Translation Business Metrics

How do we measure progress in the translation business? Whether for a translation agency or a freelance translator, what’s the answer?

Is it by the number of words translated? This would be an easy metric to track. If the number this year is higher than the number last year then that’s presumably progress. Or it could be a statistical anomaly, unless repeated most years and then in that case it’s a trend.

How about the top line revenue number? Any accounting system can make this measurement assuming the data input is valid. Related (but different) would be a measurement of profitability. From profitability we learn how much we keep.

A more qualitative metric might be the number of favorable interactions we have in a day, month, or year. How many people are positively impacted, uplifted even, by their interaction with us? It’s possible that this metric more than any other will favorably impact the number of words translated per year, our revenue, and profitability.