Across the world, federal, state, and regional laws and regulations frequently require language access compliance. Public sector agencies are often compelled to provide equal access to public services, regardless of someone's preferred language. To meet these requirements, government agencies leverage language service providers (LSPs) to supply access to:

• Qualified interpreters
• Translated vital documents, forms, notices, and public information
• Customer service channels in their language
• Tools for language identification and processes for requesting assistance

“Qualified” is an important word here, since many governments and regulatory bodies generally discourage usage of laypeople like friends, family, and children as interpreters or translators. Agencies must find professional interpretation services and translation services, whether for phone, in-person, remote meetings, and/or written materials. Engaging an LSP alone won’t totally ensure language access compliance, though. Read on for three tips for maintaining language access compliance.

#1 Partner with a Vendor that Understands Federal, Local, and State Language Access Compliance Regulations

When choosing a provider for translation or interpretation services, consider their experience and knowledge of the language access compliance regulations your organization must follow. Relevant regulations might change from country to country, state to state, even city to city. They may also change over time. Different administrations create and dismantle language access priorities, so it’s important to have a translation and interpreting solutions vendor that stays up to date on compliance requirements. In the U.S., most government organizations must provide language access under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This legislation requires them to take reasonable steps to accommodate limited English proficiency (LEP) individuals seeking services and benefits. It also prohibits discrimination based on LEP status.

The right language services partner will also understand how to choose the appropriate linguists for your needs. Depending on the sensitivity of the task, an organization may need translators or interpreters that meet stringent requirements for:

• Citizenship
• Residency
• Government-conducted background investigations
• Security clearance

Lionbridge’s team has decades of experience assisting government organizations in their language access initiatives. Our experts can help navigate the best solutions for your organization, tailoring a plan that meets all relevant language access requirements.

#2 Choose an LSP that Can Provide Reporting for Easier Language Access Compliance

To maintain language access compliance, many organizations need to share detailed reporting on which languages their clients/customers used, outcomes, complaints, and which services they were required for. Agencies might need to submit reporting to one or more regulators, including:

• The U.S. Department of Justice
• Civil rights offices
• State oversight agencies
• Agency leadership

Their reported KPIs may include some combination of:

• Top languages requested
• Number of LEP individuals assisted
• Interpreter sessions
• Turnaround times for translation
• Percentage of vital documents translated
• Public meeting interpreting usage
• LEP user satisfaction
• Complaints regarding language access (both received and resolved)
• Average connection time (telephonic calls)
• Call accommodation rate

When government organizations choose the right language services provider, they won’t just get generic reporting. Providers like Lionbridge offer portals and customizable dashboards to pull necessary data in real time. We can also assist the customer in pulling reporting tailored directly to their needs. This support makes it significantly easier to maintain language access compliance, even across multiple regulatory bodies.

#3 Train Your Staff on Working with Interpreters

Engaging interpreting services isn’t enough to ensure language access compliance. For the most successful interactions, an agency needs to train its staff on how to work with professional interpreters. If the interpreting solutions are remote, there may be specific workflows required to access the services, including:

• PIN code entry
• Metadata prompts
• Navigation of an IVR menu

Typically, there is at least some mechanism to help track interpreting usage for compliance reporting (as discussed above).

Secondly, organizations must train staff to speak directly to the client/customer, not the interpreter. They should focus on providing the usual high level of customer service and building a strong connection directly with the person they’re serving. Sometimes people wrongly assume they should speak to the interpreter, which can impact the connection with the customer, the conversation efficacy, and the overall customer experience. In person, the employee should always prioritize eye contact and body language toward the customer, not the interpreter. The only caveat is that employees should check at the beginning of conversations whether the interpreter can hear everything clearly. If needed, they can check in again later to make sure the interpreter is still hearing everything clearly.

Third, organizations should remind employees that the interpreter will act only as a neutral third party. They shouldn’t rely on the interpreter to offer guidance, advice, or extra information. Though this sounds intuitive, sometimes people (wrongly) assume the interpreter will take on more than this independent role. In this case, the customer may miss relevant information.

Fourth, organizations should train their employees to speak in a manner that supports interpretation. They should speak at a moderate pace (not too fast or abnormally slow), pause regularly for the interpreter, and use plain language without slang or industry jargon. No one should speak over anyone else, as this can create confusion. It also helps to present only one idea at a time and keep conversation especially organized and clear.

Lastly, employees may benefit from cultural awareness training, practice opportunities, and quick-reference documents with information from all their interpreter trainings. Dedicating time to these areas will help employees feel confident and make the most of customer/client interactions that necessitate a translator. Because language access compliance is mission-critical for every government organization, it’s worth setting aside extra resources and time to optimize interpreting outcomes.

Get in touch

Looking for assistance maintaining language access compliance? Need interpreting services tailored to your unique organization and customer needs? Lionbridge can help. Let’s get in touch.