It’s the year 2020. You are the owner of a large conglomerate and envision a future where your firm will be located in all major business hubs of the world, with a customer base spread across multiple location. But to be able to do that, wouldn’t you want to have a robust translation partner to make that much-needed business expansion possible? On what criteria would you judge…and trust a translation agency to carry out the task of translating your websites, games, documents and text files?
Here are the 5 most important things to know before embarking on the journey of choosing a translation service:
1. Communication is the key
As with the core requirements of translation, the ability to communicate holds the foremost importance. Proper communication warrants that the translation goals are met without any difficulty. It is critical that the linguists assigned to do the job have native fluency in the target language and if your target language is intended for a specific country, be sure to request that the editor is from that country as well. Without establishing this proper communication, translation would not be of any use!
One way to gauge a professional translation agency is through the way that it requires the instructions from your business—a professional translation agency would opt for a written document clearly communicating all the requisites of the service. Along with that, it is essential to note how transparent the translation agency is in its interface and how the updates are shared with you at various stages of the project.
2. Pricing: Buying value for money
You get what you pay for. This rules applies to every product and service bought for a price.
Look for a translation partner with a transparent pricing portfolio. Many translation providers use a model of “price per word” but this model does not include the additional fees associated with the project such as professional editing, graphic design, desktop publishing and other localization services.
If an ongoing stream of work is expected, you might want to consider drawing up a Master Service Agreement entailing itemized, locked-in price rates. Care must be taken to stay clear of companies that have blanket charges since this is an indicator that the nature of the project has not been thoroughly evaluated.
3. Quality and accuracy, the professional way
Translation quality can simply be termed as accuracy of the project’s execution to the client. This “accuracy” is achieved by having a proofreading and editing expertise at hand.
If your chosen translation agency possesses a team of experts in technical and language translation, you can be assured that it will deliver nothing short of quality translation. But to achieve that, first have a thorough inspection of the quality of your source language. If it is poorly written, you should not expect a quality translation service. Likewise, any translation requirements should be conveyed properly to get a translation that marks all the quality ticks on your translation agenda.
4. Qualified and accredited
If your business objectives are to provide transparent and high quality services to your customers, you have to make sure that all your stakeholders are accredited and qualified. This formal qualification and membership with industry regulators is an adequate proof that you are availing the services of professionals.
Translation agencies abide by ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 17000:2004 certification guidelines. Be cautious of the companies that pretend to follow these certifications without being formally accredited and freely audited. A way to cross-check this is to view the credentials of the companies on their websites. Professional translation firms display these credentials clearly and have details of the auditors available on their websites.
5. Reviews and feedback
The last thing you could look for to verify the soundness of the translation you are obtaining is to check the client testimonials and reviews. Satisfied customers will always leave a positive review upon successful completion of the task. In addition, just to be sure, the companies could check and verify with any family and friends who might have availed the services of that translation company on how it provided the services and whether those services were up-to-mark with the requirements of their businesses.
Conclusion
Keeping these pointers in mind when choosing a translation company will go a long way in forging a bond of trust and mutual cooperation between your business and stakeholders. A reminder—your translation partner is your gateway to global markets. Research thoroughly, choose wisely.