2025 Bow Valley Workplace Inclusion Charter

Commitment #10:

Interpretation Policy

Adopt a policy and standard operating procedure for the use of interpretation & translation.

See below on this page for details about how to complete this commitment.

⚠️ Instructions To Complete This Commitment:

Commitment: Adopt a policy and standard operating procedure for the use of interpretation & translation.


Please complete all of the below requirements.

Part 1: Adopt an Interpretation and Translation Policy and Standard Operating Procedure, outlining when and how your organization will use professional language interpretation and translation.

The policy should include the following

  1. Which types of communications (written and verbal) your organization considers critical enough to engage professional translation or interpretation (for our recommendations, see the section on why this commitment is important)

  2. Steps that your organization will follow to translate critical documents.

  3. Steps that your organization will follow to offer interpretation.

Part 2: Submit one written story or testimonial showing how your organization used interpretation or translation.

Your document should include:

  • The situation where you used language interpretation or translation

  • The impact it had

  • Any questions or comments about using interpretation or translation.

Submit Evidence When You have Completed This Commitment

  • Once you have completed each of the above requirements, upload your evidence using our online form as soon as possible. This allows time for review and feedback.

  • Evidence may be in the form of a document, email, newsletter, meeting minutes, social media post, etc.

  • Deadline to submit all evidence for the 2025 WIC: 3PM, Monday, December 1st, 2025.

⏰ Key Dates:

Important dates to remember:

  • By December 1st, 2025: Deadline to complete 2025 WIC commitments and submit all evidence.

✅ Why This Commitment Is Important:

Interpretation and translation are both processes for communicating information in a different language.

Speech is interpreted; writing is translated. 

This commitment encourages professional interpretation and translation and whenever you share critical information with employees whose first language is not English.

Examples of critical information include:

  • health and safety policies and procedures

  • performance evaluation

  • emergency preparedness

  • payroll and taxes

  • colleague conflict and other personnel matters

Complex information can be difficult to understand, even for fluent English speakers.

If employees miss this information or misunderstand it, there can be serious consequences for both your workplace and your employees.

By standardizing the use of interpretation and translation when communicating critical or technical information, you can reduce the risk of misunderstandings that can lead to workplace disputes, turnover, and accidents.

Previous Workplace Inclusion Charter signatories who took steps to incorporate regular use of interpretation in their workplace reported unexpected benefits and told us this commitment is worth investing in.

Intended Outcomes:

  1. Clearer communication of critical information
    Employees better understand important workplace policies and procedures, reducing the risk of confusion or errors.

  2. Improved Safety, compliance, and fairness
    Professional interpretation and translation help ensure all staff receive the same information, which supports health, safety, and fair treatment.

  3. Reduced risk of miscommunication
    While informal interpreters (like coworkers or friends) may be helpful, they can lead to misunderstandings. Using professional services for complex or sensitive information ensures accuracy and protects everyone involved.

📝 Resources:

  1. Tips for Working With Interpreters

  2. Directory of translators and interpreters in Alberta: https://www.atia.ab.ca/directory-search/

  3. Templates - Translated Messages: You can encourage employees to request interpretation at critical or technical meetings. Here are some translated messages you can include in your employee handbook or other materials:

    • English: “If your first language is not English, we encourage you to request interpretation for meetings related to training, health and safety information, performance evaluation, or tax forms. Interpreters help people who speak different languages understand each other. They must follow rules and they will not share what you say with anyone else. If you would like interpretation, please contact [organization contact details].”

    • French: Si votre langue maternelle n’est pas l’anglais, nous vous encourageons à faire une demande d’interprétation pour les réunions concernant la formation, les renseignements sur la santé et la sécurité, l’évaluation du rendement ou les formulaires de déclaration fiscale. Les interprètes facilitent la compréhension entre des personnes parlant des langues différentes. Ils sont soumis à des règles et ne communiqueront pas ce que vous dites à qui que ce soit. Si vous souhaitez recourir aux services d’un interprète, veuillez communiquer avec [organization contact details].

    • Japanese: 英語が母語でない方の場合、研修、安全衛生情報、業績評価、または、確定申告に関連する会議の際、通訳を依頼することを推奨します。通訳者は、異なる言語を話す人々がお互いに理解できるようにお手伝いします。通訳者は、規則に従わなければならず、あなたの発言が他の誰にも共有されることはありません。通訳を希望される方は、 [organization contact details]までご連絡ください。

    • Tagalog: Kung hindi Ingles ang una mong wika, hinihikayat ka naming humiling ng interpretasyon para sa mga pulong na may kaugnayan sa pagsasanay, impormasyong pangkalusugan at pangkaligtasan, pagsusuri sa pagganap, o mga form sa buwis. Tinutulungan ng mga tagapagsalin-ng wika ang mga taong nagsasalita ng iba-ibang wika na magkaintindihan. Dapat silang sumunod sa mga alituntunin at hindi nila sasabihin sa sino man ang iyong sinasabi. Kung gusto mo ng interpretasyon, mangyaring makipag-ugnayan sa [organization contact details].

    • Spanish: Si su idioma materno no es el inglés, le animamos a solicitar servicios de interpretación para las reuniones relacionadas con capacitación, información sobre salud y seguridad, evaluación de desempeño, o formularios de impuestos. Los intérpretes ayudan a las personas que hablan idiomas diferentes a entenderse. Ellos deben seguir determinadas normas y no compartirán con nadie lo que usted diga. Si desea recibir servicios de interpretación, sírvase comunicarse con [organization contact details].

    • Korean: 영어가 모국어가 아닌 경우, 교육, 보건 및 안전 정보, 성과 평가 또는 세금 양식과 관련된 회의에 통역 서비스를 요청하길 권장합니다. 통역사는 다른 언어를 사용하는 사람들이 서로를 이해하도록 돕습니다. 통역사는 반드시 규칙을 따라야 하며, 여러분이 발설한 내용을 누구와도 공유하지 않을 것입니다. 통역 서비스를 원하는 경우,  [organization contact details] (으)로 연락하십시오.

    • Amharic: የመጀመሪያ ቋንቋዎ እንግሊዘኛ ካልሆነ፡ ከስልጠና ጋር፣ ከጤና እና ከደህንነት መረጃ ጋር፣ ከስራ ግምገማ ጋር ወይም ከቀረጥ ቅጾች ጋር ለተያያዙ ስብሰባዎች የትርጉም አገልግሎት እንዲጠይቁ እናበረታታዎታለን። ተርጓሚዎች የተለያየ ቋንቋ የሚናገሩ ሰዎች እርስ በርሳቸው እንዲግባቡ ይረዳሉ። ህጎችን መከተል አለባቸው እንዲሁም እርስዎ የሚናገሩትን ለማንም አያካፍሉም። የትርጉም አገልግሎት ከፈለጉ [organization contact details] ን ያግኙ።

    • Tigrinya: ናይ መጀመርታ ቛንቋኻ እንግሊዝኛ እንተ ዘይኰይኑ ምስ ስልጠና፣ ምስ ሓበሬታ ጥዕናን ድሕንነትን፣ ምስ ገምጋም ስራሕ፣ ወይ ምስ ናይ ቀረጽ ፎርም ንዚተሓሓዙ ኣኼባታት ናይ ትርጕም ኣገልግሎት ክትሓትት ነተባብዓካ። ተርጐምቲ ነቶም እተፈላለየ ቛንቋታት ዚዛረቡ ሰባት ንሓድሕዶም ንኺረዳድኡ ይሕግዝዎም እዮም። ሕግታት ኪስዕቡ ኣለዎም፡ ነቲ እትብሎ ድማ ንዋላ ሓደ ኣይነግሩን እዮም። ኣገልግሎት ትርጕም ክትረክብ እንተ ደሊኻ በጃኻ ን [organization contact details] ተወከስ።

    • Oromo: Afaan dhalootaa kee Ingiliffa miti yoo ta’e, walgahiiwwan leenjii, odeeffannoo fayyaa fi nageenyummaa, madaallii gahuumsaa yookin unkawwan qaraxaa wajjin wal qabataniif tajaajila hiika afaanii akka gaafattu si jajjabeessina. Namoonni afaan hiikan, namoonni afaanota garaa garaa dubbatan akka walii walii isaanii hubatan gargaaru. Dambiiwwan hordofuu qabu, akkasumas waanta ati jette nama kan birootf hin qoodu. Hiika afaanii yoo barbaadde, maaloo [organization contact details] qunnami.

📧 Contact:

Supporting Agency

For questions and support to complete this commitment, please contact:

Settlement Services in the Bow Valley

Heather Bates (she/her)
Community Connections Coordinator

Email: heather.bates@banff.ca

2025 WIC Commitments