Why should patience trainings be implemented in the workplace to deal with language barriers?

Submitted by; Team Brauhaus Schmitz - Bradley R. Barlow, Tiffany Boyce, Camille C. Britton,

Daniel Y.C. Li, Luis F. Vargas

Salt Lake City Community College, Communications 1010-41, July 30, 2018

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

Table of Contents
I.Executive Summary………………………………………………………………....Pg.3
II. Project Description………….…………………………………………………….Pg.4
III. Methods…………………………………………………………………………..Pg.5-6
Part I:Define the problem…………………………………………………...Pg.5
Part II:Analysis of the Problem……..………………………………………Pg.5
Characteristics……………………………………………………………………….Pg.5-6
Stakeholders………………………………………………………………………....Pg.6
History……………………………………………………………………………….Pg.6-9
Policies and Politics…………………………………………………………………Pg.9-10
Resources…………………………………………………………………………….Pg.10-11
Part II:Criteria……………………………………………………………....Pg.11
Part IV:Brainstorming Possible Solution …………………………………Pg.11-12
Part V: Solution Choices…………………………………………………....Pg.12
Part VI:............................................................................................................Pg.12
Criteria Chart……………………………………………………………………….Pg.13
Possible Barriers To Final Solution………………………………………………..Pg.14-16
Possible Negative Consequences of Our Final Solution………………………….Pg.15

Implement Final Solution 15-16

Task Flow chart 17-18
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….Pg.18

Appendix ………………………………………………………………………………...Pg.19-20
Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………....Pg.20-22

Citations ………………………………………………………………………………...Pg.22

Executive Summary

Team Brauhaus Schmitz has been assigned the task of analyzing and creating a solution for a

common problem in our world today known as “poor customer service due to language barriers.”

In addition to this we’ve noted how those in management positions can struggle with this issue

and sometimes get frustrated with their employees leading to conflicts that are being described as

“Bad boss nightmares.” Our overall goal is to have a happier interaction with our clients, and to

create a smoother flow, even when the customer does not speak English fluently.

Our first step to creating a solution was to make a list of positive criteria that would be

expected of an adequate solution. Based on a quality rating system we started to select all the

best attributes that would make up our solution. We decided our solution would include the

following; Implementation of incentives for bilingual employees to attract bilingual speakers to

the company. Secondly, we wanted to have documents advertising classes and voluntary course

work for our current employees to entice them to sign up for the program. This also includes an

acknowledgement sheet/disciplinary action report for employees with a warning status, as well

as certification paperwork and manuals. Third, with these training manuals we will

teach problem solving solutions, and other processes that promote patience and sensitivity.

Lastly, our trainings will include a two-minute meditation yoga sequence that is easy to follow

and memorize. This way the training may be implemented within the workplace.

With our solution detailed we can now implement these trainings freely for employees to

sign up and take these classes. We have also implemented a warning, or problematic employee
training to be for employees to take when they have less than satisfactory customer service. This

will help our company more fluid and diverse working with our international communities.

Project Description

The language barrier problem is especially applicable to people in this Country due to the

breadth of cultural diversity, which has the potential to create a hotbed of communication

breakdowns. What’s more is when regarding customer service issues, most of the time customers

are calling in due to frustration with a product or service. Understanding these are the

circumstances we need to work around fueled the team to take on this project.

With our task set before us, the 5 team members gathered together multiple times in

arranged meetings. The purpose of the meetings was to create a solution for the problem of

language barriers in customer service. The meeting tasks consisted of planning our problem

solving strategy, conducting research based on a series of factors pertaining to the problem,

brainstorming solutions, analyzing the problem, solutions, and implementation of final solution,

and finally, creating training content and itemized solutions that could be used when approaching

language barriers.

Methods

Our team met in class periods to have meetings to discuss plans, what we think would be

the best process to come up with a solutions to over the issue of our topic. We created a team

contract, Tiffany was assigned as the leader, Daniel was then assigned as the note taker, Luis

agreed to be the editor, Cami is the house taker, and Brad is the analyzer. We also assigned

relational roles. Cami is the listener, Luis took on the role of the tension reliever, Tiffany is going

to keep it all together, Bran is going to sensor the group and Daniel said he would be the
harmonizer. We did have struggles with doing research and having all classmates meet up. We

came up with a structured regiment of research anomalies to come up with better formulated

solutions. We then gave a ranking to all of the solutions and chose the highest scoring option.

Part I: Define The Problem

America is a culturally diverse place with over 250 languages spoken nationwide, this

gives a common issue with citizens, immigrants, and visitors struggling with English, as its not

their primary language. This can cause poor customer service due to these language barriers, as it

can be a very frustrating issue and cause stress on employees as well as their bosses and

companies. Our group agreed that our key problem is “How can we implement and help

employees deal with a customer who has a language barrier?”

Part II: Analysis of The Problem

After we researched, and talked about our issue we implemented how characteristics,

stakeholders would be affected by this, as well as a history, politics and policies that have built

the foundations for this to be solved.

Characteristics

Good customer service means efficiently helping customers and ensuring customer

satisfaction. Customer service is the attention and care a business provides to a customer before,

during, and after a transaction. Employees and employers need to be friendly, respectful, and

responsive to a customer’s needs. Effectively dealing with language barriers requires an

established guideline to minimize frustration and quickly solve issues. Immigrants make up such

a large portion of clientele, large companies can’t afford to overlook their needs. Companies

unwilling to work through language barriers lose out on a significant amount of business.
Stakeholders

This issue influences all groups of people in the workforce, including the employees,

managers, even the customers. The employees would be affected the most by this problem.

Our day and age, more than any other time, carries with it the hallmark of world wide

connectivity due to the advent of the internet. Regarding customer service, the incorporated e

commerce industries (Amazon, Google, and Ebay to name a few giants), are most affected by

communication across different languages and cultures. Sub-categorically represented by

management/owners, customers, and customer service representatives (basic level employee’s.)

Although all are on different sides of customer service and business, they share the common goal

of conducting business transactions. -I.E. the customer wants to buy products or services, the

employee’s of the company want to facilitate business transactions, via customer service, in

order to receive pay, and finally, the management teams/owners want to empower their

employees to provide good customer service in order to gain profits for the company. If language

barriers inhibit quality customer service then all could be effected; Customers won’t make

successful purchases, customer service representatives wouldn’t have jobs, and

management/owners could risk losing their companies.

History

In the past fifty years great strides have been taken to break communication barriers in

America, especially in the customer service realm. Everything from various forms of

sensitivity/patience training, to free ESL classes. However, prior to this time there was very little,

if anything, being done to improve communication amongst populations who speak different

languages. In some severe cases people have been abused, or even killed due to language
barriers. Something to note is the means in which we try to communicate across the barriers of

differing languages hasn’t changed in over 400 yrs.

One such example of trying to solve for severe miscommunication can be seen in the

spanish conquest of the South American Nations. It’s been rumored that the most successful

early attempts to speak to the indigenous peoples of South America by the Spanish were done

through nonverbal facial cues, physical pantomiming, and the use of translators. A few accounts

from that time describe the situation as tense and dangerous. “One of the Indians advanced into

the river near the prow of the boat, and delivered a long speech…the Admiral…saw the face of

the Indian whom he had taken with him, and who understands the language, change color, turn

yellow as wax, and tremble mightily while saying by signs that the Admiral should leave the river

because they sought to kill him.” -de las Casas. - “forms and moments of miscommunication

were more than equaled by more or less successful readings of the statements and intentions of

the foreigners” (Restall, p. 98). Another means used to solve miscommunication came with the

establishment of primary languages. As mentioned in the Politics and Policies section of this

paper there are language laws in place for certain areas, or fields of work, where a primary

language is known to dominate the landscape. An example of this is nautical trade in the Indian

Ocean and the use of Arabic as a central language during the renaissance period. Due to the

prevalence of arabic speaking traders the use of Arabic in trade became the norm, and people

who were eager to take advantage of goods being sold knew beforehand that knowing arabic

would be paramount in successful trading. Fast forward to the 21st Century where specific

procedures tools and guidelines are practiced in various businesses where customer service and

communication are essential to success. These steps are utilized by just about every customer

service center in the world.

 1. Speak slowly, clearly, and keep it simple; This means enunciating, and taking

great efforts to be heard. Limiting your vocabulary and instructions to maintain

the essential parts, while removing information that is not necessary is what’s

desired.

2. Ask Questions; It’s imperative that you know whether or not you’re message is

understood. Do this by asking questions and judging the answer your receive.

3. Utilize the communication medium that best fits the problem; In the modern age

communication mediums in customer service can range from email, phone calls,

instant messenger, third party translator services, even miming or drawing.

Identify which medium works best for the problems at hand.

4. Use Translators and others to help; If all efforts fall short of breaking language

barriers it’s always helpful to utilize a translator who’s fluent in the language of

the person you’re speaking to. Automated software such as Google translate may

also come in handy, just know that translators are usually a rare commodity and

should be used only when necessary.

5. Be positive, patient, and be prepared to go above and beyond. It's no easy task

trying to navigate a new language. Your attitude is the cornerstone to success and

will set the tone. Be understanding, compassionate, patient, and always try your

best!

Policies and Politics

Policies that are used to gain and hold power in a government or to influence a

government job.
Government sets a standard English level exam before coming into applying or accepting a

government job. Also gain workers that are bilingual to help the variety of languages.

E-Verify is an Internet based system that compares information entered by an employer

from an employee’s form 1-9, employment eligibility Verification, to record available to the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security and the social security Administration to confirm employment

eligibility. Very similar to a background check except they check your Legal Status in this

country. Almost every company in the U.S does E-verify to make sure workers are not using

illegal documentation. Country such as U.S. has a vary cultural diversity, as well citizens from

all around the world it is very beneficial for companies to try to gather as many U.S citizens that

are most likely related to English. In order to become an U.S citizen you must pass the

naturalization test. At your interview you are required to answer questions about your

background. You also have to take English proficiency exams and Civics test unless you qualify

for an exemptions or waiver. It is very beneficial for the government because they are very

detailed on who they hire as for each specific job.To make sure each worker meets whichever

criteria.

By performing E-Verify workers are most likely to speak English, likely breaking down

bilingual barriers. Also it’s most like they are very familiar with the culture and the way of

speaking according to specific city.

Resources

Overcoming a language barrier in the workplace is a major function that could ultimately

be a disaster. One of the easiest ways to over overcome this, for example if one were to work

with customers in person at a hotel for example, one could have the google translate app. This is

free and allows one to speak, type or even draw symbols (as chinese) this would help the two
parties communicate back and forth and there would be no stress involved. Some examples of

resources to overcome this issue are as follows. Translate all relevant documents, this makes it

understandable for all parties. Providing language classes, this gives not only a new language,

but a new culture to employees to have them more culturally diverse. Using an interpreter is

another way to get over a language barrier, having this resource is wonderful to be able to bridge

this gap. Repeating these methods is great repetition to help the content of trainings to stick with

an individual, this also ties into having an employee demonstrate their knowledge. Lastly, using

simpler words and fewer syllables is a great way to help a message stick.

These tools can and will help companies have their employees be effective at overcoming

these difficult challenges, this can help relieve stress and create a more stable work environment.

This also helps customers have a more rewarding and pleasant experience when they have a

difficult time with English, when it’s not primarily their second language. This reflects on the

companies and gives better feedback to other potential customers to stabilize their customer

service which can be a main selling point for consumers.

Part III: Criteria

It was important to set criteria for our solutions to help us gage their effectiveness. Our

criteria breaks down what we feel is important to include in our solutions.

A. General Goal

Our goal was to implement a solution that would increase sensitivity, problem-solving,

and patience in communication in the workplace when dealing with language barriers.

B. Criteria

1. Training Programs
 2. Reduces Termination /Termination Anxiety

3. Utilizes Interpreter

4. Utilizes Documentation/Accountability Paperwork

5. Inexpensive

6. Happy Customers/Staff/Management

Part IV: Brainstorming Possible solution

A. Description on our solution. This section is for some solutions we came up with. The

purpose of this process is to come up with as many solutions as possible. Some of our choices

are based on personal experience, others are due to online researched, but after some evaluation

we decided some top solution choices for our solution.

B. Top solution choices:

1. Professionally taught sensitive/ Patience training

2. Focused solutions training for conflicts regarding language barrier

3. Create incentive for bilingual employees and manager

4. Hire or compensate Google translate/ Dedicated bilingual analysis

5. Scheduled team communication/ Venting Sessions

Part V: Solution Choices

In step five we have multiple solutions and went over a ranking system. We took our top

five solutions and implemented a ranking system of 0-5 and them implemented that into our

solution. This helped us filter out pricy and unnecessary steps for our training program.
Criteria Chart

Solutions are ranked based on a point represented by number 0-5; 0 meaning not meeting

criteria requirements, and 5 meaning meets all criteria requirements.

Figure 1

C. Final Solution
 Establish training sessions teaching sensitivity, problem-solving, and patience. As well as

scheduled team meetings, to vent and communicate frustrations identifying ways to improve our

communication, and finally, establishing incentives to hire bilingual employees.

This excels over all due to:

This solution overcomes all of our other choices because: it would be the most effective

and cost efficient. The solution may seem as an expensive cost to have a trainer come in,

however, this would end up being the most cost effective as it helps retain employees and have a

lower turnover rate. As this keeps our current employees, this helps our overall customer service

levels as more experienced employees stay longer and implement the trainings, creating better

customer service and environment.

D. Possible negative consequences

Possible Barriers to Final Solution

Barrier 1: Some employees won’t participate, due to “they just don’t see the point.”

Solution: Our solutions include incentives for quality participation. Employees can be given

“company cash” and can buy things from the “market” such as gift cards, candy bars, pens,

snacks, etc. This can also include contest for larger prizes, such as TV’s gaming systems. Etc

Barrier 2: These trainings could be seen as an expensive solution.

Solution: To keep the trainings cost effective, we plan on having these trainings only twice a

month, and have them targeted at employees who are in disciplinary action, or schedule tactically

instead of creating a mandatory class.

Barrier 3: Not enough of bilingual applicants

Solution: To solve this issue, the company should limit the amount of interpretation-needed

employees or promote existing bilingual workers in the company. The barrier can also be solved

by using interpretation technologies, such as Google translate.

Possible Negative Consequences of Our Final Solution

We believe a negative drawback to our final solution, could be the creation of an

expensive, yet ineffective solution that would put strain on finances. Having a third party train on

a bi weekly basis would be a hit to the budget. This could also have negative feedback as some

employees might see this as a waste of time and not put effort into improving their bilingual

skills or patience.

Part VI: Implementation of Solution

First we’ll offer incentives to bilingual employees, they would receive higher pay than

single language employees. This would help bring in more bilinguals to have in the workplace to

relieve the stress of language barriers. Secondly, a larger implementation of our solution, is to

have trainings for patience as well as having some bilingual classes for current employees.

Employees who are on disciplinary action for poor customer service would receive mandatory

patience trainings to be able to help their skills and customer service tactics. This also includes

ways to meditate and take a calming moment to calm down. Employees who are not on a

disciplinary action would have the option to take these courses, so they may have the opportunity

to practice their skills before getting written up for poor customer service. Lastly, we will offer

reimbursement for language classes for employees to roll in, so they may be able to become

bilingual on their own, or the company can buy learning software for the employee to take

classes at their own pace at home.

Figure 2
Figure 3

Conclusion

There’s no ultimate solution for miscommunication, especially due to language barriers,

and the customer service world will forever be subject to these problems. So until we can come

together, as a planet, and create a universal language we all agree to use we’ll need to try our

best to use what methods we’ve discussed. Know that your ability to be patient and have a

positive attitude is of the foremost importance, be willing to budget for the use of bilingual

employees and translators, be willing to participate/educate with in-depth problem solving

training.
Appendix

Team Name: Brauhaus Schmitz

Case # and Description: Case Study #16: Customer Service (Bad Boss) Nightmare

Meeting Date and Time: July 23 , 2018 5:30 PM

rd

Meeting Location and Type: Jordan Campus

Team Members in Attendance:

· Brad Barlow

· Tiffany Boyce

· Cami Britton

· Luis Vargas

Team Members Absent:

· Daniel Li

Executive Summary
 Team Brauhaus Schmitz has been assigned the task of analyzing and creating a solution

for a common problem in our world today known as “poor customer service due to a language

barrier.” In addition to this we’ve noted how those in management positions can struggle with

this issue and sometimes get frustrated with their employees leading to conflicts that are being

described as “Bad boss nightmares.” Our overall goal is to have a happier interaction with our

clients, and to create a smoother flow, even when the customer does not speak English fluently.

Our first step to creating a solution was to make a list of positive criteria that would be

expected of an adequate solution. Based on a quality rating system we started to select all the

best attributes that would make up our solution.

We decided our solution would include the following; Implementation of incentives for

bilingual employees to attract bilingual speakers to the company. Secondly, we wanted to have

documents advertising classes and voluntary course work for our current employees to entice

them to sign up for the program. This also includes an acknowledgement sheet/disciplinary

action report for employees with a warning status, as well as certification paperwork and

manuals. Third, with these training manuals we will teach problem solving solutions, and other

processes that promote patience and sensitivity. Lastly, our trainings will include a two-minute

meditation yoga sequence that is easy to follow and memorize. This way the training may be

implemented within the workplace.

With our solution detailed we can now implement these trainings freely for employees to

sign up and take these classes. We have also implemented a warning, or problematic employee
training to be for employees to take when they have less than satisfactory customer service. This

will help our company more fluid and diverse working with our international communities

More pay

Less stress over language barriers

More culturally diverse

Starting at a better position

Opportunity to with customers hands on

Winning more prizes

More opportunities

Simplified trainings

More respect

Creating their own hours at work

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