Why the Implementation of an English Only Policy (E.O.P.) Usually Does Not Work (PART 1:)

Mike Doria
2012 October 05

It is the call center program that is most dreaded, most hated, most defiled, most ignored, and most violated by agents. The “English Only Policy”, or EOP, as it is more commonly known is probably the most worn-out among all policies implemented in the typical BPO office. No other rule is more openly and collectively defied than this. Yet, many trainers, team managers, and quality analysts alike still choose to use this idea in the hope that it might just work this time around. Maybe for lack of an alternative idea. Maybe for sheer force of convention. Or maybe for the sake of exercising control over the agents. Whatever the reason, the depth of denial is evident in that many of its implementers fail to recognize the inexorable fact: It just does not work.

Why it does not work is something that you would expect most EOP implementers (and enforcers) should have mastered by now. Besides, the EOP rule has been staple since the inception of the call centers in the country. One could even argue that the EOP is a borrowed idea that originated in the halls of the academe where each school’s respective English Departments usually would take the initiative to create a program that would help encourage students to use English while in campus. (Incidentally, it doesn’t work there either.) Instead, most implementers exhibit a very poor understanding of why their EOP program fails to meet behavioral objectives. When review sessions are held to discuss the reasons behind agents’ non-compliance to the EOP rule, most analyses are shallow:

Agents are too shy to speak in straight English outside of the call.
Agents are hard-headed and simply do not want to follow.
Agents do not find it important to comply with EOP.
Agents are not convinced that an EOP is sensible.
Agents are not motivated to comply with EOP.
I will not argue against the veracity of these views. There is some truth to these analyses, after all. My contention, however, is that they lack depth. Particularly the kind needed to truly understand why “English Only” policies do not work in the call center environment. Because unless the management comes to a good understanding of why, it cannot hope to arrive at a real solution to the problem. It will find itself going around in circles, re-designing, re-packaging, re-implementing, and relying on positive posturing just to convince itself that the program worked. The problem is not that the implementers are incorrect in their analyses. The problem is that they do not dig deeper. Digging deeper into the issue is necessary because there are underlying reasons for agents’ non-compliance. Many of which most of the implementers are aware of but choose to be in denial of. As such, most officers resort to the usual set of ‘solutions’ that really do not address the problem:

EOP reminders. Done most likely because it is the simplest to implement, this seemingly harmless activity only serves to annoy most agents and comes across as nagging. Agents get enough e-mails in their inbox that receiving a regular dishing out of EOP reminders are just seen as plain nuisance.
Barking EOP. I use this term particularly because I consider this the most annoying and inappropriate method leaders use to “cheer on” their agents. Most often employed by Team Leaders, barking words like: “Let’s EOP, people!” not only can be distracting to an agent who is in the middle of a call, but also diminishes the respectability of the position of agents.
EOP “police”. Probably one of the sillier methods of enforcing EOP. It turns compliance into a game of cops and robbers where the former are vastly outnumbered by latter. It is the most futile of all methods.
Petty Penalties. Paying up one peso for every Tagalog word spoken is one of the most popular EOP enforcement methods and probably one of the most insensible as well. Agents (or students, for that matter) end up paying in advance to be allowed to use Tagalog. Those who have greater financial challenges than others especially hate this. Can you blame them?
Strict enforcement. This is often coupled with deductions of points from agents’ individual appraisals. The most drastic of all measures, this also often results in a sharp increase in disputes, complaints and eventual attrition. Furthermore, the most common response of agents is to simply clam up and resort to chat, email and writing to communicate with each other. Of course, in the vernacular.
In all cases, any apparent compliance to any kind of EOP program is often short-lived. Even strict enforcement ends up in eventual non-compliance.

There are countless EOP programs that have come in all shapes, sizes, and colors and implemented countless times in countless ways but the story remains the same — non-compliance. So, what is the solution? Before we talk of solutions, we must first talk about the causes of the failure of EOP in call centers and dig deep to examine the reasons that underlie these causes. Therein lies the solution. And it may be one that you might not expect.

(to be continued in PART 2)