Reference
Communication Readiness Glossary
A short, plain-English reference for the terms used across the Evala Communication Readiness Lab. Each entry links to a deeper page on the topic.
- Communication readiness
The ability to understand, respond, and adapt effectively in real workplace or customer-facing interactions. Distinct from general language proficiency.
Read the category page →- Workplace communication assessment
A pre-hire or in-role evaluation that scores how a candidate communicates in realistic work scenarios — voice, writing, comprehension, tone, and role fit.
What it measures →- BPO communication assessment
A communication assessment built for business process outsourcing hiring, where candidates handle voice, chat, email, and back-office documentation at the pace of real customer work.
Read the BPO guide →- Contact center communication skills assessment
An evaluation of the specific communication skills contact center agents need on a queue — listening accuracy, real-time fluency, register control, and clarity under pressure.
Read the contact center guide →- Voice readiness
A candidate's ability to handle live spoken interaction — listening accuracy, real-time fluency, pacing, tone, and recovery from misunderstandings.
How voice is assessed →- Written communication readiness
A candidate's ability to communicate clearly and accurately in chat and email under time pressure, including tone and summarization of customer intent.
How writing is assessed →- CEFR
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages — an international scale (A1–C2) for general language proficiency, designed for academic and immigration contexts.
Where CEFR fits in hiring →- Language proficiency
A measure of what someone knows about a language — grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, listening, speaking — on a fixed scale. A prerequisite for, but distinct from, communication readiness.
Proficiency vs readiness →- Customer-facing communication
Communication that directly affects the customer experience — calls, chat, email, and any interaction where tone, clarity, and empathy materially shape the outcome.
What to assess →- Agent readiness
A candidate's overall preparedness to perform as a frontline agent — combining communication readiness with role fit for a specific channel and queue.
Inside agent readiness →- Role-relevant assessment
An assessment whose scenarios, scoring, and reporting are aligned to the specific role being hired — voice queue, chat queue, back office, sales, or compliance.
How to evaluate tools →
Evala Communication Readiness is part of Evala (evala.cx), focused on workplace communication assessment for global employers, BPOs, and contact centers.
Related resources
- What is communication readiness?
The category these terms revolve around.
- BPO communication assessment
What to test before hiring offshore support and BPO agents.
- Contact center communication skills assessment
Skills to evaluate before placing agents on customer queues.
- Alternatives to traditional English language tests
Where CEFR, IELTS, and TOEFL fit and where they don't.
- Best BPO language assessment tools
Categories of tools to consider for BPO hiring.
- Browse the resource library
Research and articles from the Evala team.