Addressing the language needs of local communities - part two

PART TWO: some practical solutions

How can the public sector best serve communities that speak a multitude of languages especially when it comes to the delivery of front-line services?

• Each organisation will need to come up with a sensible plan that meets the specific needs of its local communities. They can utilise existing data sources (e.g. public census data) to determine current and future demographic trends. They can also utilise existing community consultation mechanisms to find out what the communities’ specific language needs are and focus their resources appropriately.
• There may be the opportunity for several partner organisations (local authorities, health, voluntary sector etc.) to pool resources in each region. This could take the form of joint funding of a translation service (even joint funding a dedicated interpreter role); sharing staff who speak community languages; jointly setting up and promoting English language courses in the community.
• It is likely that the sector will still need to spend money on external translation services even if they develop the language skills of their own staff. Therefore they could investigate more cost-effective resources such as on-line translation and telephone translation services.
• Language skills should be viewed by organisations as being as important to the business as any other core competence and the need for languages should be incorporated within their workforce development plans. Organisations can then proactively recruit front-line staff with the necessary language skills, listing the ability to speak one or more of the most commonly spoken community languages as a desirable criterion within all customer facing job profiles. Where appropriate, the organisation could also develop additional language skills amongst its front-line staff to provide a more positive experience for non-English speaking customers. This approach could also be applied to those customers who communicate using, for example, British Sign Language.
• Again, using existing demographic data, the organisation can take the lead in actively promoting English language courses. Even if these were provided for free, there is likely to be a substantial saving in the overall translation bill. The organisation can work closely with community groups, doctors’ surgeries, libraries etc. to promote English language courses as of benefit to the individual and the community. If they really want to build strong communities, local authorities and other public sector organisations could encourage native English speakers to help support the learning of their neighbours.
• Recognising the important role that family members play in providing translation, additional support could be provided to them to help them develop their translation skills.
• To ensure that external interpreters are able to consistently and accurately translate more technical information e.g. medical terms, organisations could work more closely with the service provider to ensure that interpreters regularly update their skills (and develop specialist skills where appropriate). As a major purchaser of translation services, the public sector should demand that interpreter development is written into their contracts. The sector could also look at cost-effective ways of block purchasing services within regions/across the UK and negotiate discounts for these services.
• So basically, public sector organisations (along with their partners) should unite to provide a more joined up and strategic approach to meeting the language (and other) needs of their communities, encouraging whole-community collaboration rather than perpetuating a situation where non-English speakers (and other minorities) are viewed as a burden.

What is the importance of having language skills in the public sector when it comes to service delivery in areas which are multi-cultural?

• It could be argued that basic customer service requires front-line staff to be able to greet the customer in an appropriate manner, and identify and meet their information/service needs in a timely way. This requires cultural sensitivity along with access to an appropriate translation service (be it in-house, face-to-face, on-line, by telephone etc.). As fewer ‘administrative’ transactions need to be face-to-face nowadays, the sector is increasingly encouraging their customers to access their services on-line. A similar principle of customer service would need to apply to an on-line access point: the website needs to be welcoming and accessible to a very diverse customer base (including younger customers, older customers those with disabilities etc.). These diversity requirements should be written into customer service standards and also reflected in staff appraisal and competency frameworks.
• So basically, having language skills is only part of the picture in terms of providing a high quality service to the public. Cultural sensitivity should also be a core competence for all staff especially front-line staff. Some very good books have been produced which outline the key features of the main minority ethnic religions and these would be a good reference point for front-line staff to use as needed – rather than trying to train staff to understand every possible customer they might come into contact with, at some point in the future.
• There is also the issue of public perception of the sector. It can be argued that people will have more confidence in the organisation’s ability to meet their needs if they see ‘people like them’ working for the organisation. This is especially important in front-line roles where customers appreciate being dealt with by someone who is able to understand their needs. Again it should be stressed that this is much more than a member of staff being able to speak their language – it is about the staff member having the cultural sensitivity to treat them in an appropriate way. This ability to understand and respect diversity can also be applied to other groups as well e.g. people with disabilities, LGBT customers etc.
• Language skills are important, but I would favour public sector organisations taking a more strategic, joined up approach that allows them to address several key agendas at once e.g. community cohesion/engagement; strong leadership; partnership working; workforce planning etc. This will allow them to develop strategies that are sustainable in the longer term. Key to this is the sector investing in excellent internal/external communications so that they can take the whole community and their workforce with them.