Customer survey results give TLS a glowing report

TLS customer survey report

It has been another year of rapid change and growth for TLS. We continue to meet the challenges of the global pandemic, building on our remote services and refining our processes so that we can provide you with a seamless, high-quality service, whatever the changing circumstances.

With our customer survey launched late last year, we were keen to find out how the changes we have been making are going down with you, our customers.

The headline news from the results is that our remote (telephone and video) interpreting services are increasingly popular, with 87% of customers having used them. What is more, they are even more well-received: 89% of respondents said that they found the booking process easy or very easy (up from 85% in 2020), and 88% reported that the language support they received was of high or very high quality (up from 80%). Nothing makes us happier than word of mouth recommendations, and these were up too: 98% would recommend our remote services to a colleague or friend, compared to 97% in 2020.

Overall, satisfaction with TLS support staff was very high too, with 97% reporting that the team was friendly and polite, and 96% saying the support they provided was excellent or good.

We are delighted with these results and look forward to building on the successes of last year.

If you would like to know more about the results of our customer survey or have any other feedback, please contact Nicole Kershaw by emailing nicole.kershaw@newham.gov.uk

Keep up to date with all our latest news here and on social media  – we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn


Are you getting the most from your bookings? Don’t miss our free training

Due to the success of our previous free 'Introduction to TLS Services' virtual training sessions, we are now offering them regularly, on the last Wednesday of every month throughout 2022.

The training explains all the various types of interpreting available, and which services are best suited to different contexts. We will look in detail at how and when to book an interpreter, the best practice for working alongside interpreters and provide an opportunity to ask any questions with a member of our team. Participants can also get a certificate of attendance once they have completed the training along with a TLS Training Information Pack.

The virtual training takes just half an hour and you can sign up via our Eventbrite here.

If you have any questions, please contact Nicole Kershaw by emailing nicole.kershaw@newham.gov.uk  

Keep up to date with all our latest news here and on social media  – we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn


Meet the team - Naveeda Mahmod

Meet the Team: Naveeda Mahmood, Intepreter

 

Every month, we introduce you to one of The Language Shop team. This month, meet Naveeda Mahmood, one of our interpreters who works in Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi and English. Find out about how she got to grips with Zoom over lockdown and her passion for baking!

What’s been your favourite project at tls?

As an interpreter I enjoy interacting with people generally, but on a personal level I have learnt tremendously from the talking therapies and physiotherapy.

What’s been the biggest challenge?

Covid and all the changes it brought with it. All the technology, like Zoom, was new to me. Working from home, staying put and interacting with people only on the phone was a challenge.

If you didn’t do your current job, what would you like to do?

I would have been a teacher in adult education, teaching either English or cookery (baking preferably).

Tell us something interesting about you

I love baking and trying new recipes. I try new dishes all the time and have taken courses in baking and cake decorating.

If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?

I would love to meet our prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He was the perfect human being, he preached Allah's message (the Quran) to humanity. He set an example for us all.

What are your ambitions for 2021?

I would like to complete my Interpreting level 4 course. Also I would like to do a course in cupping.

Say hello to Naveeda on The Language Shop's social media – we are on FacebookTwitter and LinkedInKeep up to date with all our latest news here.


Meet the Team: Ratnam Ratneswaran, Tamil Interpreter

Every month, we introduce you to one of our team. This month, meet Ratnam Ratneswaran, one of our interpreters working between Tamil and English. Find out about his enthusiasm for communicating with people and why he'd still be an interpreter even if he won the lottery!

What do you do for tls?

I have been working as a Tamil and English interpreter since 2017. Before Covid I worked face-to-face, but I have worked remotely during the pandemic.

What’s been your favourite project at tls?

I love all of it! I really enjoy talking to people; after living in four different countries and working in four different fields, I would say that I’ve finally landed a job that I really love. I like meeting people and putting them at ease – for example, I always adapt my dialect to match the service user, to make them as comfortable as possible. I’m looking forward to working face-to-face again.

What’s been the biggest challenge?

When I first started in the job, I had been away from my community for such a long time. I started working at Barts [hospital], and seeing first-hand the domestic violence, mental health problems and abuse happening in my community was really hard.

If you didn’t do your current job, what would you like to do?

Even if I won the lottery, I would still be an interpreter! Before this, I was an insurance broker. As I progressed up the ladder I had less and less contact with people, and I didn’t like it. When my wife’s work needed a Tamil-speaking health advocate, I thought I would give it a go for six months. And here I am!

Tell us something interesting about you

I was once the only passenger on a commercial flight! It was Christmas 1983 and I was flying to Zurich. When I realised it was only me on the plane, I asked if I could go into the cockpit with the pilot. They let me in there until it was time to land. And when I disembarked, I got given all the chocolate that they would have handed out!

If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?

I wish I could have met former US President John F Kennedy. I really admire him: he was the youngest elected US president at 43, he stood up to the Russians during the Cuban Missile Crisis, navigated the Civil Rights Movement and took on the US mafia.

Say hello to Ratnam on social media – we are on FacebookTwitter and LinkedInKeep up to date with all our latest news here.

 


Meet the Team: Suppalak Bird, Thai Interpreter

We caught up with one of our Thai interpreters, Suppalak Bird, to find out about the most rewarding parts of her job and her passion for vintage clothes.

What do you do for tls?
I’m a freelance Thai interpreter.

What’s been your favourite project at tls?
I worked with therapists and psychologists who were helping a trafficked Thai woman who felt suicidal. The sessions were done via Zoom during the pandemic. It was a very challenging and sensitive case. In the end, all the hard work from everyone involved, including the Thai client, paid off. It was so rewarding to see how her life has changed remarkably.

What’s been the biggest challenge?
To stay focussed at all times when working with emotional and crying clients who have experienced trauma and to translate accurately using the clients’ own words (even though they might not make sense to me sometimes).

If you didn’t do your current job, what would you like to do?
Start a small business designing and making 60’s style vintage dresses.

Tell us something interesting about you
I love vintage clothes, techno music and travelling to exotic places. I have recently decided to challenge myself (as a complete beginner) by running a half-marathon for a cancer charity at the beginning of October.

If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
It would be an honour to meet H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (of the Kingdom of Thailand) to show my gratitude for all of the work she’s done for the Thai people throughout her life and to ask her if I could be of any help in any of her projects.

What are your ambitions for the rest of 2021?
I want to learn how to sew and make clothes and to continue working as an interpreter. I also want to be able to travel more.

Say hello to Suppalak on social media - we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Keep up to date with all our latest news here.


Meet the Team: Peta Moore, TLS Service Coordinator

Every month we like to give you an insight into a member of the tls team. We recently sat down with our Service Coordinator, Peta Moore, to discuss hidden talents in music, karate and car mechanics, and a love of horror films.

What do you do for tls?
I joined tls in June 2018 as part of the Quality Assurance team for the MOJ (Ministry of Justice) side of the business. As of January 2021, I moved over to the ops team. I am also part of the ‘fun squad’, we take turns to create quizzes, riddles and other fun team activities for our weekly team meetings.

What’s been your favourite project at tls?
Before I changed teams I was involved in a recruitment drive for new assessors up and down the country for the QA team. That was fun as I had never done recruitment before, I learnt so much.

What’s been the biggest challenge?
Honestly – COVID. So much changed in such a short space of time, both at work and at home, but it’s all become second nature now. I love a challenge though so I adapted quickly.

If you didn’t do your current job, what would you like to do?
My dream as a teenager was to join the Royal Marines Band Service as a drummer/bugler. I auditioned when I was 18 but was unsuccessful at the time. Apart from that – I reckon I would be a mechanic.

Tell us something interesting about you
I am a black belt 2nd dan in Shotokan Karate and have been training since I was eight. I can play guitar, drums, bass guitar, piano, bugle and military snare drum. I have recently joined Dagenham and Redbridge Women’s football team as a goalkeeper. I am also a qualified car mechanic.

If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Wes Craven. A weird one but I am a huge horror fan and I’ve always wanted to write my own stories. He was known as the ‘Master of Horror’ as the creator of franchises such as Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, so I would have loved to get some writing/creative tips from him!

What are your ambitions for the rest of 2021?
I have grown so much as a person since January 2020 – I think I would like to continue on this path of self-discovery and find myself again.

Say hello to Peta on social media - we are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Keep up to date with all our latest news here.


Sign in a clinic with information about Covid-19 vaccination programme

The Language Shop provides interpreting services for Covid-19 vaccination centres

Sign in a clinic with information about Covid-19 vaccination programme

Back in February TLS launched a scheme to support vaccination centres within the North East London Foundation Trust area, We provided telephone and video interpreting services to bridge the communication gap so that non-English speakers could understand all of the information regarding Covid-19 vaccinations and give their informed consent to receive the jab.

We expanded this by adding British Sign Language (BSL) support to our offering in May. This allowed deaf patients receiving vaccines at centres in Chingford, Romford and Barking access to a remote BSL interpreter who could answer any questions or concerns they may have. As time is critical when vaccinating so many people, we ensured deaf patients received this support within 90 seconds of making the request.

We are proud to be able to play a part in helping the vaccination programme by making vaccine information more accessible, so that everyone can help keep themselves and each other safe during the pandemic.

Keep up to date with all our latest news here and on social media  – we are on FacebookTwitter and LinkedIn


Meet the Team: Natalia Bailey, On-demand Telephone Interpreting Mentor

Every month, we introduce you to one of The Language Shop team. This month, meet Natalia Bailey, tls' On-demand Telephone Interpreting Mentor, who tells us all about what it's like to settle into a new job while working remotely and some of her favourite social events she's organised for the team.

Tell us about what you do at tls?

I assist the team with their queries, provide training and feedback for their personal development and help them provide a better service to our clients. I am also part of the work council; this is a small group who work to improve our company, services and working lives. We also plan some fun socials for over Zoom to bring everyone together, but are hoping to get out into the real world when it’s safe to do so.

What’s been your favourite thing to work on at tls so far?

I created a quiz for our last Christmas party. It was a full PowerPoint with playlists, timings, questions and emojis, which I think went down well. My other favourite project to work on was our ‘Would I Lie to You’ social. The tls council came up with the idea and me and my colleague Shah were the hosts - it was such a funny evening!

What do you most enjoy about working at tls?

The amazing team I work with every day and the whole company, who have been incredibly welcoming and supportive. Everyone has made it so easy for me to settle in and it’s strange to say but I have extremely good working relationships and friendships with people I haven’t actually met yet in person.

If you didn’t do your current job, what would you like to do?

I think for the first time I am exactly where I need to be, but if I had to do something else it would definitely be something that makes a difference and helps people. If I ever won the lottery I would adopt all the poorly treated horses, donkeys, dogs and cats and give them a place to live happily and peacefully.

Tell us something interesting about you

I have an extra bone in each foot and one of them actually has a permanent screw in it. I lived in Prague for short time, which was incredible. I have a horse, his name is Oliver Twist, I have had him for 18 years and he is just the best horse I could ever ask for.

If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Tough question! I’d say Sir Alex Ferguson or Ben Stokes because I would love to ask about the last World Cup and his super over, or the presenters of A League of Their Own, as I think it would just be absolutely hilarious.

What are your ambitions for next year?

I have achieved so much in 2021. I applied for the Mentor position, which I was so happy to be successful for. I bought my first car and successfully moved our wedding to a date next year with all our original suppliers. We are also hoping to buy our first property.

Say hello to Natalia on The Language Shop's social media – we are on FacebookTwitter and LinkedInKeep up to date with all our latest news here.


girl-doing-written-assessment

TLS customer service survey results

customer service survey - girl doing written assessment at laptop

At your service

At tls, customer service is a priority. In some cases, interpreting is taking place in life-or-death situations and a mistranslated word can be catastrophic to the health, wellbeing or freedom of the patient/defendant/client. We recently conducted a customer service survey with more than 200 customers to get their feedback on the service they received. The results were outstanding.

Here are some of the headlines:

  • 85% found booking a remote interpreter ‘very easy’ or ‘easy’
  • 80% found tls telephone and video interpreters to be ‘very high quality’ or ‘high quality’
  • 97% of bookers would recommend tls remote interpreting to colleagues or friends
  • 97% of bookers said they would recommend tls face-to-face interpreters to a colleague or friend
  • 92% found booking a face-to-face interpreter ‘very easy’ or ‘easy’
  • 86% found tls face-to-face interpreters to provide ‘very high quality’ or ‘high quality’ language support

“They do an amazing job! Ours is a multidisciplinary team and often our work involves crisis work and interpreters are needed at short notice. They always respond politely and efficiently and offer advice. This helps me as a booker to understand the options and advise my team accordingly. I really value working with this team and strongly recommend this service continues in the long-term future, both with face to face and virtual services.”

Westminster Homelessness Team CNWL NHS Trust

 

 


COVID vaccines for TLS interpreters

Defence on the frontline

Many of our customers work in local authorities or NHS trusts in London. During the current pandemic, it is vital our staff and customers remain safe. At the beginning of January our interpreters were classified as key workers and within four days all 400+ of our London based team were offered the coronavirus vaccine by our NHS partners. Our sincere thanks to them.