A local voice starts with being understood

Clarity has substance

A study of customer-service conversations asked 116 native English-speaking listeners to assess recordings of 18 Filipino customer-service agents. Comprehensibility and fluency predicted ratings of confidence, competence and interest in speaking with the agent again. Accent strength also related to that last measure.

Try a task-based assessment

For Icelandic support, we suggest giving applicants the same sample booking policy and the same fictional customer problem. Ask them to listen to a booking-change request, clarify an ambiguous detail and explain the options. Then introduce a misunderstanding that requires them to rephrase rather than repeat the policy.

Follow the call with a short email task. Does the message accurately record the agreed action and any remaining uncertainty? This checks whether the customer would receive a consistent explanation across both channels.

Agree what a good answer contains

Before assessing candidates, define the points reviewers should look for: accurate understanding, useful clarification, a correct explanation, natural Icelandic and a clear next step. Have reviewers record specific examples against those points rather than give an unexplained impression of “good language”.

A fluent conversation can still contain an incorrect refund explanation; a noticeable accent can accompany a clear, accurate answer. Assess the work the role requires. This exercise is our practical proposal, not a hiring test validated by the study, and it makes no assumption about a candidate’s nationality.