Bilingual Call Center

The Need for Bilingual Call Centers

When a caller asks assistance from a call centre or a customer service provider, many a times he asks the questions in some language unknown to the person on the other side of line. If the staff on the company side or the call center recruited by the company side does not know the language of the customer the company simply loses business and the customer loses desire to use the services or to buy the product of the company. Worse the customer may go to a rival business that caters to his needs and request and spend his money there. Hence the call center suffers in terms of this loss too.

The sharp rise in the Latino community in the US has increased the need for Spanish language Customer Service Support. There is a steep demand for bilingual employees in all industries – healthcare, education, finance, sale and marketing. Employees with knowledge of English and Spanish are sought after. Other languages sought out are –German, Japanese, and Russian.

Since the world has become a global village using the vehicle of internet, it’s very important for the businesses to target customers from all over the world. It would mean to be well versed in their language.

Development of a Bilingual Call Centers

There is a need for bilingual customer service support system. This has led to formation of bilingual teams by Managers. The job description requires the criteria of knowledge of a minimum of two languages. It is deciding factor in selecting staff members. The fluency and language expressions matters too.

Making a call center bilingual is not a day’s job. Like any process of change, the actual implementation needs meticulous planning. The process differs with different businesses having different needs. The growth should be reviewed and the advantage should be assessed.

Bilingual Laws of California

In the State of California there is a Law, Dymally Alatorre Bilingual Services Act which provides for bilingual staff in State offices and departments. It states its objective as, “Employment of bilingual persons in public contact positions to ensure the position of importance and service to the public in language of the non-English speaking persons.”

Bilingual service providing is a necessary requirement of the Customer Assistance Service Providers. When the customer is asked about his language preference and gets to talk in is preferred language he is at ease and at a relaxed state. The possibility of closing the order and making him a loyal customer increases.