Challenges of Managing a Bilingual Call Center
by Randy Harmat
The Spanish-speaking population in the world exceeds that of English-speaking and their buying power has a significant impact on the global economy. Businesses that manage advertising campaigns to generate interest in what they produce must have a collection center or information contact center to mange customer requests. This applies to organizations; financial services, banks, technology companies, hotels etc. and they are increasingly relying on the expertise of bilingual call centers. Some of the largest corporations employ bilingual call center facilities to manage the workflow of the internal communication as well.
Professionals involved in managing bilingual call center staffs would agree that they are faced with many challenges. Perhaps, their greatest challenge is managing the workforce. Ensuring efficiency, training employees and having a good turnaround rate requires professionals who are skilled. Attaining this objective requires good planning and skilled execution in all kinds of services.
1. Hiring Spanish staff for bilingual call centers can be more challenging than it appears since most Spanish speakers in U.S are immigrants or first, second or third generation Americans. The challenge this provides in the workplace is that conversations at home are generally colloquial. Speaking to family and friends is very different from conducting a telephonic conversation with a customer. Language and accent problems greatly affect bilingual call center’s success.
2. Bilingual customer service representatives also encounter other problems in their work environment like use of accurate terminology and phrasing to describe new product features, describe payment options, cross-sell another product etc. Without appropriate training, they often make errors and become frustrated in their conversation with customers. This negatively affects customer’s perception of your company and brand.
3. Spanish conversation between people from different backgrounds sometimes complicates business communication. More than 20 countries in the world speak Spanish using a wide variety of pronunciation, accents, dialects and vocabulary. Often employees and customers misunderstood each other on a certain point.
4. Bilingual employees who interact with Spanish speaking customers must be able to communicate in business Spanish as well as understand the geo-demographic diversity of Hispanics in U.S. Unfortunately, many call centers train their bilingual personnel in English and then require their employees to ‘translate that into Spanish’. Without appropriate in-language training in the specialized vocabulary, these employees are at a disadvantage in communicating with their customers.
Tips
1. Provide your staff/employees with a better understanding of the culture and the geo-demographic diversity of US Hispanics by-
Improving the understanding of the Hispanic culture for those who interact with Spanish-speaking customers
Increasing the appreciation of Spanish-speaking people, their roots, tradition, history, cultures and languages
Becoming more aware of how the Spanish language is used by US Hispanics.
2. The best way of hiring the qualified Spanish candidates for bilingual call centers is by using language proficiency assessments that tests verbal communication, reading comprehension, writing skills to evaluate the competency of the Spanish speaker.
3. Provide the bilingual employees Business Spanish in-language training serving Hispanic consumers such as vocabulary and industry specific terms and phrases, how to handle difficult customers and techniques to handle the cultural diversity of Spanish speakers in the U.S.
4. It is important for bilingual call center management to stay current on call center news and trends to improve performance. This helps them to plan a customer service program that works for both their employees and customers.
Spanish speakers are becoming a very significant part of workforce and they need to be trained properly in their native language. Providing and achieving quality customer service through bilingual call centers requires a plan, adequate budget, fully trained staffs and appropriate Spanish language training.
Randall J. Harmat is the President of Ansafone Communications a full state of art Call Center Company located in downtown Santa Ana, CA. During his tenure, Ansafone has succeeded in its quest to recruit and retain a premier management team making it one of the fastest growing companies in California.
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One Percenters
by Grant Stevens
If you are like me, your natural drive is to make a decision to do something, and then run-like-hell at it. Power your way through it. Use your will power to achieve your goal.
But some of life’s goals are much, much bigger than the ones you can use your instantaneous determination to achieve. They are bigger and longer than that. Some goals are going to take you weeks, or months, or years to attain.
And the longer the duration of the goal, the more difficult it is going to be for you to use your willpower to achieve it.
You need to take a different approach. Often times this approach can be more difficult for the person with a driven personality than the “hammer and tongs” approach. This approach requires some planning, and persistence, but mostly it requires an understanding and acceptance that the best (and easiest) way to achieve this outcome, is to take smaller, bite-sized steps.
You know, most people (including me and you) fail to achieve a goal because we burn ourselves out with our own enthusiasm. We are so keen to “make it happen”, that we over drive our bodies, and even though our minds keep saying - go, go ,go, our bodies (including our nervous systems are not up to the challenge.
This is where the planning, and understanding of the journey you are about to undertake is of so much importance.
Take this example: If you had to walk from the most westerly city in your country, to the most easterly city, would you think that it would be a good idea to start sprinting from the moment you start the journey?
Of course not. You have enough knowledge and understanding to know that you may have a journey of weeks, or in some cases many months of “pounding the pavement”. It would not make any sense to start running as fast as you can from your very first step, as you know you would find yourself burnt out and exhausted. For most of us, that would occur only 5 minutes into the journey.
So, what would be the best way to begin?
You would probably start by walking. Maybe at a brisk pace. But after a fairly short time, you would begin to understand how far you have to go, and how fit (or unfit) you really are. You would then change your speed to ensure you could continue to walk at an efficient and effective pace, to ensure you can go the distance in the shortest possible time.
If you can take that idea, and use it in other areas of your life, you will undoubtedly get further, faster, in many areas of your life than you would have by just starting to run as fast and as hard as you can towards your goal.
I know I’ve talked about him before, but Adam Khoo has had log term success in many areas of his life. He is one of the people who can articulate the methods he has used to get to where he is.
Remember in an earlier email we talked about modeling. Adam Khoo is one of the guys you should try to model if you are looking for the same type of success he enjoys.
OK, so back to what this article is about. The 1 Percenters!
1 Percenters stands for doing those things, every day, so that gradually, and with total control, you achieve the outcome you desire.
If you decide that something worth doing is going to take 100 days. All you have to do each day is something that represents 1 principle to different areas of your life, you will find that, over time, these areas begin to improve. Each day, or each week, you will be able to see the improvement.
And because the steps you are taking each day are not huge, massive and scary, you will be able to achieve your goal and feel the success. You will even have little successes along the way each day to help you stay the course.
So, if we are talking exercise, start with 10 or 15 minute sessions. Don’t just go out there on the first day and try to run 10 miles.
If it is a product you are developing, or some knowledge you are studying, start by doing something daily to get there. You don’t decide to send your kids to school 7 days a week for 12 hours a day so that they can graduate high school by the time they are 12. So it is that in many cases in other areas of life it is better to get yourself to take smaller steps more often until you reach your goals.
Now, I’m just going to say one more thing on this, and that is -YOU MUST DO SOMETHING TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL. None of what I have written here today will do you any good unless you take action and move towards your goals.
I apologize for yelling, it’s just that sometimes capital letters really help get the point across.
So until next time,
Grant
http://www.nlpyourwaytosuccess.com
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How to learn English the fast way with ESL podcasts
by Chad DeBolt
Would it be convenient if you can further hone your English language competencies by simply doing the lessons at your own leisurely pace, and by not attending class sessions? This is possible, and you can make it happen with the help of ESL podcasts. ESL podcasts or the English as a second language podcasts are helpful audio files that you can download from the internet and play it when you free or even doing your everyday work. The moment you download the ESL podcasts, you can easily listen to it on your laptop or you can load it the ESL podcasts to your MP3 player. Play the ESL podcasts when you jog or when you commute to and from work.
What your ESL podcasts can do
Downloading the ESL podcasts from certain websites is just one option; interested students like you can also subscribe to ESL podcasts. These ESL podcasts will then be delivered to your end automatically on a day-to-day basis and this works like your early morning paper delivery. These ESL podcasts that are available online may have some variations in styles and structures, but the main intention of these audio files remain the same. These podcasts are designed to be played back and help you learn the language at your own pace. In many ESL podcasts that are available online, these files may include conversations between two persons, one speaking in the language and the other speaking using another language. Two speakers also talk the same language on these audio files, and these speakers often converse in the language in varying degree of difficulty, from beginner to intermediate. In many of these ESL podcasts, other contents include definitions, sample sentences, comprehension questions, additional explanations, and notes on culture and other tips on how to improve your English language competencies.
ESL podcasts allow for mental gymnastics
There are three major reasons why ESL podcasts can help you in your desire to fine-tune your language competencies. These podcasts allow your mind to be exercised, podcasts complement other methods and these podcasts are highly convenient. Let’s take podcasts as forms of mental gymnastics. The good thing about ESL podcasts is that this will allow you to work on oral exercises, and in the process allow you to perform some form of ‘mental gymnastics’. The real intention here is to effectively take in the ‘language patterns’ so that you may practice it until such time that the skills that you have learned can be practiced in real-time. Another reason why ESL podcasts are helpful is the fact that the use of these audio files can complement other methods of learning. You can attend classroom sessions, and after class when you are going home you can plug in your earphone and load the audio file for a refresher.
ESL podcasts are highly convenient tools for learning
And of course, the biggest selling-point of these ESL podcasts is that these are highly convenient. You can hone your English competencies while you are on the train, or waiting for your turn in the line. This is the beauty with ESL podcasts and the main reason why it’s the choice of some language students. The use of these audio files gives credence to what others say that learning should be a continuing process, busy schedules notwithstanding.
If you would like to learn more about ESL Podcasts visit http://esl.culips.com
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The History of Kawasaki
by Edgar Burt
As with the story of many other motorcycle manufacturing companies, Kawasaki’s history began on entirely different lines. Although by 1949 they were producing engines that could be adapted for motorcycle use, the first real motorbike didn’t appear until 1954. Historically, the company had been involved in heavy industry, including the manufacture of aircraft, ships and trains.
The company’s first offerings were a 60cc two-stroke, and a150cc and 250cc four-stroke respectively, which were developed using German technology. Kawasaki and BMW had enjoyed a close relationship that stemmed from their days as aircraft builders. Meihatsu, a subsidiary of the Kawasaki Aircraft Company, gave its name to the first complete motorbike produced by the company. Around this time, an unsuccessful attempt was made to break into the scooter sector; the Fuji Rabbit and the Mitsubishi Silver Penguin proving too strong an opposition.
In 1960, the company signed a deal with the oldest motorcycle company in Japan, Meguro Motorcycles, whose fortunes had declined since being a major motorcycle manufacturer from their birth in 1937. Having once been regarded as ‘the senior make and king of four-strokes’, Meguro turned away from their British influence with disastrous results. By 1962, their name had disappeared.
Having initially produced low powered machines, Kawasaki, using the knowledge acquired from Meguro, turned their attention towards bigger bikes, and in 1966 produced the W1, a 650cc machine that was heavier and slower than its rivals, so enjoyed limited success. Lighter versions were developed in the shape of the 250cc Samurai and the 350cc A7 Avenger, but again, these machines didn’t capture the imagination of the public.
By 1969, Kawasaki were beginning to get things right, and the introduction of the 500cc H1 kick-started the company’s reputation of quality, high performance machines. Smaller versions were released; the 250cc and 350cc S1’s. A 748cc H2 became available in 1972 and stayed in production until the mid 70’s, when emission laws drew a curtain on the project.
The introduction of the Z1 in 1973, proved a milestone for Kawasaki. At first intended to have a 750cc power unit, the company eventually settled on a 903cc engine, after they had seen Honda reveal their CB750. The Z1, having great performance and a good price, became an instant success and soon became the Z900, with the Z1000 following hot on its heels.
In 1984, the introduction of the GPz900r caused quite a stir. This was in line with the company’s development of liquid cooled, DOHC, 16 valve, four cylinder engines. This power unit combined with a light, compact chassis would carry you across the first 400 metres of your journey in just over ten and a half seconds. It had a top speed of 250km/h and took the title of ‘The World’s Fastest Bike’. It was also named ‘Bike of the Year’ in 1984.
1984 also saw the introduction of Kawasaki’s first Cruiser, the Vulcan 750, whilst the 900cc Eliminator came along a year later, using the engine from the GPz900r. The CS250 (Casual Sports) appeared in the same year, featuring a liquid cooled, DOHC, single cylinder motor.
During the90’s, Japanese motorcycle manufacturers were in serious competition in the Superbike sector, and Kawasaki’s contribution was the 1052cc, ZZR-1100, a motorcycle that was to remain the fastest production bike for the next five years. Its power, combined with a strong frame and good suspension, made it a popular touring machine. In 2002, it was replaced by the ZZR-1200, which offered better handling. A ZZR-600 also entered the fray.
2002 saw the Ninja ZX-12R arrive with an aluminium, monocoque frame, and a 16 valve in line, four cylinder engine.
In 2003, the 638cc, ZX-6R replaced the 1995 version. This completely redesigned machine was all that a fast bike should be; quick and aggressive. The Z1000 appeared as a street bike in this same year. It seemed that Kawasaki was top of the tree.
Their motorcycle history has been relatively short, but Kawasaki have achieved more in that time than some manufacturers have done in a hundred years. It’s no surprise then, that owners stay loyal to the company and the product, as we all wait eagerly for the next exciting development o come along and blow our minds.
Alan Liptrot is the founder of www.motorbike-tours.co.uk Visit the website to claim your free motorcycle e-book Need a good price? check Voit Trick Shot Billiards Table
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Islamo-Fascism - What Is Islamic Fascism?
by C. Read
Islamo-Fascism is on the rise and going unchecked, similar to the Fascist movement of the Nazis that began in the 1930s and led into World War II. Western countries, unwilling to take a lesson from history, allow Islamic Fascism to not only grow, but continue to flourish. Unlike the Nazi movement that occurred before the war, however, those who are part of the Islamo-Fascism movement are not confined to one part of the world. They are all over the world and their voice is getting stronger.
Even after terrorist attacks in western countries, leaders are looking the other way when it comes to Islamic Fascism. This is true in the European Union as well as the United States. The recent election of US President Barack Obama, who was recently photographed bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia, indicates that Americans are willing to forgive and forget the terrorist attacks that killed thousands of civilians on September 11, 2001. Any reference to Islamo-Fascism in the United States is seen as being extreme by the media.
Fascism is the ideology that Hitler used to rule Germany. It obliterates human rights, different ideas and calls for total allegiance to the leader. Adolph Hitler, who was elected into power, orchestrated the death of six million people who did not fit in with his ideology and started a war that cost millions of lives. Islamo-Fascism is the intolerance of anyone who is not of the Islamic faith. We see this in many Islamic countries where even practicing another faith can be cause for imprisonment or even death. In Islamic Fascism countries, human rights are virtually non-existent, especially for those of another faith other than Islam, women and dissidents. The human rights abuses that go on in countries like Saudi Arabia, for example, are largely ignored by the western media.
Islamo-Fascism is frightening for many people who are non-Muslim. Attacks against westerners are on the rise and largely left unchecked. Very similar to how Hitler was allowed to run unchecked by the rest of the world until he started trying to take over. Islamic Fascism, however, is scarier to most than the fascism practiced by the Nazis. This is because unlike the Nazis, the Islamo-Fascism movement is spreading to all parts of the world and not just concentrated in one country, and those who practice Islamic-Fascism are actually willing to die for their cause.
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and second only to Christianity when it comes to religion. The Koran makes it clear that non-believers are not to be tolerated and encourages the convert or die ideology. Like the fascism practiced in Nazi Germany, Jews are large target, as is the United States and any other nation that supports the right of Israel to exist. Unlike the fascism practiced in Nazi Germany, however, the threat is not clearly stated and acts to put the ideology into action are not traced back to another country, but to fanatics of Islam.
The world has changed since the 1930s and people have become more tolerant in the west to different beliefs. In fact, they have bent over backward to accommodate them and even welcomed those who believe in Islamic Fascism into their midst. Much like a farmer welcoming a fox into the henhouse.
Many people find Islamic Fascism to be frightening, but others are refusing to believe it exists. To find out more about Islamo-Fascism , go to Craigread Blogspot.
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