There is a great need for bilingual call centers with properly trained agents who can communicate effectively with customers. Populations are changing, and businesses that can accommodate the non-English speaking customers can boost their sales. Proficiency in Spanish is important in a bilingual call center given that the Hispanic population of about 40 million in the United States is the most rapidly increasing segment.

Other languages including French, German, Japanese and Russian are also commonly spoken languages in the U.S., so agents for a bilingual call center who are fluent in these languages are sought. The internet has also allowed international customers to seek U.S. domestic products, so bilingual or multilingual call centers are a great way to service these customers. If an agent is not truly fluent, they cannot give the service that a customer expects. In any language, a call center agent must have excellent listening skills, and be able to manage customers professionally and competently.

Agents cannot simply vaguely know the language in a bilingual call center. They must be highly proficient and fluent, so attention must be paid to their hiring, training, and the ongoing quality assurance in a call center. Agents must be aware of the different interpretations and translations, as well as nuances to communicate well with non-English speaking customers.

Bilingual call centers start with strict employment screening and interviewing to test the fluency of a potential employee’s language skills. Training sessions after hiring include role playing and practicing scripts in both languages. There is also ongoing quality control through the monitoring of employee calls to assure that agent’s vocabulary, usage and translations are consistent. With these screenings, monitoring and ongoing training, a customer service representative can effectively cater to this significant portion of the population.