While it’s commonly accepted that discrimination based on a person’s appearance is wrong, that’s not necessarily the case when it comes to accent discrimination. A 2010 study, “The Way They Speak: A Social Psychological Perspective on the Stigma of Nonnative Accents in Communication,” suggested prejudice based on one’s accent differs from other kinds of stigma. To counter this, many offshore call centers have adopted AI accent softening technology, such as that offered by Tomato.ai to clarify offshore agents’ voices. Still though, what happens in a person’s brain when they hear an accent? Why can it cause them to lose trust in the speaker?
It’s About More Than Just Prejudice
Research conducted by University of Chicago psychologists Boaz Keysar and Shiri Lev-Ari found that nonnative accents result in a reduction of what they called “cognitive fluency,” the ease with which the brain processes stimuli. This can cause some people to question the accuracy of what’s said. People generally favor easily processed stimuli, and such preferences have a big influence on our thinking. For example, studies have shown that shares of stock in companies with names that are relatively easy to pronounce are purchased at higher rates than those that aren’t.
Erroneous Credibility Judgments
Keysar and Lev-Ari also found that the reduction in a speaker’s perceived credibility cannot be pinned solely upon a listener’s stereotypes about foreigners. Instead, their findings indicated that credibility judgements were mostly due to a listener’s lack of cognitive fluency in speech processing. Some people simply find it more difficult to process foreign-accented speech, including accents that are not necessarily perceived as negative.
Prioritizing Call Center AI Solutions
Framework call center leaders can use to prioritize which AI solutions to implement first
Call Center Issues
Representatives are too often verbally abused or mistrusted by customers based solely on their accents. Many people who contact call centers to resolve an issue perceive an unfamiliar accent to be an impediment to resolution. That’s why more companies are turning to accent softening platforms such as those offered by Tomato.ai to improve customer satisfaction.
Essentially, when information is harder to process, some people tend to believe it less. Further, some customers conflate their inability to fully understand their agents with diminished control. That’s because they perceive an inability to properly interact with the representatives to solve their problems, which can lead to frustration.
Take Away
Acknowledging that the brain can doubt a foreign language is crucial in an increasingly global business environment. After all, the way people enunciate merely reflects the sounds of the language in the environment in which they grew up. It should not be considered indicative of their intelligence, capabilities, or veracity.
When it comes to powering your BPO or call center, an accent softening solution bridges communication gaps and heightens customer service efficiency. This leads to a more positive experience for both the customer and agent, strengthening brand rapport and improving agent morale, which reduces long-term burnout.
An accent softening solution helps BPOs and call centers bridge communication gaps and improve service efficiency, creating better experiences for customers and agents alike. This strengthens brand rapport, boosts agent morale, and reduces long-term employee burnout.
Experience Tomato.ai for yourself. Request your demo today.