Any company with global ambition has to operate across diverse cultures and languages. Language is a barrier that can restrict companies from going global even if they have a great, marketable product or service. There is quick help in hand in the form of machine translation, and for more accurate translation, there are human translators. But to facilitate communication and performance across geographically diverse functions and business endeavors, there is no better partner than a professional translation service.
When to Hire a Professional Translation Agency
You would obviously look for translation support only when there is a business need. For instance, you want to take your software product to Nordic countries. Each of these five nations in the region speaks different languages. So what are the options available to you?
1. Machine translation
Google Translate is the first thing that comes to mind when we utter machine translation. It is okay to use it if you have to decipher the content of an email in Swedish, a language you do not know. You will get an instant word-by-word translation that may be good enough to understand the drift of the email.
But if you decide to reply using the same tool, you are putting your company at risk. The literal translation may not capture the spirit and tone of your communication correctly.
2. Translators
Translators are good to have access to, but they may fall short if you want to send the email in Norwegian and Danish languages, besides Swedish. Now, you have to look for translators in the other two languages. Thus, individual translators are not the best option if you have time constraints.
3. Professional translation services
The best solution in this case, and most cases, is to have a long-term association with a professional translation agency. You can avail of their multilingual offerings, and since most of them have quite a few experts on their rolls, they would be able to meet your requirement in a much shorter time and with good quality.
Benefits of Working With Professional Translation Services
There are numerous benefits of working with established professional translation services.
1. Experience and expertise matter
When you hire a language translation service, you recruit an entire workforce to translate the required material into your desired languages. Thus, you can be sure of the outcome if a team of experts with relevant experience in the target countries handles the job.
The team usually comprises translators and linguists but is also supported by proofreaders and editors to ensure an error-free document. For instance, for website translation services, you may ask for translators who specialize in that branch.
2. Localized content experience
Translating the documents is not enough; the content must also be familiar to the local culture. It has to undergo a degree of localization to ensure that the content carries the flavor of the land and is being communicated in the language and tone that is in tune with the preference of the local market. This way, the content will likely click with the target audience.
3. Adept in handling complicated projects
With several experienced professionals under its umbrella, professional translation services are better placed to handle complex projects involving a multi-disciplinary approach. They are more resourceful and often have deep-seated contacts in many countries that help them handle such projects. For instance, a project involving the pharma industry that has to do with the country’s government would not be a hard task for them.
4. Efficiency and timely delivery
An experienced company in the domain structures its workflow efficiently with a committed team of project managers, linguists, translators, proofreaders, and others working on specific projects. This ensures efficient and time-bound delivery of the project and a responsive team to handle any after-sales query.
5. Long term consistency
If you are banking on individual translators to do the job, the possibilities are that your workflow may get impacted due to their prior commitment. Suppose you hit upon the right translation company and stick to it for a considerable period. In that case, the possibilities are that it would start acting as your backend support for language translation services once the rapport has been established and workflow gets structured.
6. Access to the latest technology
Reputed and certified translation services use Computer-Aided Translation (CAT) tools to work on translation projects. The use of advanced technology combined with the human analytical mind gives these companies an edge in language translation services. These agencies deploy CAT tools to create standardized terminology databases, complete glossaries for consistency, and different texts into easily transferable units, which help in handling large projects smoothly.
Choosing the Right Fit for Your Company
When translation companies are multiplying by the day, it can be challenging to zero in on a company that is perfect for your business requirement. Here are some of the factors that you must pay heed to while selecting the right language translation service:
- Know your company
Every business has a unique set of requirements, and you must select a company that aligns with your business line. It has to be ensured that they have the experience and expertise to deal with your branch of business.
- Know the agency better
Having a thorough background check of the language services company which you wish to hire shall go a long way in saving you unpleasant surprises later. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and for a sample of their work. Knowing whether they provide certified translation services would be a good idea.
- Confidentiality
Go for the language solutions company, which offers maximum confidentiality to your business ideas and documents.
- Turnaround time
You should specifically ask for the turnaround time and get it mentioned in the contract to ensure the timely delivery of work assigned to the translation agency. You must know whether they are working with translators in other time zones; this will ensure round-the-clock services.
- Customer service
You should also enquire about the processes if you are unsatisfied with the translation services. Will they, in that case, be willing to redo the job, and under what timeframe should be a factor that has to be taken into cognizance?
There are many translation service providers in the market. Identifying the right agency for your business needs will take some effort. Once you have done that, it makes sense to forge a long-term partnership so that they function as a solid backend for your business growth.
FAQs
A certified translation is a translation work accompanied by a signed statement by the translating agency attesting that the work is accurate and complete to the best of the translator’s knowledge and ability. It is a kind of assurance to the customer on the quality of the outcome and taking the onus for the standard of translation.
The pricing usually depends on the scale of operations of translation agencies. Single Language vendors (SLVs) offer services concerning only one language, while Multi-Language Vendors (MLVs) cover multiple languages and charge higher for their range of services.
Both denote the same thing in business vocabulary and are often used interchangeably. But when one entity is outsourcing work to another company, the contact-taking company is referred to as an agency. The entity that passes on the contract is called a company by the clients.
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