Increasing Your Confidence in Translation Services

One of the best ways to increase confidence in the services of a translation company is to learn more about their translation process. Knowledge of a translation vendor’s processes, including quality control measures such as post-translation proofreading by a second translator, make translation services less of a black box and put consumers of translation services more in touch with what they’re buying.

Questions to Ask

Questions to ask translation vendors may include:

1) What are the qualifications of your translators (e.g., native speakers, years of experience, etc.)?

2) Do regular clients keep the same translators assigned to their account project-to-project?

3) Does your standard translation process include proofreading?

4) How does the process for “rush” projects differ from standard schedule projects?

When possible regular clients often appreciate working with the same project manager. Communication styles can vary from person to person. The chances of misunderstanding are decreased when established communication channels and parties are consistent.

Increasing confidence might mean holding a video conference meeting to facilitate greater familiarity with a translation vendor, in cases where a face-to-face meeting is not possible due to geographic proximity.

Accept Responsibility

Translation clients have a role to play to increase their comfort levels and add to peace of mind through greater confidence in the translation process. What would it take to increase your confidence in the translation services you purchase? Consider the question, your own answers, and then work with your translation vendor to achieve it.