I live in a multilingual and multicultural environment where various racial groups happily co-exist and go side by side and together can converse in over 50 different types of languages. The three main races in Malaysia consist of Malay, Chinese, and Indian, and Bahasa Malaysia (the country’s official language), Mandarin, and Tamil are widely spoken here. However, English still remained and was considered as the “de facto” language for business use, especially among the private sectors. As a result, effective communication in English is a must for all customer service personnel. It’s common for customer service staff here to get caught up in awkward situations when faced with customers who prefer to speak in their own language. However, most clients don’t mind conversing in English if you can’t speak their languages, as English is the second subject you have to pass in our national curriculum. Although having the ability to converse in different languages ​​is an advantage, they are not as essential as having the ability to converse effectively in English.

Here are a number of steps you may want to consider when preparing your customer service staff to take on their role of serving the customer well:

profiling

All staff dealing with clients must be duly profiled and evaluated to ensure that they have the necessary language proficiency for their duties. Those who are weaker must undergo a mandatory basic level program to improve their communication skills and language proficiency before they are allowed to face clients.

Communication skills training

All staff facing clients are required to attend an entry-level program to improve their communication skills and improve their command of the language. The basic program should cover the grammatical skills and vocabulary necessary for everyday conversation and writing. Thereafter, staff must also attend the Intermediate Level Program to further develop their skills in exploring their rapidly changing roles, broaden their language skills, hone their communication skills at all levels, as well as develop their Confidence in all aspects of your job performance. Emphasize personal resilience to complete all established courses to equip staff with the competence and ability to do their jobs well.

Post-assessment evaluation

Learners must also undergo appropriate post-assessment to ensure they fully understand the meaning and application of the language. To give trainees a sense of urgency, their assessment results should be linked to their performance bonus.

Practical exercises

Make sharing personal experiences and storytelling an integral part of your daily routine to encourage “two-way or three-way” communication between colleagues and superiors. Set up as many reading materials as possible and provide free access to encourage strong reading habits as a way to improve and enhance language proficiency. Make reading fun by hosting a contest to encourage staff to modify and retell the story the way they see it.

“I’ve traveled the world twice,

I met the famous; saints and sinners,

Poets and artists, kings and queens,

Old stars and hopeful beginners,

I’ve been where no one’s been before

Secrets learned from writers and cooks.

All with one library ticket

To the wonderful world of books.”

comparative evaluation

There is nothing better than encouraging your staff to visit other Customer Service Centers to get an idea of ​​the level of service there. The hospitality industry will be a very good place to start considering the high level of service that is generally found in the industry. Arrange a “win-win” visit to non-competitor offices to gain first-hand insight into how services are defined and delivered.

It can be said that the future of a company depends on the talent and innovative abilities of its employees, but more importantly, there can be no future if its employees cannot communicate effectively. This guide covers everything today’s managers need to put the right people in the right jobs.