Articles for Translators and Translation Companies
Running a Translation Company
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27 Reasons
To Invest In People: The Evidence Keeps Mounting
Enthusiastic
workers often increase the quality of work by huge percentages-up
to a 75 percent reduction in defect rates. (Sirota, Mischkind,
and Meltzer, The Enthusiastic Employee, 2005)…
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the full article…
A Step By
Step Guide to Translation Project Management
Far
from suppressing the need of translation, globalisation has
boosted the demand for it. Just as the slogan ‘think globally,
act locally’ goes, businesses have to go global to expand
and this requires the tailoring of their products to local
markets’ idiosyncrasies, including linguistic ones. Thus,
the demand for translation has rocketed…
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the full article…
Forward
thinking LSP slays inefficiency beast with best-of-breed
connection solution
With
all the recent buzz about “closing the gap” between
the enterprise and the translation frm, the dire need
for “automated processes” and the demand from clients
for language service providers to keep costs in check
while providing better service and faster turn around
time, every LSP is wondering: “How do I deliver?”…
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the full article…
Why do l10n
projects fail? Common failure scenarios for localization
projects
You
know what I mean… Jumping to conclusions, taking things
for granted - we all have been there. Localization
projects often run awry because of imprecise or implicit
communications, particularly when it comes to deliverables
(You need those html fles compiled into a .chm?) and
services (Who you expect who to build this software?)…
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the full article…
Fear Factor
in the Workplace: Would You Rather Eat Bugs Than Do
Employee Performance Evaluations?
This
article is intended to provide accurate and authoritative
information regarding the subject matter covered.
Neither McElroy Translation nor the author are engaged
in rendering professional human resources or legal
services. If legal or expert human resources assistance
is required, the services of a competent professional
should be sought…
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the full article…
Best Practices
for Screening Candidates
Only
one thing is certain about the procedure of screening
and interviewing candidates: the huge variation in
processes. But, through the years there is one that
we have found to be fair, thorough (while being fairly
quick), involves the right people, and (most importantly)
the end decision will be one that both the company
and the new hire are highly likely to be happy with…
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the full article…
The Proper
Care and Feeding of Humans:
Human Resources Basics for Translation Companies
Let’s
begin by examining the first step in the life of an
employee - recruitment. The three recruitment tools
that have proven most effective in my environment
(a 45-employee company in a large metropolitan area)
are filling a position from within, via an inhouse
posting…
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the full article…
Operational
Philosophies and Strategies That Work
Company
owners and managers rightfully spend most of their
time and effort on satisfying client demands. But
developing and implementing philosophies and strategies
in areas such as processes and procedures, human resources,
customer service, and communication are critical to
long-term health, stability, and growth. The following
discusses philosophies and strategies that will ensure
quality work, on-time delivery, happy clients, and
motivated employees, which all leads to a positive
impact on your bottom line…
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the full article…
How To Use
Outsourcing To Beat Your Competition
Outsourcing
is when you hire outside professionals or services
to take on part of your business workload.You may
want to outsource part of your work because you don't
have the room, you need an expert, you have periodic
busy periods, or you need more production to get orders
out on time etc. You could outsource accounting, secretarial
tasks , factory help, computer training, web design
etc…
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the full article…
Why do localization
Projects Fail?
Jumping
to conclusions, taking things for granted, we all
have been there! Localization projects often run awry
because of imprecise or implicit communications. In
particular when it comes to deliverables (You need
those html files compiled into a .chm?) and services
to perform (You expect who to build this software?)
for a particular project…
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the full article…
Working
your workflow
It
is no secret that optimal processes mean optimal productivity,
which in turn means hugely increased competitiveness.
Given that we all agree on this, it is surprising
to see how many language service providers (LSP’s)
out there are not getting the most out of their processes…
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the full article…
What is
a "Translator Profile"
Whatever
your company’s product or service, preparing to globalize
it requires collaboration with a localization vendor.
Your chosen vendor will begin by focusing on the specific
project specifications, but soon thereafter, the vendor
will need to determine which translators are properly
qualified to localize your content…
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the full article…
Spatial
Requirements for an Effective Translation Agency
In
principle, translation, like mathematics, is an abstract
art that requires no more than a pencil and a piece
of paper. However, rather more in the way of equipment
and space is required for a modern commercial translation
agency to function properly. In this article we will
direct our focus towards the spatial facilities that
will need to be in place to ensure the proper separation
and cooperation between the various functions that
make up your translation business…
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the full article…
Three Myths
About The Translation Business
The
native speaker principle is overrated, and the academic
concept of ‘quality’ means little in a business context.
Statements such as these may sound offensive to translators
and clients alike. Yet those who plan to start up
a translation business should be aware that the received
views of the translation establishment may have little
to do with reality…
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the full article…
Tips to
help you start your own all-round translation business
There
is no shortage of translators who take the plunge
and set up shop as self-employed freelancers, but
few have the ambition or the spirit to start up their
own all-round translation agency. This is not surprising,
of course, as the establishment of a full- scale translation
agency is a quantum leap compared with what it takes
to launch a viable freelance practice…
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the full article…
Team Collaboration
Have
you ever been to a job interview and been asked to
spell the word “team” on a piece of paper? You are
supposed to use cursive so all the letters are connected.
If you don’t, the interviewer will say you don’t understand
the meaning of “team”…
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the full article…
Offshoring
considerations
There
is an ongoing debate about the benefits of offshoring
services to lower-cost countries. Myself, I believe
that offshoring of localization can produce cost benefits,
but more importantly, it can provide scalability of
localization services…
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the full article…
Hard work
and dedication pays off in United Arab Emirates
Like
many many other Arab states, UAE is a male dominated
society. This meant,that as a female I recognised
that I would have to work harder than my male counterparts
to overcome the prejudices against female businesswomen…
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the full article…
Project Management:
Art or Discipline?
A good deal is being discussed about project management
these days, both in academic and professional circles.
But to what extent can the activity of managing a
team toward a specific goal with a fixed deadline
be considered a discipline? And if it is not in fact
a discipline, how can we aspire to teach it through
management improvement courses or certifications?…
A Day in the Life of a GPM
The latest addition to the Ccaps team, Cassius Figueiredo shares his industry experience in this interview-style article…
The Good, the Bad and
the Ugly
I recently returned from a trip to Barcelona to
attend what was supposed to be The Greatest Localization
Show on Earth. I had arrived in town a few days
earlier to visit some clients and attend a meeting,
which after a two-week delayed honeymoon through
Portugal and Spain put me back in the “professional”
mood. By the time Localization World started, I
had the stamina, I had my mojo and…
Switching Off Autopilot:
The Power of Choice
Merger mania is back. After a break from the last
round of high profile mergers and acquisitions in
2002, the consolidation seen in 2005 supports the
premise that the localization industry, only 20
years young, continues to mature and become more
sophisticated. Previous acquisitions, such as those
from Alpnet or Berlitz, expanded their acquirer's
client base and reduced redundant costs to enhance
the overall bottom line. Similarly, SDL's recent
purchase of TRADOS, the industry-leading TM tool,
and Lionbridge's acquisition of Logoport last year
drastically increased their capacity to provide
technology and globalization management solutions
(GMS)…
Banding
Together for Better Business
To
the uninitiated, joining an association with dozens,
even hundreds, of your competitors, could seem daft,
to say the least. As for openly sharing information
with them, well, you'd have to be nuts, wouldn't
you?…
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the full article…
Why Doesn’t
the Buyer Respond to Your Email or Phone Call?
What
is wrong when a client (translation/localization
buyer) tells me that she doesn’t answer her phone,
respond to email, or even listen to her voicemail
anymore? For a number of the clients I have spoken
to recently, the reason is often similar. In many
cases, it starts when a client’s name is somehow
publicized in some way or other…
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the full article…
Does Size
Really Matter? A Look at Cross Border Partnerships
in Europe
Yes,
size does matter. At least when you look back at
the consolidation process in localization. Those
who remained small or mid sized enterprises saw
a rapidly changing market that divided localization
into small SLVs and large MLVs. But from today’s
perspective, this black and white view has turned
into a much more colorful landscape of localization
companies that act individually or jointly and regularly
provide a more or less global service offering,
whatever the actual size of the company…
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the full article…
Forms of
Business Ownership
One
of the first decisions that you will have to make
as a business owner is how the company should be
structured. This decision will have long-term implications,
so consult with an accountant and attorney to help
you select the form of ownership that is right for
you. In making a choice, you will want to take into
account the following…
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the full article…
Project
Management: Avoid Work Scope Creep!
Congratulations!
You've just got a new client for an exciting project
that is going to be fun and profitable. You carefully
discuss the work with her and she sends in a down
payment. BANG! You are off and running!…
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the full article…
Project
managers: the unsung heroes and heroines of the translation
world
The
Project Manager - the unsung hero of the translation
and localization process. Claire Ingram, Head of Production,
at ATC members Wordbank explores just why good project
managers are the key to a quality service.
“Our technical team has just changed the spec for
the camera slightly so, we need to change a couple
of words on the packaging - the changes are quite
minor - are we still ok for Friday delivery as we
need to go to print over the weekend”?…
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the full article…
Translation Project
Management
Any translation
company, whether it consists of a single person or
has a large translators' staff on the payroll, needs
a strict and clear project management procedure to
determine the exact work flow for all stages of a
job, from the moment the source document is received
to the moment the translated file is sent back to
the client. The larger a company is, the greater detail
is required for each phase description in order to
make certain that all team members have a complete
and similar understanding of the work scope and purposes…
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