The Language Shop (tls): We make the world more inclusive.
We bridge the gap between people and vital services and provide access with innovative and dynamic solutions.
International organisation, local impact
Formed over 30 years ago in East London, The Language Shop (tls) was originally a department of the London Borough of Newham Council. Now an ethically-driven employee mutual still 49% owned by the Council, we have grown to become an international organisation delivering high quality, affordable language services including interpreting, translation, examinations & assessments, quality assurance and qualifications & training to the public sector and charities.
We reinvest profits back into our systems, people and the community to fund vital public services and subsidise and fund training and qualifications to increase employment opportunities locally. In line with our social value commitments, we pay our face-to-face interpreters at least 75% of the final booking fee as an accredited member of the Living Wage Foundation, as well as offering fair contractual terms and additional benefits, such as not fining for one-off missed appointments.
Service user outcomes
The Language Shop (tls) is committed to excellent customer care and delivering excellent customer services to the public sector and charitable organisations we work with – enabling them to improve outcomes for their service users. We exist to break down language barriers for social good and we are proud of the fact that the work we do has a significant impact on the lives of vulnerable people who otherwise would not be able to access the health, education and justice services they need.
We are much more than a language services provider. We work alongside our customers to develop unique systems and processes designed to meet their needs and objectives. This includes contributing to the social value aims of public sector organisations, ensuring our linguists are suitably safeguarded and qualified to maximise quality in every booking, and performing spend and fulfilment analysis to guarantee value for money across all service lines.
Innovative systems and solutions
Our ethical values and public sector roots are embedded into the development of processes, systems and solutions which use the latest technology for maximum accessibility to our services 24/7/365, leading to better outcomes for service users without compromising on quality or affordability.
tls VISTA is our market-leading, complete language service management system designed to maximise efficiency for staff and customers alike. The system has been developed in partnership with our existing NHS and local authority customers to ensure that the features incorporated are relevant for every public sector organisation. This includes an easy-to-follow user interface and booking form, dedicated training and support tab and live bookings and management information data.
tls PRISM is our innovative solution for providing on-demand video and telephone interpreting to the public sector. This entails a tablet-style device with a fully articulating stand for simple mobilisation and set-up in NHS and local authority departments. The product was specifically designed to support the provision of on-demand services in hospital wards without the need to constantly pass a phone back and forth between patients and staff members.
Our Values
Caring
We care passionately about the difference we make to the people and communities we serve. We collaborate with people of diverse cultural backgrounds and embrace different perspectives to make better decisions.
Integrity
We believe that nothing is more important than reputation, and behaving with the highest levels of integrity is fundamental to who we are.
Excellence
We stand for excellence and quality. The partners we work with share our values and together we provide services and systems that are high quality, intuitive and meet the needs of our customers.
Our accreditations and awards >
