To successfully engage with customers – and deliver to them loyalty and delight-and-revenue-driving excellent customer experiences (CXs) – you need to speak their language. Both figurately – as in avoiding jargon, using their terms, and above all listening to what they are saying – but also literally.
For customers whose primary or preferred language is not English in the U.S. (and/or French in Canada) that could be a challenge for them and for many organizations.
And that’s understandable. English is a notoriously difficult language for non-primary or native speakers to master with its complex “exceptions to every rule” grammar, idioms, pronunciation, punctuation, and spelling.
That is because English has twisted Germanic and Romance (Greek, Latin) roots. And that’s thanks to the early Middle Ages invasions of England: Angles (where England/English gets their names from), Frisians, Jutes, and Saxons (hence Anglo-Saxon), and finally, the Normans (William the Conqueror). But these also give English arguably its flexibility to readily incorporate new words and expressions.
(And that’s not taking account the differences between American and British English and yes Canadian variations, and likewise between Canadian and Parisian French. This a separate set of topics that is best left to another time).
Consequently, companies have been looking for excellent – and cost-effective – CX-and-loyalty-building solutions to manage the language issue. There are now artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools that have been created to help such customers.
To help contact center organizations speak to customers (both verbally and in writing) we reached out to these experts:
- Raffaella Bianchi, Group Chief Revenue Officer, Covisian
- Salvador Ordorica, founder and CEO, The Spanish Group
- Heather Shoemaker, founder and CEO, Language I/O
Q. When customers whose primary or preferred language is not English contacts U.S. or Canadian organizations (outside of Quebec), are their expectations to communicate with agents in English? But if so, are there instances where they want to engage with agents in their primary or preferred language and for what types of products and services and needs?
Raffaella Bianchi:
Unless individuals are comfortable and fluent in English, most customers prefer to speak to a customer service representative in their native language. This helps reduce any language barriers or misunderstandings. It is most important when dealing with complex and personal matters such as healthcare and banking, where confusion in the conversation can have detrimental outcomes.
Salvador Ordorica:
Yes, many customers with non-English primary languages expect to communicate in English when contacting U.S. or Canadian organizations. However, customers often prefer their native languages for essential services like healthcare, finance, or legal assistance: areas where accuracy is critical.
We’ve seen a marked increase in requests for translations in Spanish and Mandarin for customer support materials in these industries. The U.S. Census Bureau data shows that 22% of Americans speak a language other than English at home, highlighting the need for multilingual options.
Heather Shoemaker:
Customers expect to be able to communicate in their native language if they reach out to an organization’s customer service team. Fulfilling that expectation builds trust with both the agents and the brand.
While customer expectations are always evolving, one demand remains steadfast: prioritizing personalization. And that includes speaking their language.
Q. Do these customers’ language use with organizations vary by channel and if so, why, and for what purposes? Which channels do they use English for (if reluctantly) and which channels will they want to use their primary or preferred language?
Raffaella Bianchi:
We find that customers prefer native language agents when on the phone, but they are more open to English conversations over text or email. This may be because they can take the time to review what is being said in writing and how they answer. It is easier to ask follow-up questions in text when customers feel less pressure to keep a live conversation going.
Salvador Ordorica:
Customers adapt their language preferences based on the channel:
- Voice calls. Customers prioritize their primary language for urgent or complex issues.
- Chat or email. These are often used in English, leveraging translation tools when necessary.
- Self-service tools. Without multilingual options, these can alienate non-English speakers.
According to CSA Research, 76% of customers prefer buying products with information in their native language, a trend that extends to service channels.
Heather Shoemaker:
When someone reaches out to customer service, the support level must be at the same high caliber regardless of channel.
Consistent, omnichannel support aligns the brand experience and is more convenient for customers. If they start a chat online but realize they would rather discuss it over the phone, they shouldn’t have to restate all of the information and their needs to the next agent. Rather, those channels should be connected to ensure the most unified experience possible is provided for the customer.
Q. Which direction are non-English language primary/preferred customers’ language use going?
Do customers want to use/insist that organizations engage with them in their primary/preferred language And for which languages? Or are customers increasingly reluctant to speak languages other than English?
Raffaella Bianchi:
Customers are increasingly asking that customer service be delivered in their preferred language. Contact centers are better able to deliver on this demand because of the global nature of business and the ability of voice and text agents to work remotely from anywhere in the world, across time zones.
“…historical stigmas of English not being the primary language have been greatly reduced…” —Raffaella Bianchi
Technology allows us to connect customers with agents that speak the language, whether the agents are multilingual or single language, as well as identify the language and respond in the appropriate language through human or automated response.
Here are two important examples.
- Contact centers have done a good job of adding Spanish-language prompts and representatives based on demand for Spanish in the U.S. and Canada and are getting better at adding additional languages.
- Chinese continues to grow as the third most-spoken language in the U.S. and Canada. Many of these interactions can be facilitated by local agents that speak both English and Chinese or by agents in any country that are native Chinese speakers.
As to the last part of your question, historical stigmas of English not being the primary language have been greatly reduced, especially within customer service and service.
Companies recognize that people need help, and they want to deliver that help in the most effective way. If one of our agents notices that a non-native speaker struggles to interact in English, we can ask them if they prefer a native speaker.
Resolution of the issue is the most important goal: regardless of what language the interaction uses to find it.
Salvador Ordorica:
Non-English-speaking customers increasingly demand service in their preferred languages. This is driven by demographic shifts, inclusivity expectations, and enhanced cultural awareness.
“Customers adapt their language preferences based on the channel…” —Salvador Ordorica
The most-requested languages include Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog, and Hindi for localization in North America, according to CSA and to our research. And in Canada, Statistics Canada shows growing demand for services in Tagalog and Punjabi due to immigrant population growth. Conversely, some customers choose English to improve fluency or avoid potential biases.
Heather Shoemaker:
With a growing focus on compliance, such as the stiffer French-language mandates in Quebec’s Bill 96, accommodating non-English-speaking customers is also becoming more common. Businesses are prioritizing native-language support to meet regulatory requirements as well as customer expectations because they recognize the importance of accessibility.
Q. For organizations seeking to serve customers in languages other than English/French – and provide service at the level and quality customers expect – can they readily find and retain these agents in the U.S. and Canada? Or are they facing challenges in hiring and turnover and if so, in what languages?
Raffaella Bianchi:
Turnover is a common challenge within contact centers around the world. It can be difficult to find and retain skilled multilingual agents in the U.S. and Canada. Some specialized contact centers will pay a premium for these agents, especially in highly personalized contact centers delivering healthcare or financial services support.
Salvador Ordorica:
Recruiting and retaining multilingual agents is challenging, especially for niche languages like Korean or Arabic. Common issues include limited talent pools, high turnover, and salary competitiveness.
Heather Shoemaker:
Organizations may struggle to find and retain agents fluent in multiple languages, especially for highly specialized languages. These challenges result in increased turnover, higher costs, and lack of quality customer service.
For example, because of Bill 96, organizations now have additional pressure to provide French-language support if they want to serve Quebecois customers from outside of Canada.
Q. What are the choices and options organizations have? In-house (in-office/remote) or outsourced live agents? Onshore or nearshore/offshore? Live translation? Automated translation? Please discuss the pros and cons and use type each is best for. Also discuss the impacts of any legislation (E.G., on hiring, proof of lawful status, language use).
Raffaella Bianchi:
Due to technology, and Generative AI in particular, contact centers have many available options. Customer records can identify customers based on language preferences or companies can decide based on their knowledge of customers to offer specific language prompts on an IVR.
For example, an English-speaking agent can begin the call and then transfer the caller to a Spanish-language AI tool to gather data needed to support the interaction. This responsible use of AI is gaining traction in all languages.
If a brand desires, agents can be located onshore, nearshore, or offshore. Today, agents are aligned with incoming customer needs based more on skill sets and expertise than location. Cloud-based platforms and tools have nearly eliminated the need for in-house localized agents.
But training is more important than ever, regardless of language. Agents must be highly trained for quality of service and language should only be part of the equation.
AI can help train agents on how to navigate tricky situations. AI-powered sentiment analysis tools can make helpful suggestions to defuse frustrated customers. By giving agents tools that make their jobs easier, contact centers can retain more talent overall.
Live and/or automated translation is still evolving for voice transactions. It is more appropriate for text conversations where the accuracy of the translation can be checked, but this will change as the technology evolves.
For example, there are now realistic Generative AI-driven voice bots that provide support in multiple languages. They can answer customer questions and interact with external databases and systems and are accessible via websites, mobile applications, multimedia totems, extended and virtual reality platforms, and more.
Salvador Ordorica:
Let’s look at the pros and cons of the options.
- In-house agents. They ensure quality but are costlier and harder to scale.
- Outsourcing. Effective for cost control, but quality may vary. Stringent hiring laws for non-residents may limit offshore outsourcing opportunities, increasing reliance on nearshore or onshore solutions.
- Automated translation. Scalable but limited in handling cultural nuances.
Heather Shoemaker:
Organizations can utilize AI-powered translations, live agents (in-house or outsourced), or hybrid solutions.
AI-powered translations are cost-effective, reducing reliance on hiring and retaining multilingual agents, and scalable. There is quick implementation, so translations can be deployed instantly to meet urgent compliance deadlines like in Bill 96. AI translations are accurate and brand-aligned to make sure communication is consistent, as well as secure with zero data retention that protects customers’ information.
AI solutions are best for tasks like product support, FAQs, and documentation, so live agents can take the reins to resolve complex or sensitive interactions.
Q. What are your recommendations to organizations needing to serve these customers? What is the best way to determine how and in which language to serve them?
Raffaella Bianchi:
Companies must understand their customer base and staff accordingly when it comes to language preference. Like recognizing a person’s phone, email, or membership number, contact centers must also recognize an individual’s language preference.
From here, contact centers can determine how best to deploy these staff, whether they are localized or in another region, in-house, or outsourced.
They can create agent profiles and workflows that direct when agents are a match for particular inquiries based on language, phone, text, or email skillsets, seniority, availability, and other workforce management factors.
Most importantly, contact centers must be intimately familiar with the potential customers and their own agent language capabilities and adjust accordingly as market dynamics and customer needs shift.
Salvador Ordorica:
- Understand demographics. Use analytics to identify customer language preferences.
- Layered support. Combine AI, live agents, and translation services for a balanced approach.
- Leverage ISO 17100-certified translators. Ensure accuracy and cultural relevance.
- Invest in training. Equip agents with language and cultural expertise.
Together these methods and solutions can reduce support resolution times and increase customer retention rates.
Heather Shoemaker:
Organizations should focus on solutions that balance quality, scalability, and compliance. To determine the best languages and channels for support, it’s important to analyze contact volume, customer demographics and specific regulatory requirements like Quebec’s Bill 96.
“AI-powered translations are cost-effective, reducing reliance on hiring and retaining multilingual agents, and scalable.”
—Heather Shoemaker
While AI tools can effectively and efficiently translate FAQs, documentation, and live chat interactions, human agents can be reserved for complex or sensitive cases. Combining the two allows businesses to meet customer expectations, reduce costs, and provide accessible, consistent, and high-quality support.
Enabling Non-English/French-speaking Language Agents
Agent make-up in U.S. and Canadian contact centers typically mirrors the population make-up of the areas that they are serving.
Centers in Quebec, for instance, will have a strong French-speaking agent count (Ed. note, the province’s official language is French and there are powerful laws to support it).
Meanwhile, centers that are focused on population areas in the southern parts of the U.S. will have a strong Hispanic-speaking proportion of agents.
A few years ago, I worked on the sale of a market research company that made outbound phone calls to consumers regarding certain well-known consumer packaged goods: think Tide detergent and Campbell’s soup. Their claim to fame was that they had a bilingual (English and Spanish) agent workforce.
When calls were made to heavily Hispanic-populated areas, such as El Paso, Tex. and Miami, Fla., agents could easily switch languages if the consumers at the end of the phones were not proficient in English.
This company’s competitive advantage was, therefore, that they were able to gather 100% of the opinions of the consumers that they were calling, while other vendors would simply hang up the call if the consumer was not able to communicate in English.
Multilingual proficiency a must
Given the fact that the U.S. is statistically home to over 350 languages (U.S. Census Bureau), it is in the interest of every contact center to have agents who are proficient in as many languages as possible.
However, it is far more difficult to manage agents who are proficient only in one language, with the exception of English for obvious reasons. What we have seen is that agents will be hired if they have multilingual capabilities but who are unlikely to be hired if they are proficient only in one non-English language.
The increase in the Hispanic population in the U.S. has given rise to U.S.-based contact centers setting up operations or partnering with companies in nearshore areas. Countries like Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala have all seen surges in their agent population.
However, not all countries in Latin America have benefitted from this trend. The largest country in Latin America, Brazil, is a Portuguese-speaking country. In Argentina, the second largest country in Latin America, the Spanish accent is uniquely Argentine and difficult for most Spanish-speaking people to understand.
What is evident is that the consumer these days expects to communicate in whatever fashion (phone, SMS, email, chatbot, etc.) and in whatever language they prefer. This requirement is agnostic to the type of service (inbound, outbound, order entry, debt collections, etc.) or industry.
Role of AI
There is no doubt that, in the near-term, artificial intelligence (AI) will provide contact centers with tremendous benefits in interacting with non-voice consumers in languages other than English.
The question then becomes, can AI replace a live agent who is not proficient in a particular foreign language? The answer in the long-term is an unequivocal “yes” but clearly, we are not at that stage of AI’s evolution yet.
–Peter J. Hill, Managing Director, Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL). He has extensive mergers and acquisitions and capital markets experience, with deep knowledge in the overall Business Services sector, including business process outsourcing, contact center services, facilities management, human capital management, and other related outsourced services.
