Blog Archives - Language Services Associates

Why LSA Is the Smart Choice for International Conferences, Events, and Global Travel

Posted on July 2, 2026July 2, 2026 by Ximena Garcia

8 min read

Overview

Language services play a critical role in ensuring clear communication throughout every stage of international conferences and events, from planning and preparation to post-event follow-up. In this blog post, we explore seven solutions that help event teams overcome language barriers, including real-time interpretation, AI-powered video dubbing, professional translation, and more.

Why LSA Is the Smart Choice for International Conferences, Events, and Global Travel

Imagine hosting a party where no one speaks the same language.

You invited professionals from around the world to connect, collaborate, and build relationships. Instead, you’re surrounded by well-meaning guests fumbling through translation apps, exaggerated hand gestures, and confidence powered by exactly three foreign words they learned in a class 20 years ago.

It’s funny at a party.

It’s expensive, awkward, and risky at an international conference.

Because global events come with real stakes. Sponsorships, negotiations, compliance, new partnerships, attendee experience, brand reputation, and ROI all depend on clear communication.

That’s where Language Services Associates (LSA) comes in.

Below are seven reasons organizations rely on LSA to support international conferences, events, and global travel from planning to post-event follow-up.

1. Real-Time Interpretation for Live Events

International conferences move quickly. Panels, networking sessions, executive meetings, and media interviews leave little room for communication errors.

LSA’s on-demand interpretation services support multilingual communication through:

With access to support in 300+ languages, attendees, speakers, vendors, and staff can communicate clearly in real time. No one is struggling to understand conversations. They are fully participating in them.

2. AI Video Dubbing That Extends the Life of Your Event

One keynote can become global content.

LSA’s AI Video Dubbing transforms presentations, product launches, training videos, and event recaps into multilingual video experiences.

LSA combines AI-powered dubbing with professional linguistic review to help ensure:

The speaker’s original voice is preserved, and the video is synced to make it appear as though they are speaking the language naturally.

To your audience, it looks like your speakers are fluent.

To your team, it is a scalable way to expand reach without expensive reshoots or added production time.

3. Better Experiences for International Attendees

For global guests, the event experience starts long before check-in.

LSA’s Translation & Localization services help organizations localize:

Combined with onsite and virtual interpretation support, attendees can navigate events more confidently and stay engaged throughout the experience. Also consider LSA AI Machine Translation+ (MTPE+) for lower costs and faster turnaround times (not recommended for anything nuanced or high risk).

4. AI Interpretation for Fast-Paced Environments

Some event environments require immediate multilingual communication at scale.

LSA’s AI Interpretation helps organizations support:

For more nuanced or sensitive conversations, organizations can also escalate to professional interpreters when needed.

5. Professional Translation That Protects Your Brand

Poor translation stands out quickly at global events.

Messaging errors in signage, presentations, marketing collateral, or digital communications can create confusion and impact credibility.

LSA provides professional translation and localization with optional AI-enabled workflows to support:

This helps organizations maintain brand consistency across every audience and region.

6. Travel & Logistics Support for International Programs

Global events involve more than what happens at the venue.

LSA also supports organizations with:

This helps reduce operational complexity for teams managing large international programs.

7. One Partner for Interpretation, Translation, and AI Language Solutions

Managing multiple language vendors across a global event can slow planning and create inconsistencies.

Organizations choose LSA as a centralized language partner for:

With integrated support across services, organizations can streamline multilingual operations before, during, and after the event.

Global Events Work Better When Everyone Understands Each Other

International conferences are built around communication, collaboration, and shared experiences.

LSA helps organizations support multilingual audiences through scalable interpretation, translation, and AI-powered language solutions designed for modern global events.

Whether supporting one keynote or an entire international conference, LSA helps organizations communicate clearly at every stage of the experience.

Hosting a global conference should not feel like hosting a party where no one speaks your language.

Reach out to LSA to learn more about how we can support your next global conference or program.

CEO Update: Reflections from SlatorCon London 2026

Posted on June 24, 2026June 24, 2026 by Ximena Garcia

12 min read

Written by: Scott Cooper, CEO of Language Services Associates (LSA)

This past month, I had the privilege of attending SlatorCon London alongside our Chief Operating Officer, Pablo Tercero. This conference is widely recognized as one of the world’s premier thought leadership summits in the language solutions and AI spaces. It attracted industry leaders from across the globe and offered a timely pulse check on where our markets are heading.

Much has come into clearer focus since this event last year. There is near-universal recognition that change is occurring faster than ever, and that AI and human language solutions will evolve into a complex and symbiotic relationship moving forward.

Interest in AI remains very high, but so too is the recognition that core services and skills in our industry will endure for the foreseeable future. It will be all about balance and nuanced integrations. Many expressed customer concerns about not being able to integrate quickly enough to keep pace with new technology and related cost structures. To the positive, our conversations with fellow industry leaders confirmed that LSA remains at the forefront of innovation, blended solutions, and being a leader in assisting our clients navigate these changes.

I am delighted to share some of what we think the next few months will show.

Speed Is Overtaking Strategic Planning

Predicting strategy for our customers is only going to get harder. Industry leaders expressed universal concern that the change – while omnipresent in our industry – is happening almost too quickly for customers to make the informed decisions they need. Each day, there is a new promise of a “magic and cost-saving fix” that – even if true – is already obsolete by the time the next budget cycle is complete. C-Suite attendees talked openly about customers planning in monthly, not annual, models. This combines to make service planning for end users very difficult.

AI Is Accelerating — But Humans Remain Essential

There is no question that AI is transforming our industry. What this year’s conference confirmed, however, is that the recently predicted all-or-nothing solution set around AI has not, and likely will not, take hold for some time, if ever. Balanced solution sets, offering a mix of technology and human language skills, will remain the optimal solution. Per Slator, approximately 74% of language providers now have operationalized AI in their backend workflows, representing a dramatic increase from around 6% only three years ago. The same sources see no credible evidence to suggest full interpreter replacement.

Segmentation Will Be the Coin of the Realm

A clear segmentation is underway with technology handling more routine, repetitive, and non-life-threatening language encounters. But when language interactions become more critical, regulated, or complex, human escalation remains the delivery method of choice. Leading language companies are now more focused than ever on offering both elite interpreters and the call flow and onsite integrations that allow AI and other technology to escalate as needed. For those customers in the call center space, the ability to move conversations across languages, technology and humans will be the difference between success and failure. The narrative in 2026 has clearly matured, moving beyond experimentation and into practical integration. AI will increasingly enhance human expertise rather than replace it. There also remain significant gaps across certain language pairings.

Differentiation in our industry is no longer about whether a language provider uses AI, it’s about how effectively it integrates it. At SlatorCon, leading organizations, like LSA, emphasized three pillars of competitive advantage:

This is where the bar is being set, and where customers are placing their expectations.

Rising Customer Expectations and the “AI Mandate”

Rising customer expectations, coupled with an increasing “AI mandate,” are reshaping how enterprise buyers evaluate solutions. Organizations are becoming more sophisticated and demanding in their procurement decisions, with AI capabilities now expected as a standard requirement rather than a differentiator. LSA saw this trend coming several years ago, leading us to partner with a dedicated AI interpretation company, Lingolet, to offer our customers these solutions. While many customers are moving forward with AI mandates, the most sophisticated buyers are still ensuring the AI supports traditional interpretation and translation offerings for all but the most basic of conversations and documents.

As noted, the most important structural shift discussed at SlatorCon was the rise of a hybrid delivery model:

This hybrid approach reflects both economic realities and customer expectations. It balances efficiency with quality and, importantly, preserves trust.

What This Means for Language Services Associates

Against this backdrop, I’m confident in LSA’s position.

In our 35th year, LSA has seen changes before in the language space and it will see more in the future. The only thing that does not change is that there will be change. Following our recognition by Nimdzi as the 36th-ranked global Language Service Provider, we are excited about the future.

Our strategic position is strongly aligned with the current pace of change in the industry, enabling us to adapt quickly and remain competitive as new technologies and business models emerge. Our innovative hybrid approach — combining artificial intelligence with human expertise — directly reflects the direction in which the market is evolving, allowing us to leverage the strengths of both automation and human judgment. At the same time, we continue to place a high priority on quality, compliance, and customer trust. These are critical areas where human insight, experience, and accountability remain indispensable, ensuring that our solutions not only drive efficiency but also uphold the highest standards our customers expect.

One thing, however, will never change: Language is about communication. LSA will never leave its core principle of listening to customers and offering solutions that meet their unique needs. Each change in technology is an opportunity to improve or confirm what is working for the customer.

I hope you found this update interesting. Let me know your thoughts.

[email protected]

A Leadership Imperative: Avoid Complacency

The most important message I want to leave with our team and stakeholders is simple:

We cannot afford complacency.

The industry is not standing still. Expectations are rising. Competitors are evolving. Customers are demanding more.

At LSA, our strength has always been our ability to combine innovation with execution. That remains our north star. We will continue:

Looking Ahead

SlatorCon reinforced both the challenges and the opportunities in front of us.

Yes, the market is under pressure.
Yes, the pace of change is accelerating.

But for organizations that stay focused, move decisively, and execute well, there is tremendous opportunity to lead.

At LSA, we are not just responding to change, we are positioning ourselves to shape it.

And we are just getting started.

— Scott Cooper
Chief Executive Officer, LSA

National Safety Month: Why Language Access Matters in High-Risk Environments

Posted on June 17, 2026June 19, 2026 by Ximena Garcia

13 min read

Overview

National Safety Month is a good time to ask: can everyone in your organization actually understand the safety information you’re putting in front of them? If the answer is ‘not sure,’ that’s the gap LSA fills. We make language access easy to build into whatever you’re already doing — whether that’s a training session, a patient discharge, a 9-1-1 call, or a factory floor walkthrough.

Professional interpreters are available on demand by phone, video, or onsite, and AI-powered tools can scale translated content across your entire organization without starting from scratch.

How Language Barriers Increase Workplace Risk — and What Organizations Can Do to Improve Safety, Compliance, and Outcomes

One in four workplace accidents in the U.S. involves a language barrier. In hospitals, patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) are 40% more likely to be physically harmed by a medical error. And when someone calls 9-1-1 and doesn’t speak English, emergency dispatch takes a third longer to arrive.

These aren’t edge cases. Roughly 26 million people in the U.S. speak English less than “very well.” When those workers and community members can’t fully understand safety training, medical directions, or emergency procedures, the consequences are both measurable and preventable.

June is National Safety Month, and language access is one of the biggest blind spots in workplace safety. Most organizations have safety protocols, training programs, and compliance checklists. Far fewer have tested whether any of it works for employees and community members who don’t speak English fluently.

Language Services Associates (LSA) has been providing language access in high-risk environments for more than 35 years. Our experience has taught us that where language is a barrier, safety is compromised.

Below, we break down where language barriers create the most danger, what the research says about the cost of getting it wrong, and what organizations in healthcare, manufacturing, public safety, and other high-risk industries can do about it.

Where Communication Gaps Create Safety Risks

The risks show up differently depending on the industry, but the pattern is the same: when people can’t fully understand critical information, bad things happen.

In healthcare, a patient who doesn’t understand discharge instructions gets readmitted. In manufacturing, a worker who can’t read a safety manual gets hurt. In a contact center, a caller who can’t communicate their emergency waits longer for help. In government agencies and transportation systems, communities that don’t receive multilingual alerts during severe weather or public health emergencies are left exposed.

Here’s what that looks like on the ground in different sectors.

Healthcare: Communication Directly Impacts Outcomes

The stakes in healthcare are especially high. Children of LEP parents who are hospitalized face nearly double the risk of medical errors. Much of that risk comes down to whether or not interpretation services are available, and to who’s doing the interpreting.

In a study from the Annals of Emergency Medicine, among errors made by ad hoc interpreters — family members, bilingual staff pulled from other duties — 22% had potential clinical consequences.

Hospitals that invest in professional interpreters see measurable returns. When professional interpreters were used at both admission and discharge, average stays dropped from more than five days down to an average of two and a half days, and readmission rates fell from 24.3% to 14.9%.

For healthcare organizations, the right language access setup means Over the Phone Interpretation for urgent situations, Video Remote Interpretation when visual communication matters (like ER visits or bedside care), and Onsite interpretation for complex conversations. Translated discharge instructions and consent forms close the gap on written materials. And with direct EHR integrations like Epic and AthenaHealth, providers can connect to an interpreter without leaving their clinical workflow.

Manufacturing & Industrial Environments

Manufacturing runs on precise communication, and much of the workforce doesn’t speak English as a first language.

That OSHA estimate of 1 in 4 accidents involving a language barrier? It makes more sense when you look at who’s actually doing the work.

Hispanic and Latino workers — who frequently encounter language barriers in high-hazard industries — have the highest workplace fatality rate of any demographic group at 4.3 per 100,000 full-time workers. In construction, more than 30% of the workforce is Hispanic. When those workers can’t read English-only safety manuals or communicate hazards to supervisors, the danger adds up fast.

OSHA requires employers to provide safety training in a language employees can understand, and non-compliance carries real penalties: up to $16,550 per serious violation and $165,514 for willful or repeated violations as of January 2025.

This is where professional translation of safety manuals, SOPs, and signage becomes a safety investment rather than an expense. Onsite interpreters during training sessions and safety drills make sure workers actually understand procedures before they enter high-risk environments. Video Remote Interpretation gives teams quick access to language support during incidents or daily operations, and AI Video Dubbing can convert training videos into multiple languages at scale across locations and shifts.

Public Safety & Government Communication

The 9-1-1 delays mentioned above get worse for more serious calls. A CDC-cited study found that language barriers increased advanced life support dispatch times by 43%, and those calls were also more likely to receive an incorrect level of medical aid.

Emergency dispatch is just one piece of the picture. Government agencies and public-facing organizations also handle multilingual communication during severe weather, public health situations, transportation disruptions, and community emergencies.

When seconds matter, agencies need on-demand Over the Phone Interpretation for rapid multilingual 9-1-1 and emergency communication, Video Remote Interpretation for public services where visual communication is needed (including American Sign Language), and Onsite Interpretation for community outreach and disaster response. AI-enabled language solutions add scalable support during large-scale events when demand spikes faster than human interpreters can fill.

Contact Centers & Operational Safety

In contact centers supporting regulated industries, the safety risk isn’t a fall or a chemical burn — it’s a miscommunication that leads to the wrong medication dosage or a utility emergency that isn’t properly escalated.

86% of contact centers report serving callers who aren’t native speakers of their primary service language. When those contact centers support healthcare hotlines, utility emergencies, insurance claims, or transportation services, a miscommunication isn’t just frustrating — it’s dangerous. A caller describing chest pain, a gas leak, or a medication reaction needs to be understood accurately the first time.

Without reliable language support, those calls take longer, get escalated more often, and are more likely to require repeat contacts — adding pressure to agents and slowing response times across the board.

LSA’s approach pairs integrated interpretation directly within contact center platforms with AI language tools for high-volume, lower-risk interactions. Agents can add an interpreter to a call in seconds, and human interpreters handle the sensitive conversations where nuance matters most.

Supporting Compliance & Documentation

Language access isn’t optional for most of the industries discussed here — it’s legally required.

The Affordable Care Act, Title VI, OSHA’s training standards, and the ADA all carry language access requirements — and non-compliance means fines, lost federal funding, or litigation. Beyond the legal exposure, organizations that can’t document consistent multilingual communication practices are vulnerable during audits and investigations.

Professional translation and interpretation services help organizations maintain documentation consistency, support audit readiness, and prove equitable communication practices. For healthcare payers, LSA SmartCheck automates real-time interpretation eligibility and coverage verification, cutting manual effort and keeping service delivery compliant.

Building Safer Communication Strategies

The organizations getting this right aren’t treating language access as a side project.

LSA’s model is built for this: human interpreters for accuracy and nuance, AI-powered tools for speed and scale, and direct integrations that plug into existing workflows.

National Safety Month is a good time to ask: can everyone in your organization actually understand the safety information you’re putting in front of them? If the answer is ‘not sure,’ that’s the gap LSA fills. We make language access easy to build into whatever you’re already doing — whether that’s a training session, a patient discharge, a 9-1-1 call, or a factory floor walkthrough. Professional interpreters are available on demand by phone, video, or onsite, and AI-powered tools can scale translated content across your entire organization without starting from scratch.

Ready to close communication gaps?

LSA helps organizations build language access into their safety infrastructure, not bolt it on as an afterthought.

The World Cup Stress-Test: What Language Access Means for Your City

Posted on June 11, 2026 by Ximena Garcia

13 min read

How airports, hospitals, contact centers, and city agencies prepare for multilingual demand on a global scale.

Kickoff is June 11. The 2026 World Cup — soccer, fútbol, le foot, der Fußball, however your visitors say it — brings 48 national teams and an estimated 5–7 million spectators to 16 host cities across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. For the airports, hospitals, hotels, contact centers, and city agencies on the receiving end, that’s a month of operations running in dozens of languages most teams aren’t staffed for.

That makes the 2026 World Soccer Stage a real-life stress test of language access, operational readiness, and customer experience.

As the interpretation and translation provider for the six Philadelphia Host City matches at Philadelphia Stadium, as well as the Fan Fest at Lemon Hill in Philadelphia, and the Official Interpretation Partner of The Philadelphia Union and Tampa Bay Sun FC, Language Services Associates (LSA) helps operations teams across those sectors prepare for moments like this one.

In our more than 35 years of experience, here’s where we’ve found the system fails first when language demand spikes — and what separates the organizations that hold the line from the ones that don’t.

A Surge in Global Movement and Multilingual Demand

Global events on this scale drive a sharp jump in international travel, customer service volume, public service requests, and real-time multilingual communication — all at once.

Airports, hospitals, hotels, transportation systems, municipal agencies, and contact centers all experience a dramatic rise in interactions with people who do not speak the local language.

How a Surge Becomes a Service Failure

When demand increases, gaps in language access become more visible, more disruptive, and more costly.

Organizations across industries often experience:

Longer wait times caused by limited interpreter availability, scheduling constraints, or routing delays
Miscommunication during high‑pressure or time‑sensitive situations
Increased handoffs, transfers, or escalations between teams or departments
Inconsistent service quality across languages, locations, and channels

In contact centers, this appears as higher average handle time (AHT), lower first call resolution (FCR), and increased operational strain.

In public‑facing and frontline environments — including hospitals, transportation hubs, hotels, and municipal services — it can lead to confusion, delays, frustrating customer experiences, and, in some cases, safety or compliance risks.

Why Key Host-City Industries See a Spike in Language Needs

The pressure doesn’t hit every industry the same way. Here’s what it looks like in the sectors that take the brunt of it.

Transportation & Airports

World Cup host cities become international gateways overnight.

Travelers need assistance with:

Routing, delays, and cancellations

Security procedures and baggage

Ground transportation and payment systems

All often before they’ve even reached a hotel.

Healthcare & Emergency Services

Visitors don’t stop having medical needs during major events, and language barriers can quickly escalate routine situations into emergencies.

Hospitals, urgent care clinics, and EMS teams rely on:

Immediate access to medically qualified interpreters — not bilingual staff pulled in from another floor, and not a family member translating for a parent in the ER.

24/7/365 availability in both rare and common languages (LSA supports 300+ languages)

Video Remote Interpretation to support visual cues, clinical accuracy, and patient trust. It keeps body language visible, which helps interpreters better understand patients.

The stakes are real. A meta-analysis of language-discordant care found that when professional interpretation was verified, the readmission gap between limited English proficient (LEP) and English-proficient patients disappeared — and when it wasn’t, LEP patients faced higher odds of unplanned readmissions.

That’s why clear communication directly affects patient outcomes, response times, and regulatory compliance. LSA’s language services integrate with major EHR platforms, including Epic and AthenaHealth, allowing care teams to access interpretation without disrupting existing workflows.

Healthcare & Emergency Services

Hotels, restaurants, and attractions see a surge in guests unfamiliar with:

Local customs

Policies and procedures

Digital tools or payment platforms

Multilingual guest support, AI‑enabled solutions, and translated signage or materials help improve satisfaction while reducing strain on your staff.

Public Safety & Municipal Services

Cities have to get the same information to residents and visitors at once — public safety alerts, crowd and transit changes, permits, city services, regulations — across a much wider language mix than usual.

When a road closure announcement goes out only in English, or an evacuation alert reaches half the people in the stadium, hundreds of visitors end up in the wrong place at once. And when a real emergency does hit, every minute a 911 dispatcher spends finding an interpreter for a specific language is a minute EMS doesn’t have. Real-time interpretation and multilingual messaging are how cities keep both problems off the table — the difference between an event that runs smoothly and one that has operators fielding preventable calls all weekend.

Contact Centers and Customer Support

Even organizations far from host cities experience downstream effects.

Global events drive spikes in:

Travel-related customer support

Billing and service inquiries

Digital and voice interactions across time zones

Every one of these calls is harder when the caller and the agent don’t share a language — the conversation takes longer, the customer often has to call back to actually get the answer, and the team that was already fully booked is now staffing a second language line on top of everything else.

The trouble usually isn’t that language services don’t exist — it’s that getting to them requires extra steps. Manual scheduling, transfers, vendor coordination. When every minute counts, that’s the part that stalls operations.

LSA’s integration-ready language services, compatible with leading CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) platforms, allow organizations to support multilingual customers without adding friction or manual work.

The World Cup Isn’t the Only Time This Happens

The World Cup is the obvious test case, but the same pattern shows up during seasonal demand spikes, major cultural events, natural disasters, and public health emergencies. The organizations that come through these moments best are the ones that built the capacity before the wave hit — not the ones trying to add language coverage the week it’s needed.

Building Language Access for Scale, Not One-Time Moments

High‑performing organizations do not treat language access as an afterthought. They build systems that:

Where LSA Fits In

Language Services Associates helps host cities and organizations prepare for global-scale moments, whether they’re planned or not.

By combining:

LSA allows your organization to communicate clearly and accurately, regardless of the language.

Are You Ready?

The World Cup may seem like only a moment, but the communication demands it creates are lasting.

Communication doesn’t scale on its own. The organizations that build for it now are the ones that hold service quality together under pressure, keep operational costs in check through demand peaks, and deliver safer, more inclusive experiences along the way. LSA helps organizations prepare for global‑scale moments with language access solutions designed to perform under pressure.

Ready to meet the world in every language?

Language Services Associates Ranked No. 36 on the 2026 Nimdzi 100 in Milestone 35th Anniversary Year

Posted on May 28, 2026May 28, 2026 by Arnisa Xharra

7 min read

Philadelphia, PA — Language Services Associates (LSA), a leader in interpretation, translation, and AI language solutions, announced today that it has been ranked No. 36 on the 2026 Nimdzi 100, the annual listing of the world’s largest and most influential language services companies. The recognition coincides with a milestone year for LSA as the organization celebrates 35 years of delivering trusted language access solutions.

Equally important to LSA is that this ranking is for all language services companies; when focusing on companies that predominantly support interpretation, LSA is one of the largest.

Published annually by Nimdzi Insights, the Nimdzi 100 rankings are determined using independently researched and verified revenue data from language service and technology providers worldwide. LSA earning the No. 36 ranking reflects the company’s continued organic growth, operational scale, and relevance within a highly competitive and evolving global market. LSA is also proud to be among the 16% of companies on the list that are women‑led.

“Being recognized on the Nimdzi 100 during our 35th anniversary year is a powerful moment for LSA,” said Scott Cooper, Chief Executive Officer at Language Services Associates. “We continue to grow while holding true to our founding principle of being a mission‑driven organization focused on language access. What started at the kitchen table of founder and current Board Chair Laura Schiver has evolved into a global operation that utilizes the industry’s leading interpreters, state-of-the-art technology, and elite customer service. We are also a leader in AI solutions. This ranking recognizes not only our scale, but the people and purpose behind our work over the past three and a half decades.”

LSA’s inclusion on the 2026 ranking follows the company’s participation under Nimdzi’s formal financial‑disclosure framework, reflecting its commitment to transparency and maturity as an organization.

The 2026 Nimdzi 100 report highlights an industry navigating economic and geopolitical uncertainty while continuing to evolve. Despite near‑term market hesitation, the report indicates that most language service providers expect revenue growth in 2026. AI‑driven disruption is increasingly viewed as an opportunity — accelerating consolidation and helping mature a historically fragmented industry.

LSA’s ranking reflects its ability to grow responsibly within this changing landscape, combining technology‑enabled solutions with deep human expertise to support communication where it matters most.

We continue to grow while holding true to our founding principle of being a mission-driven organization focused on language access.

Scott Cooper, CEO of LSA

What is Nimdzi 100?

Widely regarded as the industry’s benchmark ranking, the Nimdzi 100 is the most‑read annual analysis of the global language services market. Produced by Nimdzi Insights, a respected research and consulting firm focused on language, localization, and translation, the report identifies the world’s 100 largest language service and technology providers using rigorously verified, independently researched revenue data.

Since launching in 2018, the Nimdzi 100 has been accessed more than 65,000 times and is relied upon by enterprise buyers, investors, and industry professionals as a trusted resource for evaluating language services partners. Inclusion on the list is determined by meeting a defined revenue threshold, and rankings are achieved through performance — not application.

Against this backdrop, earning a ranking on the Nimdzi 100 — particularly at #36 — represents more than simple growth. It reflects the ability to compete and excel within a rapidly evolving industry shaped by technological innovation, operational scale, and rising global expectations for effective language access.

About Language Services Associates (LSA)

Language Services Associates (LSA) is a leading full-service language service provider (LSP) offering  interpretation, translation, and AI-powered language solutions in 300+ languages.

Since 1991, LSA has partnered with organizations in healthcare, government, legal, education, finance, sports, and more to deliver high-quality, compliant, and scalable language access services. Backed by a network of 7,000+ vetted linguists, LSA provides accuracy, cultural competence, and 24/7/365 availability with over 99.9% uptime reliability.

As one of the largest privately owned language service providers globally, LSA combines human expertise with secure, integrated technology to help organizations improve outcomes, meet compliance requirements, and build inclusive multilingual experiences.

Interpreter Appreciation Day: Celebrating the Human Connection Behind Every Conversation

Posted on May 4, 2026May 6, 2026 by Ximena Garcia

5 min read

In a world where technology continues to transform how we communicate, one thing remains constant: human interpreters are at the heart of meaningful understanding.

On Interpreter Appreciation Day, we celebrate the professionals who make communication possible — not simply by translating words, but by bridging cultures, navigating emotions, and supporting conversations when clarity truly matters.

Interpreters do essential, often unseen work. And every day, they show up with expertise, empathy, and professionalism. And if it wasn’t for their hard work and dedication, Language Services Associates (LSA) wouldn’t be the company it is today!

More Than Words

Interpreting is never just about language. Human interpreters bring a level of awareness and presence that technology alone cannot replicate. They:

From a patient trying to understand a diagnosis to a customer seeking support in their preferred language, interpreters make these moments possible and meaningful.

Why Human Interpreters Are Irreplaceable

Technology has an important role to play in supporting access and efficiency. But it cannot replace human judgment, cultural understanding, or empathy.

Human interpreters:

These are not just professional skills — they are deeply human ones.

Supporting Communication in Critical Moments

Every day, interpreters step into moments where understanding is essential:

In these moments, interpreters are not background support — they are indispensable partners. LSA interpreters bring subject‑matter expertise and a deep understanding of terminology, context, and responsibility in their chosen fields.

A Community Built on Excellence

We are proud to work alongside a global network of professional interpreters who bring dedication, skill, and care to every interaction they support. Our rigorous vetting process means that only a small percentage of applicants join our network — ensuring our clients, and the communities they serve, receive the highest level of service.

But today isn’t about process or credentials. It’s about people.

Today, We Say Thank You

To every interpreter supporting conversations behind the scenes:

Thank you for your expertise.

Thank you for your professionalism.

Thank you for the essential role you play in connecting people — every single day.

And for interpreters looking to partner with an organization that truly values your work, we invite you to explore opportunities with LSA.

Optimizing Your Language Access Program in 2026: From Compliance to Performance

Posted on April 20, 2026April 23, 2026 by Ximena Garcia

11 min read

7 Strategies for Optimizing Your Language Access Program

For many organizations, language access programs start as a compliance requirement.

But in 2026, that’s no longer enough.

Across healthcare systems, insurance providers, government agencies, financial institutions, and contact centers, language access has become a direct driver of operational efficiency, customer experience, and cost control.

The question is no longer:

“Do we have language services?”

The question now is:

“Is our language access program actually performing?”

For over 35 years, Language Services Associates (LSA) has helped organizations modernize how they communicate across languages. Today, optimization looks very different than it did even a few years ago.

Here’s how leading organizations are evaluating and optimizing their language access strategy today.

1. Start with Real Demand, Not Assumptions

Language needs evolve quickly. Migration patterns shift. Customer bases expand. Service lines change.

If your language access strategy hasn’t been reviewed recently, there’s a strong chance it no longer reflects reality.

Ask yourself:

High-performing organizations align language access with real usage data, not static assumptions.

2. Identify Where Inefficiencies Are Hiding

Most language programs don’t fail, they leak value quietly.

Common issues include:

These gaps increase:

Optimization starts with finding where time, money, and quality are being lost.

3. Match the Right Modality to the Right Moment

Not every interaction requires the same type of language support.

High-performing programs use a blend of modalities, including:

Best for high‑risk, sensitive, or complex conversations such as medical discussions, legal matters, disciplinary meetings, or contract negotiations.

Ideal when visual cues matter — supporting nuanced communication across locations without the delays of travel or scheduling conflicts.

Best for speed, logistics, and operational coordination, especially after hours or during peak demand.

Appropriate for low‑risk, high‑volume interactions such as scheduling, wayfinding, or basic service support, with seamless escalation to human interpreters when risk increases.

Perfect for handling large volumes of content with faster turnaround times, especially when cost is a concern. AI technology combined with human oversight delivers reliable translations for your needs.

LSA delivers a full suite of services, including OSI, VRI, OPI, and AI interpretation, allowing organizations to balance speed, scale, quality, and cost without compromising safety or accuracy.

The goal is simple: Deliver the right level of support without overpaying or overcomplicating the process.

4. Remove Friction from Workflows

Even the best language services fail if they’re hard to access.

If staff have to:

…they won’t use the service consistently.

Modern language access programs prioritize:

On‑demand access across devices
Mobile‑first workflows
Platform and API integrations (EHRs, CRMs, contact center platforms)
Centralized dashboards for usage and cost
No manual dialing or searching

Reducing friction leads directly to:

LSA provides secure, scalable technology designed to integrate into modern workflows, supporting real‑time access, mobile teams, global operations, and sensitive communications without compromising reliability or confidentiality.

5. Train Teams Like It Matters (Because It Does)

A common failure point isn’t the service — it’s awareness.

Staff often don’t know:

This creates inconsistency, risk, and delays.

Organizations that see real ROI:

Optimization starts with centralization.

A centralized language access program allows organizations to:

LSA centralizes language access into everyday workflows, making correct usage easy, consistent, and repeatable. Through configurable programs, reporting dashboards, and enterprise‑wide language access solutions that scale across departments, locations, and use cases, LSA creates a language program that fits your unique needs.

6. Measure What Actually Impacts Performance

If you’re not measuring your language access program, you can’t optimize it.

Key metrics include:

Interpreter connection time
Average handle time (AHT)
First call resolution (FCR)
Cost per interaction
Customer/patient satisfaction
Language utilization trends

Tracking these metrics turns language access from an unwanted cost into a measurable performance lever and revenue driver

Through the LSA Client Portal, LSA provides reporting and analytics that give organizations the visibility needed to optimize spend, anticipate demand, and align language access with business goals — all in real time.

7. Leverage Technology Without Losing Quality

AI is transforming language access — but how it’s used matters.

Leading organizations are adopting:

This approach helps:

…while maintaining accuracy where it matters most.

LSA provides secure, scalable technology that blends AI and human expertise to deliver fast, reliable language access across modern workflows. without sacrificing accuracy or trust.

How LSA Helps Organizations Optimize Language Access

LSA works with organizations to move beyond basic language support and build high-performing, scalable language access programs.

We help clients:

Integrate Language Access into Workflows

Direct integration into platforms like EHRs, CRMs, and contact centers, reducing delays and manual effort.

Scale Instantly Across Languages

On-demand access to interpreters in more than 300 languages, 24/7/365.

Improve Efficiency with Technology

AI-powered solutions, centralized scheduling tools, and intuitive apps designed to reduce friction and speed up communication.

Increase Visibility and Control

Real-time reporting and analytics to track usage, performance, and cost drivers.

Support Compliance and Quality

Professional interpreters, secure systems, and consistent processes aligned with regulatory expectations.

Looking Ahead: Language Access in 2026 and Beyond

The next few years will bring:

Hybrid AI‑human language models
Predictive language demand planning
Automated yet quality‑controlled localization
Real‑time multilingual engagement at scale
Higher expectations for inclusion, safety, and experience

Organizations that optimize now will be better positioned to grow globally, reduce risk, and connect meaningfully across cultures.

LSA continues to invest in innovation, pairing advanced technology with human expertise to help organizations build language access programs that are ready for what’s next.

What Does This Mean?

Language access is no longer just about accessibility — it’s about performance.

Organizations that treat it as a strategic function see measurable gains in:

Those that don’t continue to absorb hidden costs.

Optimizing your language access program is an ongoing strategy rather than a one-time initiative. When partnered with the right ally, organizations can turn language access into a significant competitive advantage.

Ready to evaluate your current language access strategy? LSA can help you identify gaps, improve performance, and build a system designed for scale. Contact us today!

Not sure where you stand? Check out our Language Access Checklist now!

Driving Impact: Evaluating ROI in Interpretation and Multilingual Messaging

Posted on April 15, 2026April 15, 2026 by Ximena Garcia

14 min read

Taking Language Access from Cost Center Requirement to Performance Driver

More than 25 million people in the U.S. struggle to communicate in English. If your organization serves them (and it almost certainly does), every misunderstanding is a missed payment, a lost customer, or a compliance risk hiding in plain sight.

And yet, most organizations still treat interpretation and translation as a cost to contain.

The smarter way to frame it is this:

What is the measurable ROI (return on investment) of language access?

When language services like interpretation, translation, and AI language services are woven into daily workflows, they stop being overhead and start pulling their weight. You’ll see less operational friction, higher revenue, and improved metrics across departments.

As a result, you’ll also see better service delivery, stronger compliance, higher productivity, and deeper client relationships.

At Language Services Associates (LSA), we’ve been doing this work every day for decades. Here’s what we’ve learned about how to measure and maximize the benefits of language access.

Where Language Services ROI Is Measured

Language services move the needle on metrics that matter, no matter the sector.

1. Contact Centers (Traditional Cost Centers)

Contact centers are tightly measured environments where even small inefficiencies add up fast. Health insurance member services, financial services support, utility assistance programs, telecom billing, government benefits — these are all high-volume environments where language barriers directly affect metrics like:

In fact, 75% of contact centers that added professional interpreter services saw at least one agent KPI improve. When an agent has to wait on hold to get an interpreter on the line, every extra second drives up handle time and drives down first-call resolution.

LSA helps organizations reduce these inefficiencies by delivering on-demand interpretation integrated directly into contact center environments, allowing agents to connect with professional interpreters instantly without leaving their workflow. Options include Over the Phone Interpretation via the LSA App, AI Interpretation for basic or routine conversations, Video Remote Interpretation for exchanges that rely on visual cues, additional features like Call Back and Reverse Call Flow, and, for health plan validation, LSA SmartCheck.

The payoff:

For a contact center handling thousands of multilingual calls a day, even shaving 30 seconds off average handle time adds up to massive savings across a year.

2. Revenue Protection & Customer Retention

Miscommunication costs real money.

Healthcare payers, insurance enrollment centers, financial institutions, telecom providers, utilities, and e-commerce companies all feel this acutely. Language barriers lead to lost customers, delayed payments, botched enrollments, and contract misunderstandings that end in service cancellations.

On the other hand, when people understand what they read or what they’re told, they act on it. Research shows 74% of consumers are more likely to repurchase when supported in their preferred language.

Organizations with better multilingual communication see higher:

For example, translated billing statements reduce confusion around payment obligations, and interpretation during enrollment helps people understand their benefits the first time.

LSA supports these interactions through real-time interpretation services and high-quality translation of customer-facing materials, so customers understand important information the first time.

3. Compliance & Risk Reduction

Language access isn’t optional in most regulated industries. And the penalties for getting it wrong keep getting steeper.

In the healthcare field, organizations adhere to guidelines set forth by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Joint Commission, HIPAA, and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act to ensure effective language access. Financial services firms are obligated to meet consumer protection regulations that mandate clear communication with a diverse clientele. Additionally, government entities must follow civil rights laws that guarantee services are accessible to individuals with limited English proficiency. Across all of these sectors, language access failures can create costly compliance risks.

ROI in this context is measured through:

LSA helps organizations strengthen compliance by providing professional interpreters, documented service usage, and integrated workflows for consistent access to language services across departments. Technologies like LSA SmartCheck, which verifies member eligibility in real time, help organizations confirm coverage status before an interpreter session begins.

4. Workforce Efficiency

Language access is not only about external communication. It also affects internal workforce productivity, particularly in industries like manufacturing, construction, logistics, hospitality, food production, and healthcare support services.

Organizations with multilingual employees often encounter communication challenges in areas such as safety training, HR onboarding, compliance documentation, operational procedures, and internal announcements.

Misunderstandings in safety instructions or training materials can result in operational errors, workplace accidents, and compliance issues.

LSA supports internal workforce communication through document translation, multilingual training materials, and interpretation services for meetings, safety briefings, and employee onboarding programs. Services like AI Video Translation & Dubbing provide a cost-effective way to create natural-sounding educational and training videos, recruitment materials, and visual announcements.

The result is more effective training, fewer operational errors, stronger safety compliance, and higher workforce engagement.

The ROI of Multilingual Messaging

Interpretation handles the live conversations, but what about everything else your organization puts in writing?

Translating documents like these is where a lot of hidden ROI lives, because it reduces operational friction

When customers receive clear communication in their preferred language, organizations see measurable improvements in response rates, digital engagement, payment timeliness, call deflection, and customer satisfaction.

Friction is expensive. Multilingual messaging removes it.

Why This Matters

With the rise of global and diverse populations, organizations in nearly every sector are beginning to understand that providing language access is more than a matter of compliance. It’s a strategic operational advantage.

Companies that invest in scalable interpretation and multilingual communication solutions gain a competitive edge through enhanced operational efficiency, stronger customer relationships, reduced regulatory risk, and broader market reach.

The difference between language services as a reactive expense and language services as a performance driver comes down to how well they’re integrated into the work people already do.

Where Organizations Leak ROI

Most organizations have language services. Fewer have made them easy to actually use, and the operational gaps are easy to miss because they don’t show up in one place.

Common challenges include:

Language services that don’t connect with your CRM or EHR systems
Manual eligibility validation before interpreter calls
Lack of usage visibility
Reactive rather than proactive language access planning
Inconsistent interpreter access across departments

None of these show up as a single line item. They bleed out across thousands of interactions every month, which makes them easy to ignore and expensive to leave alone.

How Organizations Leverage LSA for Better ROI

For over 35 years, LSA has been helping organizations implement language services directly into workflows. LSA’s full suite of solutions, high-level experience, and knowledgeable staff work with your team to create a customized language stack to fit your needs and provide easy access for your agents and customers.

So, what does this actually look like in practice?

Integrated Workflow Access

LSA integrates interpretation services directly into enterprise systems like Epic and Athenahealth, as well as contact center and CRM platforms through secure API connections.

This allows organizations to request interpreters instantly within existing workflows, reducing delays and documentation gaps.

SmartCheck Eligibility & Cost Controls

LSA’s, first of its kind, SmartCheck technology offers instant verification of interpretation eligibility and coverage, eliminating the need for phone calls and extensive database searches.

This helps organizations:

AI + Human Hybrid Models

For routine conversations, AI-powered interpretation handles the volume. When the situation gets more complex, agents can escalate to a human interpreter mid-call without starting over.

This hybrid approach helps organizations manage high interaction volumes without sacrificing quality.

Transparent Reporting & Analytics

LSA offers comprehensive reporting and analytics on demand via the LSA Client Portal, allowing organizations to track interpreter utilization, measure cost per interaction, identify operational trends, and optimize language access budgets.

When you can see the data, you can make the case. And that’s how language services move from a cost you tolerate to an investment you can measure.

Reframing Language Services as a Performance Lever

Language access matters for all the reasons you’d expect: equity, inclusion, and simply doing right by people. But it also matters because it directly affects your bottom line in terms of metrics like cost per interaction, revenue retention, regulatory compliance, workforce productivity, and customer experience.

The organizations getting real ROI from language services are the ones that stopped treating them as an afterthought.

If you’re trying to figure out what language services are actually costing you (or saving you), LSA can help you put real numbers to it.

Reach out today and let’s talk about how language services can improve your ROI.

From Insight to Impact: How Customer-Driven Leadership Transforms Organizations

Posted on April 1, 2026April 7, 2026 by Ximena Garcia

12 min read

Written by:

Lynn Dick

Chief Customer Officer at LSA

In every industry, one principle remains universal: customers want clarity, reliability, and a seamless experience. Whether you’re helping a patient understand their care plan, taking customer service calls in a cost center, or providing services to a multilingual community, the expectations remain the same. People want the service they’re paying for to be available when they need it, delivered efficiently, and handled with care.

As leaders, our job is to make sure that happens — consistently, sustainably, and at scale.

Over the course of my 26 years at Language Services Associates (LSA), I’ve seen firsthand how deeply a customer-first mindset can transform an organization. I started my career in an entry-level customer service position and progressively advanced to lead various teams. In 2019, I joined the Executive team as Vice President of Customer Success, and I currently serve as Chief Customer Officer. That journey, from the front line to the boardroom, has shaped how I lead today and how I advocate for the people who rely on us.

Start by Listening: Your Customers Will Tell You What They Need

The best insights come directly from those using your services. Early in my career, I learned more from customer phone calls than from any internal report. Their feedback, positive or otherwise, was honest, relevant, and actionable.

As organizations grow, it becomes easy for leaders to lose direct contact with customers. But a customer-first culture requires staying close to the people you serve.

This means:

You cannot champion customer needs if you aren’t regularly engaging with them.

Leadership Under Pressure: Lessons from the Pandemic

When I joined LSA’s Executive team in 2019, I was both excited and nervous — then the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. Practically overnight, we transitioned from a traditional in-person organization outside Philadelphia to one that was fully remote. It was a challenging shift, but also a transformative one.

Going remote expanded our ability to hire globally, ensured continuity during weather and regional events, and ultimately strengthened our ability to support customers 24/7/365. It taught me that customer-first leadership requires flexibility. Sometimes the best way to serve your customers is to reimagine how your organization operates.

Advocating for the Tools Your Teams and Customers Deserve

Customer-first leadership isn’t just about empathy. It’s about fighting for the resources that will improve outcomes for both customers and employees.

By 2021, it had become clear that outdated scheduling practices, like manually inputting data into Excel spreadsheets, were no longer sustainable for a 24/7, rapidly growing operation. Forecasting, staffing, and real-time adherence were becoming too complex. I advocated for a modern Workforce Management solution — a significant investment that required executive and board approval.

After a lengthy business case, the investment was approved. Implementation was complex and required extensive internal development, but the payoff was transformative. Since launching the tool in 2022, we’ve significantly improved staffing accuracy, forecasting, and service levels. This gave us the operational foundation we needed to scale dramatically in the years that followed.

Additionally in 2022, as part of preparing to implement the Workforce Management tool, we successfully integrated Skill-Based Routing into our call flows. This change ensured that client calls were directed to the most suitable resources available at that moment, matching agents’ skills with the specific needs of each call.

Initially, I faced some internal pushback, particularly from a colleague, who was hesitant to alter our existing call routing logic. However, I believed that Skill-Based Routing would significantly benefit our customers, so I persevered. I continued to advocate for this improvement, prioritizing our customers’ needs. Within a year, my efforts paid off, and the change was approved and implemented. It’s true that if at first you don’t succeed, you should try again. As Chief Customer Officers, it’s essential to withstand challenges and keep moving forward.

This initiative resulted in improved first-call resolution and increased customer satisfaction. The takeaway is clear: customer-focused leaders cannot afford to be passive. When there’s an opportunity to enhance the experience for all customers, persistence is key.

Building Customer-Centric Systems: The Power of Collaboration

More recently, we tackled long-outdated customer reports and a legacy client portal that no longer met modern expectations. Following LSA’s company-wide rebrand, we had the opportunity to build something better, something that aligned with the sophistication of our services.

Working cross-functionally, we developed a brand-new Client Portal, with a modern design and a more user-friendly interface.

The new LSA Client Portal began offering:

But the most important step wasn’t the design, it was inviting customers to be part of the testing process. Through a pilot program with top clients, we collected feedback, refined the experience, and launched a portal shaped directly by the people who would use it most.

The portal continues to evolve today based on ongoing insights from client-facing teams and customers themselves. That cycle — listen, build, test, improve — is the foundation of a customer-first enterprise.

“Inspect What You Expect,” Leadership That Scales

One of the greatest leadership lessons I’ve learned came from a former mentor: inspect what you expect. In other words, leaders don’t have to do everything themselves. However, they do have to stay connected enough to understand whether the operations, processes, and teams support the outcomes they expect.

This principle became especially important during a major organizational restructure. We transitioned from three product-based call center teams to five specialized contact center teams, including:

Inbound

Outbound

Learning & Development

Workforce Management

Interpreter Management

This redesign eliminated redundancies, improved efficiency, and reduced headcount through natural attrition — not layoffs. It also allowed our customer-facing teams to focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional support.

Additionally, we centralized client onboarding under a new Implementation team. This shift saved nearly 300 hours of staff time annually and reduced onboarding completion time by 60%, allowing our teams to spend more time supporting customers and less time managing administrative tasks.

Staying Connected: The True Responsibility of Customer-First Leaders

As Chief Customer Officers and senior leaders, we occupy a strategic position. We hear the customer’s voice, we understand front-line realities, and we have the influence to shape enterprise-wide decisions. The greatest mistake we can make is distancing ourselves from the people who rely on us, both internally and externally.

Customer-first leadership requires:

Talking to customers regularly
Spending time with front-line teams
Advocating for meaningful investments
Challenging outdated systems
Empowering staff with the tools they need
Inspecting what we expect
And continually asking, “How can we make this better?”

When organizations embed this mindset across teams, growth follows, because customer trust, value creation, and operational excellence become the natural outcomes.

The Challenge to Leaders

My challenge to every leader reading this is simple: stay connected. Stay curious. Stay committed. Talk to your customers. Talk to your teams. And don’t be afraid to advocate loudly and persistently for what will help them succeed.

Customer-first leadership is a mindset. One that drives growth, strengthens loyalty, and shapes organizations built to serve both people and purpose.

What Multilingual Audiences Notice That Organizations Often Miss

Posted on March 23, 2026March 30, 2026 by Ximena Garcia

11 min read

Your organization probably spends a lot of time deciding what to say to multilingual audiences.

How much time do you spend thinking about how those interactions make them feel?

The hard truth is that you can hire interpreters, provide translations, and adopt the latest language technology, but multilingual audiences may still feel confused or left out.

Why Might Your Diverse Audience Feel Excluded?

Simply providing language services is table stakes. What really matters is how they’re provided.

In real-world interactions, small details can make the difference between feeling supported or just tolerated when using another language. This has implications for how satisfied people who need these services are with your organization, how they talk about you to friends and family, and ultimately how loyal they are.

Language Services Associates (LSA) offers many methods for communicating with your multilingual audience. From traditional modalities like Over the Phone, Video Remote, and Onsite Interpretation, and Translation for the written word, to advanced AI solutions and additional language tools and add-ons, connecting with your customers and patients is easier than ever.

In this blog post, we share four key details that multilingual audiences notice, plus simple steps you can take to provide the best possible experience.

The Time It Takes to Get Assistance

A long hold, a confusing transfer, a pause while staff figure out what to do — multilingual audiences notice these moments instantly. Even when language services exist, that early friction can set the tone before the conversation ever gets going.

Organizations that offer quick and easy access to interpretation create a much more positive impression.

With LSA, you get quick access to interpreters in under 20 seconds!

When language access is integrated into workflows, staff can move with confidence. People who need language assistance can get help faster, with fewer disruptions — and feel more welcomed and valued as a result.

But to create this kind of experience, you need the right systems in place.

Workflow tools such as LSA’s Reverse Call Flow and Call Back features will help reduce hold times and eliminate uncertainty for staff, making interpreter connections feel effortless. And LSA’s compatibility with all major EHR systems, and availability in Epic, streamline experiences adding interpreter support and documentation directly into current workflows without switching platforms or adding distractions.

Whether Staff Feel Confident or Hesitant

People can tell when staff don’t know how to work with interpreters or use language tools; hesitation or awkward pauses can signal that language support is an afterthought.

Teams can deliver clearer, more respectful interactions when they are trained to:

Ongoing language-access training and consultation can make a measurable difference in how confident staff appear when communicating in multiple languages. LSA provides customization, training, reference guides, and tailored materials for different user groups.

Some of the materials we provide include:

These cards list account information and offer concise instructions on how to access services.

A comprehensive user guide explaining how to access and run reports in LSA’s secure online reporting portal.

A document to help callers set expectations and effectively work with telephone interpreters.

A visual aid listing the phrase “one moment please” and its phonetic pronunciation in common languages to facilitate communication.

A sign that enables non-English speakers to point to their language, so representatives know what language to request when contacting an interpreter.

Tailored materials designed to address specific client workflows and needs.

When Technology is Helpful for Multilingual Audiences — and When It Becomes a Barrier

AI and automation can improve the customer experience when implemented thoughtfully. However, if you’re deploying it for convenience or as a quick fix, your multilingual audiences will quickly perceive that.

While routine, low-risk interactions may benefit from AI-supported solutions, people still prefer human interaction when the topic is complex, emotional, or high-stakes. These conversations demand human judgment and cultural awareness that AI cannot provide. Organizations that establish clear guidelines regarding technology usage — rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach — build greater trust.

A well-rounded language access strategy ensures that technology is supportive rather than impersonal. LSA offers a variety of tools to provide comprehensive language support, including Over the Phone, Video Remote, and Onsite Interpretation, Translation, and more. Additionally, for low-risk or routine interactions, LSA features AI interpretation as part of our innovative AI suite. Other tools include AI Video Dubbing and AI Machine Translation+, which incorporate human oversight for enhanced accuracy. Our team of experts is always available to help you choose the most suitable modality for every situation.

Whether Language Access Is Routine or an Afterthought When Technology is Helpful — and When It Becomes a Barrier

Your multilingual audience can tell whether or not you’ve planned ahead to be able to meet their language access needs.

When requesting interpreters is straightforward, workflows are intuitive, and communication flows naturally, they know that you set up your systems with their needs in mind.

But the reverse is also true. If access seems disjointed or improvised, the people who need it may feel like an afterthought, and that impacts how connected they feel to your organization.

When you make language access a norm with integrated systems, consistent processes, and confident staff, you create experiences that naturally feel inclusive. And you earn loyalty, trust, and repeat engagement from the people you serve.

What This Means for Organizations

True multilingual engagement is formed through numerous small moments that together shape trust and satisfaction.

Organizations that only focus on coverage may overlook what is truly important. Those that emphasize experience — by selecting appropriate communication methods, integrating workflows, training staff, and thoughtfully utilizing technology — set a higher standard for how language access works. Over time, that standard shapes how people perceive your organization and whether they choose to return.

At LSA, we view language access as an integrated system that facilitates genuine conversations and meaningful outcomes, rather than merely a standalone service.

If your team aims to deliver a superior language access experience through interpretation, translation, and AI-driven solutions, we’re here to help.

Contact LSA and let’s get to work!

LSA SmartCheck: The First Real-Time Insurance Validation Tool

Posted on March 11, 2026March 12, 2026 by Ximena Garcia

11 min read

For health plans, communication access is essential — but so is cost control, compliance, and fraud prevention. Every year, interpretation services support millions of multilingual member interactions across care management, customer service, utilization management, and provider support teams. But many of those interactions require eligibility and coverage to be fully verified.

Language Services Associates (LSA) has created a solution: LSA SmartCheck

SmartCheck is the language industry’s first real-time interpretation eligibility and coverage validation tool designed to help plans verify coverage instantly before interpretation services begin. This results in tighter financial control, stronger compliance, and more efficient workflows for teams across your organization.

In an environment where the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that 3–10% of healthcare spending is lost to fraud, waste, and abuse, SmartCheck gives health plans a new first line of defense. Instead of relying on manual checks, unnecessary phone calls, callbacks, and postaudit corrections, organizations can now validate member eligibility automatically and instantly at the point of access.

How Manual Validation Drives Hidden Interpretation Costs

Across the insurance ecosystem, small inefficiencies compound into major expense:

Interpreter sessions initiated before eligibility is confirmed
Agent time spent verifying coverage instead of supporting members
Back-and-forth between internal teams
Preventable billing disputes
Time spent correcting documentation
Fraudulent or unauthorized use of benefits

Each interaction may seem minor, but across hundreds or thousands of daily calls, they create measurable cost, wasted time, and compliance exposure.

SmartCheck eliminates those gaps.

By automating insurance validation in real time — before services begin — health plans gain a system-level safeguard against unnecessary spending and inconsistent workflows.

What SmartCheck Does

SmartCheck is a simple, streamlined, high-impact solution.

SmartCheck integrates directly into the interpreter request process and verifies member eligibility before a session begins.

Using the LSA App, or via a toll-free number, users simply enter a member ID. SmartCheck validates coverage instantly and allows the session to proceed only when eligibility is confirmed. In other words, a medical professional will enter their patient’s member ID, if SmartCheck confirms your health plan covers interpretation for the non-English speaker, the medical staff can request an LSA interpreter. If SmartCheck does not recognize the member ID, the medical staff will have to provide interpretation using their own provider.

This simple step prevents unnecessary phone calls, eliminates validation delays, and guarantees every interpretation interaction is properly authorized.

This results in more efficient workflows for agents, providers, and interpreters, as well as improved financial oversight.

How Health Plans Benefit

1. Control Interpreter Spend at the Source

Instead of reviewing invoices after the fact, SmartCheck prevents unnecessary charges from ever occurring.

2. Reduce Operational Overhead

Eligibility verification is automated, eliminating:

3. Improve Compliance and Audit Readiness

SmartCheck standardizes eligibility verification across all interactions. This means:

4. Reduce Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Risk

SmartCheck verifies every request instantly, preventing unauthorized interpretation usage before it begins.

5. Increase Team Productivity

Agents no longer lose minutes — or longer — verifying coverage.
Those reclaimed hours add up to a more efficient, more empowered workforce.

Who Should Use SmartCheck?

SmartCheck is designed for organizations that manage large volumes of multilingual member or patient interactions and need stronger oversight of interpretation utilization and spending.

It is especially valuable for:

Commercial health plans that want to control interpretation costs while ensuring compliant language access for members.

Plans supporting diverse populations where interpreter demand is high and verification workflows must be fast and consistent.

Organizations managing complex member services interactions and strict regulatory requirements around accessibility and documentation.

Administrators handling benefits on behalf of employers or government programs that need reliable eligibility verification before services are delivered.

Member services teams handling high call volumes where manual eligibility checks increase average handle time and operational costs.

Organizations coordinating care across multilingual populations where accurate coverage validation is essential.

For these organizations, SmartCheck transforms member validation from a reactive service into a controlled, verified, and auditable workflow.

Use Case: How an Insurance Payor Streamlined Costs & Strengthened Compliance with SmartCheck

Scenario

A regional health plan with 500,000 members supports large multilingual populations, especially across Medicaid and Medicare product lines. Historically, providers and internal teams need to go through the health plan to secure an interpreter

The Hidden Challenge

Across thousands of monthly interactions, the health plan regularly absorbed costs for:

The result? A growing portion of interpretation spend was unnecessary, unverified, or nonrecoverable.

Enter LSA SmartCheck.

How SmartCheck Transformed Their Workflow

Before implementing SmartCheck, the health plan estimated that 7–12% of monthly interpreter minutes were tied to avoidable or unverified interactions.

After implementation:

1. Automatic Eligibility Check Eliminated Immediate Waste

Calls now route through SmartCheck before any interpreter is added. Inactive or non-covered members are flagged instantly, preventing sessions from beginning.

2. Fraud Exposure Dropped Dramatically

Unauthorized use — especially repeat use by inactive or terminated members — decreased within the first 60 days.

3. Compliance & Audit Readiness Improved

SmartCheck created standardized, documented proof of eligibility for every interaction.
No more inconsistent validation across departments — the process became uniform and defensible.

4. Contact Center Productivity Improved

Agents saved hours weekly that were previously lost to:

5. Interpreter Spend Became Predictable & Controlled

By preventing unnecessary calls from ever starting, the health plan cut interpreter waste significantly — while reallocating internal time toward higher-value work.

Designed for the Realities of Health Plan Operations

SmartCheck is not just a validation tool — it is an enterprise solution designed to strengthen both operational performance and regulatory compliance across health plans of all sizes.

The Future of Interpretation Cost Control Starts at the Point of Access

Health plans can no longer rely on manual validation processes, delayed eligibility checks, or after-the-fact audits to manage interpretation costs.

The future of language access management starts before the session begins.

By validating coverage in real time, SmartCheck helps organizations:

Prevent unnecessary/non-approved interpreter spend
Strengthen regulatory compliance
Reduce fraud and misuse
Improve contact center productivity
Create defensible validation records for every interaction

For health plans seeking greater control over interpretation utilization while maintaining equitable language access, SmartCheck represents a smarter, more sustainable approach.

Learn how SmartCheck can help your organization control interpretation costs and strengthen compliance.

Visit SmartCheck: Insurance Member Verification | LSA

Or connect with the LSA team to explore how real-time validation fits into your existing workflow.

Go to this link to learn more.

Or connect with the LSA team to explore how real-time validation fits into your existing workflow.

Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities Extended Through 2027: What It Means for Providers and Language Access

Posted on February 27, 2026March 4, 2026 by Arnisa Xharra

6 min read

The future of CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) telehealth services and coverage remains uncertain, leaving many healthcare organizations in a state of flux.

However, at Language Services Associates (LSA) we’ve been closely monitoring CMS updates, especially concerning Medicare telehealth coverage beyond the original deadline of January 31, 2026.

And we have some good news: key telehealth flexibilities have now been extended through December 31, 2027.

We are CMS experts. Our telehealth language solutions are built to integrate directly into clinical workflows across video, audio-only, and hybrid environments, helping organizations maintain compliance while improving patient experience.

LSA connects interpreters directly into EHR systems like Epic through secure API connections. LSA can also be found in the Epic Toolbox (not just the Epic Showroom), meeting Epic’s recommended standards for secure, reliable access to professional interpreters in hundreds of languages. This allows hospitals and health systems to request interpreters directly from their patient records system.

What Has Been Extended?

Under the updated CMS guidance:

Medicare patients may continue receiving non-behavioral/mental health telehealth services in their homes through December 31, 2027.

Geographic restrictions for originating sites remain lifted for non-behavioral/mental telehealth services through December 31, 2027.

Telehealth services can continue to be provided by all eligible Medicare providers through December 31, 2027.

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) may serve as Medicare distant site providers for non-behavioral/mental telehealth services through December 31, 2027.

The requirement for an in-person visit within six months of an initial behavioral/mental telehealth service — and annually thereafter — is waived through December 31, 2027.

Non-behavioral/mental telehealth services may continue to be delivered using audio-only communication platforms through December 31, 2027. In certain cases, audio-only technology may also permanently qualify when patients cannot or do not consent to video.

What This Means for Healthcare Organizations

As telehealth continues to expand, so does the need for reliable, compliant interpretation and translation services within virtual environments.

Many Medicare beneficiaries rely on telehealth from home, and for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP), communication barriers can directly affect access, quality, and outcomes. The extension of audio-only services further underscores this need, as language access solutions must integrate smoothly across video, audio, and hybrid telehealth platforms.

Healthcare organizations must ensure:

Interpretation services are available in real time
Audio-only encounters remain compliant and accessible
Documentation aligns with CMS requirements
Language access workflows support both in-person and virtual care

Telehealth flexibility only works when communication is clear and understanding is prioritized.

LSA Delivers Telehealth Without Disruptions

For more than three decades, LSA has partnered with healthcare systems, payers, and provider networks to deliver interpretation and translation solutions that align with regulatory standards and evolving care models.

As Medicare telehealth flexibilities continue through 2027 and beyond, healthcare leaders have an opportunity to strengthen their virtual care infrastructure and language accessibility.

Telehealth is about making care accessible to every patient, in every language, wherever they are.

To learn more about LSA’s healthcare and telehealth services, reach out now!

Overview

Table of Contents

Why LSA Is the Smart Choice for International Conferences, Events, and Global Travel

1. Real-Time Interpretation for Live Events

2. AI Video Dubbing That Extends the Life of Your Event

3. Better Experiences for International Attendees

4. AI Interpretation for Fast-Paced Environments

5. Professional Translation That Protects Your Brand

6. Travel & Logistics Support for International Programs

7. One Partner for Interpretation, Translation, and AI Language Solutions

Global Events Work Better When Everyone Understands Each Other

Speed Is Overtaking Strategic Planning

AI Is Accelerating — But Humans Remain Essential

Segmentation Will Be the Coin of the Realm

Rising Customer Expectations and the “AI Mandate”

What This Means for Language Services Associates

A Leadership Imperative: Avoid Complacency

Looking Ahead

Overview

Where Communication Gaps Create Safety Risks

Building Safer Communication Strategies

Ready to close communication gaps?

In This Blog Post

A Surge in Global Movement and Multilingual Demand

How a Surge Becomes a Service Failure

Why Key Host-City Industries See a Spike in Language Needs

The World Cup Isn’t the Only Time This Happens

Building Language Access for Scale, Not One-Time Moments

Where LSA Fits In

Are You Ready?

What is Nimdzi 100?

About Language Services Associates (LSA)

In This Blog Post

More Than Words

Why Human Interpreters Are Irreplaceable

Supporting Communication in Critical Moments

A Community Built on Excellence

Today, We Say Thank You

In This Blog Post

7 Strategies for Optimizing Your Language Access Program

1. Start with Real Demand, Not Assumptions

2. Identify Where Inefficiencies Are Hiding

3. Match the Right Modality to the Right Moment

4. Remove Friction from Workflows

5. Train Teams Like It Matters (Because It Does)

6. Measure What Actually Impacts Performance

7. Leverage Technology Without Losing Quality

How LSA Helps Organizations Optimize Language Access

Looking Ahead: Language Access in 2026 and Beyond

What Does This Mean?

In This Blog Post

Taking Language Access from Cost Center Requirement to Performance Driver

Where Language Services ROI Is Measured

The ROI of Multilingual Messaging

Why This Matters

Where Organizations Leak ROI

How Organizations Leverage LSA for Better ROI

Reframing Language Services as a Performance Lever

In This Blog Post

Start by Listening: Your Customers Will Tell You What They Need

Leadership Under Pressure: Lessons from the Pandemic

Advocating for the Tools Your Teams and Customers Deserve

Building Customer-Centric Systems: The Power of Collaboration

“Inspect What You Expect,” Leadership That Scales

Staying Connected: The True Responsibility of Customer-First Leaders

The Challenge to Leaders

In This Blog Post

Why Might Your Diverse Audience Feel Excluded?

The Time It Takes to Get Assistance

Whether Staff Feel Confident or Hesitant

When Technology is Helpful for Multilingual Audiences — and When It Becomes a Barrier

Whether Language Access Is Routine or an Afterthought When Technology is Helpful — and When It Becomes a Barrier

What This Means for Organizations

In This Blog Post

How Manual Validation Drives Hidden Interpretation Costs

What SmartCheck Does

How Health Plans Benefit

Who Should Use SmartCheck?

Use Case: How an Insurance Payor Streamlined Costs & Strengthened Compliance with SmartCheck

How SmartCheck Transformed Their Workflow