The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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34 The Linguist Vol/59 No/4 2020 thelinguist.uberflip.com INSTITUTE MATTERS A culture of service CONTINUALLY IMPROVING PROCESSES IS KEY TO HIGH-QUALITY CLIENT SERVICES, SAYS TEAM MANAGER ANGELA ALVAREZ I joined CIOL Qualifications (CIOLQ) in October 2019 having previously worked as a business manager within the health sector. Leading the Client Services Team brings many challenges on a daily basis, especially with the emergence of a culture of 'now', which expects immediate responses to situations as they occur, in a fast and accurate way. Therefore, my focus as a lead has been to implement a 'culture of service' model, reducing response times, providing consistent information and striving towards digital transformation. Our team is known for providing administrative support, which is key for the execution and delivery of CIOLQ examinations. The services range from registrations, admission notifications, support with general and exam inquiries, and delivery of results. This is very much a guided process for our candidates and centres, where constant communication and accuracy are essential. The Client Services Team is one of the key departments for the development and execution of internal strategies that aim to improve current processes and maintain a high-quality service for all our stakeholders. This makes us the voice of our clients, which is important for the development and growth of any organisation. We work hard to continually improve our methods, particularly during the difficult circumstances surrounding the pandemic. This has forced us to reevaluate our processes, as well as sourcing alternative solutions that allow us to continue our activities, while prioritising the needs of our candidates, who are the lifeblood of our business. Being part of CIOLQ has been a rewarding experience for me as I hadn't previously worked within the education sector. I am originally from Colombia and my native language is Spanish; this has allowed me to establish a special empathy and connection with our candidates and centres, which are located all over the world. I have also gone through the process of sitting international exams in order to obtain a qualification. Migrating to another country entails a new beginning, which often begins by learning a new language (in fact, I am still learning). Adapting to a new culture and language is challenging, but I truly believe it is worth it for the personal satisfaction of exceeding your capabilities and achieving your objectives. Bernadette Clinton Bernadette Clinton is currently working as the MFL Consultant with The Hackney Learning Trust and on the primary teacher education courses at Middlesex University. She has worked in primary, secondary and university sectors and is a British Council Schools Ambassador. See p.26 Sue Leschen A member of CIOL Council, Sue Leschen FCIL CL is a lawyer-linguist, a trainer for DPSI Law exams, a business guru for language professionals and the Director of Avocate, a niche-market legal and commercial French interpreting and translation company (www.avocate.co.uk). See p.12 Maria Luisa Perez Cavana Maria Luisa Perez Cavana is Lecturer in Languages at the Open University. One of her research interests is to explore the lived experiences of teaching and speaking a foreign language. See p.22 Emily Rose Emily Rose finished her PhD on translating transgender identity at the University of East Anglia in 2018, and her work has been published in Transgender Studies Quarterly. She currently teaches French and Spanish at a preparatory school. See p.8 Romana Sustar A member of CIOL Council, Romana Sustar MCIL CL is a multilingual digital marketing manager and a language tutor at UCL, who has also worked in journalism and PR. Twitter: @RomanaSustar. See p.14 Stefania Tufi Stefania Tufi is a Senior Lecturer in Italian Studies at Liverpool University and her main research interests lie within sociolinguistics. She is the co-author of The Linguistic Landscape of the Mediterranean (2015) and co-editor of Reterritorializing Linguistic Landscapes (2020). See p.24 CONTRIBUTORS