Today’s fast-paced, global business environment means translation agencies are busier than ever, and they face a growing range of challenges when handling their client’s vital translation projects.
However, professional translation agencies are able to employ a variety of strategies to overcome these obstacles effectively, ensuring their client’s projects are completed accurately and delivered on schedule.
If you have a translation project in the pipeline, and are considering using a translation agency, here you’ll find some of key challenges and how agencies typically address them…
Maintaining accuracy
Accuracy is usually the most important factor for any translation project yet it is also closely linked to quality and cost – it is rare indeed to find a cheap professional translation agency that offers excellent quality and a timely service – so beware of those claiming to offer all three!
Generally, in order to ensure high levels of accuracy across every translation project, professional translation agencies use native-speaking translators and linguists who have years of experience working with both the source and target languages.
They also tend to engage translators with experience in a range of additional sectors such as marketing, law, medicine or finance, as this ensures accuracy at every level of the translation, from the use of language, to specific industry terminology.
Translation agencies also understand the important role culture plays in achieving accurate language and translation services, so they use translators and linguists who have been immersed in the culture and language of the target audience for many years.
Maintaining quality
Maintaining high quality translations across hundreds of projects, in multiple languages, with millions of words, is a challenge that translation agencies face every day.
There are a number of ways they deal with this depending upon the agency, but here at Creative Word, we use the following methods to ensure quality for every translation project, and across all our processes:
• Our freelance translators and linguists are all fully qualified and have years of experience in both translation and other industries
• Our internal processes (including project and relationship management) are ISO9001 certified
• Depending upon our client’s requirements, we offer editing, proofreading and QA checks for all our language services
• We use glossaries and Translation Memory tools to ensure consistency and quality of all translation projects
• Style guides are utilised to ensure quality and consistency with our client’s requirements and industry standards or expectations
• Our use of cultural experts for every translation and localisation project ensures quality translations which will resonate with target audiences and are appropriate for intended market
• Project management is an integral part of all our language services and ensures we keep track of every project no matter how complex or the timescales involved
• Our relationship managers work with our clients to ensure they are happy with the accuracy, quality and cost of each and every project. This gives one point of contact for our clients and ensures they have clear and consistent information about their project
Achieving deadlines
This challenge can be very dependent upon a client’s requirements and projects with a fast turnaround time often incur additional costs in order to ensure deadlines are met.
It can also be dependent upon changes or additions made to the original project as it is ongoing.
As such, time schedules for language services can vary considerably from one project to another but at Creative Word, we always strive to complete every translation project on-time and with minimal fuss.
When time is of the essence, we utilise every means at our disposal to ensure our clients get what they want, and that they are satisfied with the results.
We offer scalable teams with access to hundreds of freelance translators around the globe so nothing is left to chance.
Our relationship managers and project managers play vital roles in ensuring our clients wishes are understood by the whole team and they keep clients updated about any issues or advances as they happen.
Coping with technical translations
Technical translations is an umbrella term for any translation which requires the use of specific terminology or uses complex technical language.
For instance, legal translations, financial translations or engineering translations would all be considered to be types of technical translations.
At Creative Word, our vast team of translators are not only qualified and experienced linguists but they are also trained, or have worked in, other fields and sectors such as Law.
This ensures they have an in-depth knowledge of the industry linked to the translation and are able to understand any nuance or technical terminology within the project.
Glossaries are vital in this instance, ensuring consistency within individual projects and over subsequent ones.
By implementing these strategies, translation agencies effectively handle the various challenges of translation, ensuring high-quality, accurate, and culturally appropriate translations for every client.
If you’d like to know more about how we manage our language services, or how we can help you with your next translation project, please contact us now.
Recent Comments