here’s how to do this:
–  Include the employee’s picture and history with company
–  Post a video on your site
–  Use a written profile, if your budget is really tight

The employees that you include in your staff literature and on your website should represent a cross-section of departments and available positions. If you are confused as to where to begin, bank websites are really great at creating an employer brand, specifically the Royal Bank of Canada (www.rbc.com).

Include employees who have held a number of positions within the organization and have advanced through the company. This demonstrates that there is equal opportunity for all. Note any committee involvement, special assignments, skills or expertise they have acquired as a result of working for your company.

These mini-profiles, highlighted on your website and in your literature, go a long way in promoting your company’s image as an employer of choice. Brag about it! Don’t hold back and be humble! Remember, labour shortages are starting to occur in many sectors. Stand out and let it be known who you are as a company, and what employees can expect from working for you.

It’s probably an odd analogy but think about your company as a potential date. If your company was on the dating scene, what attractive qualities would it promote? What could it offer? Why should a job seeker be interested in you? What could it gain from having you as an employee?
With this in mind, think about all the areas in which your company supports its employees, and include those details on your site. For instance, younger workers are really keen about seeking out employment with companies that are socially responsible, environmentally friendly, flexible and interactive. Having a pool table might be a bonus. Include this information!

Do you have an on-site day care? Flex-time opportunities? Cross-training? A mentoring program? Employee Resource Groups? Prayer rooms? Adaptive technology? A women’s leadership group? On-site smudging area? Gym? Pool table? English as a Second Language classes? Pets at  work? All these programs and services demonstrate that an employer supports and cares about the employees; their physical, social, spiritual and psychological well-being, and their need to succeed professionally. List them!

Consider asking those employees with more seniority about the special perks and selling points of working at your organization. Include them on your on your promotional materials as well.

 

 

 

Stand Up Against the “B” Word


ImageSo it is summer, and things have slowed down and now I have time to do things like watch television.  It seems like it has been awhile since I have watched so much television, but I am going to put a halt to it very soon.   I cannot believe what I am seeing!  Has the world become so numb and accepting of the violence against women in TV?  Reality television has stooped to the lowest level when a bunch of women are vying for a bachelor? Roma women are punching each other and slapping the face of a pregnant woman?  Vancouver beauties fight over who has more filler or botox? And on top of that the “Bitch” word and “Slut” word gets furiously hurled around like it was nothing, even in daytime programming which was once supposed to have higher decency standards!

Since when did it become acceptable and common place to call women female dogs?  I don’t care if some women have reclaimed this word as their own.  The connotation is still negative.  We are ascribing half of the world’s population to the status of an animal.  Why are anti-racist activists so good at challenging the use of derogatory and racist words and women are not?  Is it that women are unsuccessful with challenging it, or are their calls not being heard? When was the last time you saw the “N” word written if full?  You probably haven’t.  The “N” word has become so repugnant in our vocabulary that the mere sight of it, makes a lot of people enraged.  It’s meaning heralds back to a time of slavery, inequality, and the inferior role that black people had in our society.

I wish that we could do the same with the “B” word or the “S” word and others  What will it take for us to see that calling women these words is repugnant as well? It seems that we haven’t really progressed that much. By using these words, we show that we are backward and that women have not reached the same equal status as men in our society.  We still judge them on their submission, passivity, and on their sexual history.

Let’s challenge one another when we use these words against women.  One by one we can make these misogynistic words cast outs from our vernacular.  It is going to take some time but  high time that women enjoyed equal status in this society, don’t you think?

  • Thank you for the recognition

  • Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • Get started with Workplace Inclusion Today!

  • SENSITIVITY AND EMPATHY TRAINING FOR WORKPLACE BULLIES

  • Find us on Facebook

  • Get started today with diversity and workplace inclusion

  • Follow me on Twitter

%d bloggers like this: