GLOBO's CEO Gene Schriver believes the future is empathetic and you should too.
In June, Schriver took home the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award in the Technology category in Greater Philadelphia. The award recognizes entrepreneurs with strong financial performance who are innovating to create positive change in the world. Schriver, who started GLOBO in 2010, tops the list for his commitment to disruptive innovation in the language support industry — all in service of eradicating language barriers.
“At GLOBO, we believe the future is empathetic, and we work every day to try to make this world a better and more inclusive place by breaking down language barriers and giving people better access to healthcare, banking, government and essential services.”
The pressing need to tear down those barriers can’t be denied — one in five Americans speaks a language other than English at home. About 41% of this multilingual group is considered “Limited English Proficient” (LEP). That’s 25 million people (about 9% of the entire population) in the U.S. who speak English “less than very well.”
Patients with lower health literacy experience increased readmission rates and a surge in negative health outcomes. For the 25 million limited English speakers in the U.S. who are faced with a language barrier, what should be a simple visit to the doctor’s office can become overwhelming. As the world moves towards a more empathetic future, every day presents an opportunity to create better, more gracious, more impactful experiences (for administrators, providers, and patients). Better experiences for health administrators and providers result in improved health outcomes. GLOBO, with Schriver at the helm, is taking on these challenges head first.
In February, GLOBO launched GLOBO HQ for iOS. Designed to improve provider experience and patient access, the solution enables providers to connect to an interpreter via voice or video from any iOS device, anywhere, in more than 250 languages.
This is a small step toward more fluid and seamless communication on our journey to a world without language barriers.
“Empathy in designing for the provider experience, in addition to that of the patient, enables better patient access,” explains Shriver. “Right now, I’m glad I can say that we’re enabling health systems to get rid of their dual handset phones! Specialized equipment for interpreting isn’t only a pain to find and poses an additional hurdle in getting patients the interpreter they need, but using them also fundamentally changes the experience an LEP patient receives from their English-speaking counterpart.”
On the horizon next for GLOBO? “Increased integrations into the systems hospitals and health systems are already using to improve provider experiences. Making language data even more accessible inside the systems already in use to empower organizations to make smarter decisions and better connections.”
How can you join in GLOBO’s vision for the future? Schriver says, “Intentionally acting with kindness and consideration is something everyone can do. Our world will become more inclusive if we each make a concerted effort to make our corner of the world — no matter how big or small that is — more inclusive.”