In our latest installment of HR AI tested, we look at the ingenious AI that helps colleagues predict how someone’s name should be pronounced – all in aid of fostering better inclusion:
Namecoach, the technology company solving name mispronunciation in critical settings, today announced that its latest product update is now available.
Namecoach, the technology company solving name mispronunciation in critical settings, today announced that it’s providing its Namebadge tool to P&G’s “The Name,” the second year of the company’s APA Heritage Month Campaign.
P&G is using this awareness month to promote its second ‘The Name’ campaign, which wants to make the point that for people to feel like they belong in an organization, it should start with their name, To put its money where its mouth is, P&G has partnered with technology company, NameCoach
“SOC 2 Type II compliance demonstrates that Namecoach can safeguard customer data and successfully operate within security parameters, a top priority for the platform predicated on helping people build trust, promote inclusion, and encourage rapport in every interaction.”
“Shanbhag hinted at capabilities beyond pronunciation guidance coming down the pipeline, including prompts to enable warm interactions in sales scenarios and feedback to help users improve their conversations more generally.”
“As the startup pointed out in its announcement of the funding, pronunciation is something that has become even more important as cultural norms change and people care deeply about their identity.”
“The Bay Area saw a flurry of venture deals at the end of the last pre-Thanksgiving week of the year.”
“Employee experience and bonding: Startups like Name Coach enable users to have better conversations and build stronger relationships with everyone they meet.”
“Carving out a niche in HR tech, modern thought leaders are scheming up innovative ways to eliminate ‘the ethnic pause’ and name-butchering all together… No matter what employers do to spark positive conversations around ‘difficult-to-pronounce names,’ going the extra mile here can make all the difference.”
“It takes work. But, as Nike learned the hard way, getting it wrong can be a very expensive mistake.”
“Often it’s these little things about cultural and racial sensitivity that teaches other students and staff how to be cognizant of people who are from different backgrounds, so I think addressing the need to get names right is an excellent step forward.”
“Instead of relegating the success or failure of your customer events, brainstorming sessions, and team meetings to chance, invest in the one superstar every organization operating virtually needs now: A skilled moderator. Great hosts create a personal connection with each presenter.. [NameCoach] offers simple and effective embedded online tools to help you easily learn and remember how to pronounce people’s names. Perfectly.”
“Salesforce Accelerate is designed to provide the insights, learning, and support that startups need to strategically align with Salesforce and accelerate their time-to-market with AppExchange. Namecoach was selected for Build program as a means to accelerate success on the AppExchange and the Salesforce ecosystem.”
“Increasingly, research shows that sense of belonging is a critical factor in student success and persistence, and that name mispronunciation is a frequent and pervasive way in which students often are or feel alienated… Through its Namecoach partnership, the CVC-OEI can help alleviate potential student alienation, particularly with at-risk populations and first-generation college students.”
“‘We just really feel that there’s some strong benefits to build up the student-faculty relationships and the student-to-student connections and foster a more inclusive and welcoming environment,’ said Julie Selander, director of One Stop Student Services.”
“Better academic performance. Increased student retention and graduation rates. Improved sense of campus community. These are just three benefits that closer ties among faculty and students can yield. Here are nine places to foster such connections… Foothill College in California is one community college that’s using technology to help ensure professors get it right. NameCoach, which integrates with Foothill’s Canvas course management system, was the tool of choice.”
“As universities become more diverse places it becomes an even greater challenge – with names from China, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Europe and South America.”
“The Office of the Registrar has also received messages of appreciation from students along with feedback suggesting that it should be extended to all sectors of the University… Since advisors and professors will know the correct pronunciation of students’ names beforehand, students will not have to awkwardly correct, or worse, hear their names mispronounced repeatedly.”
“When the professor engages the student in personal conversation, recognizes her by name and seems to include her in the domain of attention, the subject matter seems more accessible. The nonverbal message goes out that the student is part of the community of people who can do mathematics, statistics, chemistry or whatever, the subject matter is.”
“Learning names at the beginning of the term has long been a challenge for instructors—especially when the names are ones professors have never encountered before. There are companies like NameCoach that give professors a way to hear and review the correct pronunciation before classes even begin.”
“Indian comedian Vir Das does this insanely funny bit about being an Indian in America and how teachers always butchered his, and his friends names. Although the bit is funny as heck, and the mispronunciation of student names isn’t typically intentional it can be embarrassing and disheartening, especially at an important event like commencement.”
“Praveen Shanbhag says no more. That’s why he created Namecoach.”
“Hundreds of schools in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom have turned to NameCoach to solve commencement dilemmas.”
“‘Pronouncing a person’s name right is all about taking the time to respect someone’s sense of identity,’ said Shanbhag, founder and CEO of NameCoach. ‘Academia is succeeding in creating a more diverse community and more diverse campuses and with that comes more diverse names. Respecting people’s identity is a core element of inclusion. Names are a core part of that, they’re a core element of who a person is and where they come from.'”
“There are many guides to making a first impression, networking, interviewing, and socializing, but most seem to start with what you are wearing and jump to what to talk about. What happens in between is the most simple yet most tricky aspect of all – how do you want others to pronounce your name?”
“Reynolds’ speed coupled with his dedication to pronunciation accuracy caught the attention of the national media… He also relies on Name Coach, an app that allows students to record the pronunciation of their own name.”
“The software from the Palo Alto-based company, which raised a $1 million seed round last year, has been or will be used by over 250 universities in commencement proceedings this spring, including New York University, Columbia University, and Stanford.”
“At Hamilton, Pat Reynolds has mastered the art of reading names of graduates with speed and accuracy.”
“The last thing graduating collegians want to hear, after four years of hard work, and with bursting-with-pride relatives present at commencement ceremonies, is announcers butchering their names. Hamline University for decades saw this happen again and again, despite commencement organizers’ sincere efforts to get graduates’ name pronunciations right. This year, the St. Paul-based institution is tapping into tech to get this issue licked once and for all in time for graduation ceremonies.”
“Praveen Shanbhag is a smart guy with a PhD in Philosophy. Like most philosophers, he spends time asking good questions. Questions like, ‘why can’t universities (who employ really smart people) pronounce the names of their students correctly at graduation ceremonies?’ Unlike most philosophers, Praveen went beyond asking; this son of Indian immigrants started a company to help us get each other’s names right. We have a name for that: Genius!”
“Stanford University, whose students gave us the modern search engine, the modern sneaker company, and the modern method of money transfer, is finally tackling a native challenge: commencement. At graduation ceremonies over the past weekend, eight departments at the university used a web-based service that allows students to record their names before commencement for the benefit of whoever reads aloud the list of graduates.”
