Global Arena believe that price should never be the deciding factor when it comes to choosing a translation partner. In fact, selecting the cheapest vendor will end up costing you dearly more often than not.
We found out more in an in-depth interview…
“Focusing solely on price puts you at risk of receiving a non-professional translation that may be poorly written, or at best unedited. Publishing a document like this could ultimately put your brand in jeopardy.
Would you publish multilingual materials that could negatively affect your company’s reputation?
I didn’t think so.
And yet so many people out there think that any bilingual speaker is able to translate documents, therefore giving the translation industry the “commodity” label.
Quality content creation
Would you just hire any old English speaker to create targeted, well-written marketing materials in English?
If you had any sense, you would turn to a marketing content professional, understanding that conveying a message requires specific skills beyond merely knowing the language.
The translation is no different. Not every bilingual speaker on the planet can translate documents and even fewer can translate them well. That’s why finding experienced professional linguists, sensitive to the nuances of both languages and cultures is essential.
Linguist selection
Selecting the right translators, editors, and proofreaders to carry out your translation project is key. The selected linguists must be native speakers of the target language in order to ensure that the ‘voice’ of your translation is properly conveyed. What’s more, if the target language has regional terminology or dialectal colloquialisms (e.g. Mexican vs Argentinian Spanish or European vs Canadian French) the correct geographical voice and cultural knowledge could be crucial to your company’s success.
The proper process
At Global Arena, we have a 3-step process in place, which includes translation, editing, and proofreading.
Once the initial document has been expertly translated, a second professional linguist(s) with the same SME then edits the translation, making comments and suggestions for improvement. The original translator or translation team then reviews the edited document thoroughly, taking into account the comments made by the editor(s).
Any discrepancies are discussed before the project manager performs a final round of proofreading. During the process, a translation memory is created and stored for reference and possible future use. This not only reduces costs but also ensures consistency in any future translations from said client.
CAT tools
In simple terms, CAT tools are programs designed to help translators manage, edit, and store translations.
Translation memory gives us the power to store and reuse translations, hence reducing costs and guaranteeing consistency for our clients when it comes to future projects.
The project management tool minefield
CAT tools are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to software. We also need a project management tool that streamlines processes and workflows to ensure our documents pass through the entire translation process without a hitch.
“Workflow tools drastically reduce the amount of process oversight required by a translation project manager to ensure the timely delivery of a quality translation.”
Several years ago, we at Global Arena deliberated over what the best long-term project management tool would be. We were looking to enhance and optimize our operations while ensuring that the final translation is of the utmost quality at a competitive price.
We gave various tools, designed specifically for the translation industry, a try and eventually decided on XTRF. Back in 2008, there were a number of server-based tools that were slowly migrating to the cloud. The difference was that XTRF was created in the cloud using the know-how of experienced software engineers from the translation industry.
When we decided to sign up to XTRF, they were by no means new to the market. In fact, their several years of experience had allowed them to design and successfully distribute a natural, intuitive platform that ensures translation workflows operate with minimum effort. The user interface was very important to us.
Future facing
When we chose XTRF, we also took into consideration their plans moving forward. Back in 2012, the platform was already fairly extensive. However, a big deciding factor was the possibility to add programming scripts and integrate external systems effortlessly to create our own technological ecosystem.”
Carles Pont, Business Development Director
Carles is Global Arena’s Business Development Director. One of his multiple responsibilities includes evaluating and selecting the tools that Global Arena uses in its different divisions. For Global Arena’s Translation Division, Carles was one of the decision-makers in adopting XTRF as Global Arena’s Translation Management Tool and CRM.
