The Business Value Of Getting People’s Names Right
Praveen Shanbhag, Ph.D. is the
Founder and CEO of NameCoach, a
company that supports inclusion,
equity and belonging initiatives with
an accurate audio name pronunciation
platform.
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4 Ways to Improve Name Pronunciation at
Work
Don’t jeopardize your workforce talent because you
haven’t learned to correctly pronounce people’s
names. A workplace isn’t inclusive if people’s names
are routinely and purposefully mispronounced. When
there is a perceived lack of effort in learning the
authentic pronunciation of a name, an employee may
not feel valued, respected or even motivated - and
this ultimately impacts productivity, not to mention
the bottom line.
Here are 4 tips to improve name pronunciation in
the workplace.
1. Ask, how do you pronounce your name?
Sometimes it’s as simple as asking someone. Then
it’s important to listen, repeat, and make sure you
get the name right. Ask, too, if you’ve got it right,
and try to remember so you won’t need to ask again.
This won’t always be received as well as not needing
to ask in the first place, but it’s an important start.
This works well in unplanned meetings where you
have not had the opportunity to use a tool or do your
research beforehand.
2. Do your homework
Whenever possible, do your homework beforehand.
There are a variety of resources available, but beware
that pronunciations may differ, for example, “Saoirse
could be ‘SEER-shah’ or ‘SUHR-shah’ and Henri could
be ‘HEHN-ree’ or ‘awn-REE. There are new robust
tools available that include not only a database
of recorded names but also algorithms that help
pinpoint the right one.
3. Take notes
Barack Obama was well-known for his attention to
correct pronunciation—but it didn’t come naturally.
His staff included phonetic spellings of names
and places in his daily briefing notes, or the person
briefing him would coach him on how to pronounce
the names. Former President Obama would privately
practice pronouncing a foreign leader’s name a
number of times before ever saying it publicly. He
was also known to check with people to make sure
he’d pronounced their names correctly.
4. Build a company culture that values names
Build the correct pronunciation of employee and
client names into your corporate culture, your
operational systems, and your day-to-day practices.
Make accurate pronunciation a priority, much as you
would get a phone number or email address correct
the first time. In addition, demand that managers set
the right example for their teams, and reinforce the
importance of this practice through team meetings
and training.
Most importantly, don’t leave anyone behind.
Getting people’s names right isn’t an accident—it’s
a decision. It takes work. But, as Nike learned the
hard way, getting it wrong can be a very expensive
mistake.
Personal Excellence presented by HR.com SEPTEMBER 2021 20 Submit Your Articles
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