Why Shouldn’t I Use My Own Staff As Interpreters?

• Perception: Using your own staff as interpreters can have many different biases, perceived and actual. If your staff is providing service one-on-one to the consumer, there are no issues. It would be as though an English-speaking person were providing service to another English-speaking person in America. If you are using the staff person as an interpreter between your staff and the consumer, this is where the issue happens. 
• If you used a staff person as an interpreter and the consumer changes their mind about what they said later, they can use the fact that the “interpreter” was a staff member. They could say, “Well, of course they said I said that they wanted me to say that!” It creates issues when matters of life and liberty are involved. This means, when you are working with a consumer and you are interrogating, questioning, signing paperwork, dealing with medical issues, dealing with mental health issues, detainment or admission of any sort, end of life, or legal or financial matters, it is always best to get a professional interpreter.
• Neutrality: Interpreters are neutral parties to the communication. They are not there on behalf of the consumer or the client. They are there for everyone. They are there to make sure communication happens effectively.
  • If you use a staff member, they are there on behalf of someone (the police station, the hospital, the medical facility, the court, or the business). They represent someone. Family represents the consumer and is not neutral. When you represent someone, at some level you may have an agenda, real or perceived. Interpreters represent communication, and that is their only agenda and what they are perceived to bring to the dynamic.
  • Using a staff member as an interpreter may make the consumer feel “outnumbered”. The person may be an authority figure like a doctor, teacher, policeman, attorney, or other prominent person. They may feel as though the information coming from the staff member is not being interpreted, but rather being dictated to them. The consumer may not feel that they have any choice but to do what is said. (Take the pill, do the chemo, sign the papers, say what the people want them to say.) They may feel like they HAVE to do what the authority figure says, or they may be afraid to talk to the authority person. This intimidation is real, but it can be eliminated by using a professional interpreter.
  • Professional interpreters have no interest in the outcome of the conversation. They will not benefit in any way from any decisions made at any assignment they are party to. (They are not allowed to by their Code of Professional Conduct.) This is absolute neutrality. If you use staff (or family members), there can be a perception that information could be misconstrued or controlled to benefit one person over the other.
• Knowledge: Your staff may not be fully knowledgeable in both languages. They may seem fluent in the language, and with everyday communication they are, but perhaps not with the vocabulary being used in legal, medical, or mental health settings. Many languages have multiple dialects. Staff members may not be well versed on the different dialects. Interpreters meet many different people and become familiar with different dialects and better at noticing subtle nuances of languages that influence meaning and emotion. 
• New vocabulary and language trends. Interpreters obtain training to keep themselves up to date on the evolution of language. Since interpreters are with so many different people, they are well versed in breaking down information, if necessary, for consumers and evaluating the flow of communication.

• Using an agency to provide interpreters helps to ensure that the interpreter is vetted for skill and situational appropriateness. This relieves many issues related to bias for legal requirements and possible insurance matters.
• Interpreters have a Code of Professional Conduct they are obligated to follow. Parts of this code include confidentiality, NOT inserting their own opinion, and keeping to the intent of the communication. This means they will not change what is said, they will not interfere in the situation, and they will keep all information confidential. If you do not use a professional interpreter, you do not have these safeguards, nor does the consumer.

You shouldn’t use staff members or family members to interpret because the person who controls communication controls the information. You want that person to be neutral, and you want that person to be a knowledgeable professional.