the daily thread - 29 January TGIF edition

[Dave04]

Sigh...

So I interact almost every day with a team of people in India, but I still don't get Indian names. Here's an example:

Yup... I'm with you.... my big issue is establishing their gender... It comes across bad using masculine pronouns when the person is, in fact, a woman and vice versa. A lot of the India folks I only interact with over e-mail.

[Nexus Flux]

Well you could always ask what they would like to be called. Or pick up the phone and see how they introduce them selves.

But don't feel bad, I get same thing at work. Some prefer a nickname (usually the first few letters of their first name), others want the full name correctly pronounced (and get offended when you have trouble pronouncing 5 constanants in a row), others some other thing all together.

[Radio-Active]

Well you could always ask what they would like to be called. Or pick up the phone and see how they introduce them selves.

But don't feel bad, I get same thing at work. Some prefer a nickname (usually the first few letters of their first name), others want the full name correctly pronounced (and get offended when you have trouble pronouncing 5 constanants in a row), others some other thing all together.

Just get the offensiveness on the table in the first sentance.

....Hello,

[Nexus Flux]

I typically just give my name first and then wait for them to introduce themselves. Or at work my other little trick is to see if the screensaver is running on their PC, if so, I call them and most of the time it goes to voice mail. Their name, complete with the correct pronounciation, is right there on their message.

[Walsted]

Woohoo! Got word this afternoon that I was selected for a promotion and a raise, and I get to work for a boss that "gets it".

[altiain]

Well you could always ask what they would like to be called. Or pick up the phone and see how they introduce them selves.

That would be way too easy. Unfortunately most of the people I work with are based in Bangalore, so there isn't a lot of "live" overlap between their work day and mine. Like Dave, 99% of our communication is via email.

Woohoo! Got word this afternoon that I was selected for a promotion and a raise, and I get to work for a boss that "gets it".

Congrats!

[Walsted]

Congrats!

Thanks!

[Titus]

Sorry to hear about your granny, I didn't know. My condolences.

Thanks guys.

Sigh...

So I interact almost every day with a team of people in India, but I still don't get Indian names. Here's an example:

This is his email address:

"Cherian, Thykadavil K." <[email protected]>

Do I call this guy Cherian? Thykadavil? Mr. T? Does anyone have a clue? I'd like to avoid offending these guys when I converse with them. I know it may surprise some of you, but I actually try not to offend the people I work with.

I usually have between 5 and 10 Indian contractors working for me at any given time. I have the benefit of having 1 onsite coordinator for every 3 offshore resources, but I do correspond frequently via email with the offshore folks. After many casual lunches with the onsite coordinators, I have come to learn that they are really no different than you and I. They are very aware of the perceived cultural differences, but are not easily offended and usually appreciate when you ask what they like being called. I have been amazed how much more comfortable many get with you when you ask them about their traditions and what it is like for them back home. I think they tend to get used to being treated as a commodity by many Americans, so a little compassion goes a long way.

[Radio-Active]

Very well said.

I deal with the Maintenance support side of things. All calls are routed through the IT tech side first and then given to maintenance if they deemed it mechanical. Usually we are left a voice mail from a guy from India that is difficult at best to understand. Many time we can not decipher where they were telling us to call. With 39 different DC's and a person that does not quite know how to pronounce certain cities, it can be very difficult to figure out which one they are calling about.

[Dave04]

Oh, believe me, I appreciate the folks we have working for us in Bangalore. With one or two rare exceptions, they are top notch folks. And, I am very appreciative of the fact that they have learned English instead of me having to learn Hindi.

The division I work in at TI supposedly represents people for about 50 different countries. We're very much "culturally aware". It's actually kinda cool learning about the different holidays and what each group does. The nice thing is that we realize that we all do things different and that doesn't mean the other person is wrong.

[cam76034]

Congratulations Mike.

[Walsted]

Congratulations Mike.

Thanks!