Info series 2: What is in a name?

This post and the rest of the series, were first published and intended for internal use at Stepstone during a spotlight on one of our company values: We Radically Include. It is republished here.

A few months ago, colleagues chatted on Slack about Monzo and their recent update raising awareness on names and correct pronunciation:

As someone who regularly has their name butchered mispronounced or gets given unwanted nicknames as a way to dodge the effort, albeit so small, to pronounce it correctly, I can 100% relate — and I know many of you do, too.

Fostering inclusion at StepStone

As a global business, we have such a diversity and richness of names and pronunciations, we have to learn and take the time to call our colleagues the right way.

It doesn’t matter where we’re from or based, we all face that challenge one way or another as we come from so many regions with a variety of heritages layered on top, and different native tongues.

A recent survey just found that Irish names are amongst the most difficult to pronounce. This opened a wider conversation as to actually, there’s lots of things we say wrong in life and there’s no shame in learning now how to say them right!

Names matter very much. We must all respect this very important element of who someone is. If there’s one piece of insight we all need to be kind about and mindful of, is names.

Why? simply because it’s inappropriate to tell people their name is too complicated or funny, or weird. It may be to you, but it’s not to them — after all they’ve grown up bearing that name, which often can carry a heavy, complex and beautiful heritage. And some people may have suffered abuse because of it. So it’s not trivial.

How to deal with names everyday

1. Take the time to ask

Take the time to ask colleagues how to pronounce their name, especially if you’re unsure (and be less like Kate Garraway)

• “I want to make sure I get your name right — how do you say it?”
• “Can you tell me how to properly pronounce your name?”
• “Sorry, I missed your name the first time, would you mind repeating it?”

2. Help people out

Help people out when they struggle to pronounce your name correctly when they show positive intent. Maybe share the phonetics or other similar sounding words to help with less usual syllables or combinations of syllables. And be mindful: A Julian in Germany may not want their name pronounced like a Julian in the UK… Or a Stephen in the UK when they travel to the US 😊

• Aoife: ee-fa
• Stephen: stee-ven vs ste-fen
• Julian: yu-li-an vs dju-li-an

Fun fact: even big international brands suffer the mispronunciations. See this recent article from CNBC about the topic:

Like Hyundai, more and more brands are focusing on their cultural heritage as a way to promote certain values, and a company’s name can be a way to highlight that.

But that’s not the only driving force behind excellent enunciation, according to Rachel Aldighieri, managing director at the U.K.’s Data & Marketing Association.

“More and more of us are getting our information through audio … So it’s important that you can recognize and understand a brand name from an advertising perspective as and when you hear it,” she told CNBC.

3. Keep a note

Keep a mental or written note of that pronunciation to avoid doing it wrong next time (e.g. write it down the way you feel most able to pronounce it well again). A name is hardly ever hard to pronounce actually — it’s just that we’re not always familiar with them, so it looks complex, especially with the roman alphabet which doesn’t necessarily reflect the sounds.

4. Don’t rename or nickname

Don’t give people a nickname they don’t like, want or go by to make it easier and simpler for yourself, nor give people another name altogether. While you might find it a token of appreciation or friendship, it’s not cool and you should always ensure people are comfortable.

5. Stand up for yourself

If a colleague refuses to call you appropriately, call them in if you feel safe enough doing so. If not, speak to someone of trust in your team, or theirs, if you can (or reach out to me anytime!). If it becomes worse (they refuse to accept your feedback, they give you plenty more nicknames), it may be worth speaking to your manager or colleagues of trust about it.

6. Make use of everyday work tools

On LinkedIn, you can use a feature to record yourself pronouncing your full name (available on desktop only) so people visiting your profile can play it back. And that’s helpful everyday, not just when you may look for connections or jobs 😉

Use the newly added feature on Slack to specify how to say your name on your profile: you can now record a clip as well as type in the phonetics. You can also add it into your email signature:

7. Don’t laugh. Like… ever

Don’t laugh off or make a joke when you feel or know you didn’t say someone’s name correctly. Don’t laugh at it, or at yourself either.

Apologise, sincerely, and move on. And ensure you don’t do it next time (see tips above!). And if you witness such a situation, be an ally and call it in — and don’t get on the laughter train either!

Why should you do it?

Our colleague Iain aptly points out to the whys in our Slack channel:

Including this, regardless of people’s familiarity with your name, doesn’t only help you if you are facing this situation personally, but also contributes to building a sense of belonging for everyone in our communities, internally and externally.

By doing so, you signal to others that identity and respect form part of your values — and our values at Stepstone through kindness and inclusion — and that people can feel comfortable and be themselves when interacting with you, working with us or using our services.

And it only takes a minute!

More on the topic:

• The #MyNameIs campaign from Race Equality Matters
• On BBC Worklife, read Why getting a name right matters
• On franceinfo, read about ethnic discrimination on the French job market based on names (you can use a translator to understand the top line and more!)
• Still on BBC Worklife, read Why uncommon baby names are surging (spoiler: the concept of ‘fitting in’ is involved…)
• On Screenrant, find how Everyone’s Been Saying Denzel Washington’s Name Wrong (yes, it happens to many of us indeed)

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