Finding a good, reliable translation and interpretation services provider can be trickier than you might expect if you haven’t done it before. There are many factors to consider, and not all of them are immediately obvious. In some cases your search might fail simply because you don’t understand your own requirements well enough.
In this article, The Language Doctors will look at some of the factors you need to consider when searching for a good interpretation and translation services provider. We’ll also give an example of the translation and interpretation service provider that matches those requirements. Let’s start!
Understand Your Requirements
You need to start your search by defining your requirements as precisely as possible. Here are some questions you should be asking yourself:
– What services does your business need – translation, interpretation, or both?
– What languages do you need covered?
– What is your budget?
– Do you anticipate needing urgent service on short notice?
– Are you okay with remote services or do you insist on personal presence?
– Does your work involve any private or confidential information?
List those questions and ensure you know their answers before starting your search. This will significantly simplify the process and will allow you to narrow down your choice to a few companies that match your criteria.
Sort Out any Confidentiality Issues from the Start
Confidentiality is a major issue that you should address separately in most cases. If you’re working with documents involving private or confidential information, you should ensure that you’re working with a company that understands the implications of that kind of work.
Maintaining confidentiality involves working with up-to-date technology and encryption protocols, controlling access to translated work, and preventing information from leaking by ensuring everyone involved has signed an NDA, at the very least.
At The Language Doctors, we have extensive experience working with clients with strict confidentiality requirements. We understand the implications of this type of work better than most companies on the market and our specialists can even guide you through the process to help you ensure that your communication with us remains as secure as possible. We handle communication with our translators and interpreters through secure channels, and we always verify who should have access to the different bits of information involved in our work. If you want to check it, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
Language Expertise Is Not All That Matters
While language expertise is obviously an essential factor in choosing a good translation and interpretation services provider, it’s far from the only thing you should consider when searching for one. In some cases, your tasks might have very specific requirements that only a few companies on the market can fulfill.
Flexibility
Flexibility is very important. The working arrangements in a massive translation project tend to change over time as new requirements are identified. The company you’re working with should be able to adapt to those changes and continue to provide services that match your new requirements.
Availability
Availability might not matter much, but in some cases, it can be crucial. Sectors like healthcare and legal are common examples of that. You need to count on your partner to be available around the clock. At The Language Doctors, we value your time, and we’re available 24/7 for your needs.
Utilization of New Solutions
Translation and interpretation are fields that are going through constant developments right now. New technological solutions arrive that resolve various problems and change the landscape significantly. Working with a translation and interpretation services provider that constantly adapts to these changes and integrates them into its work can be very beneficial.
Responsiveness
You should verify that the company is able to respond to you sufficiently fast. Even if you don’t insist on having around-the-clock availability, you should still know that you can expect an answer promptly whenever you send a request. Your contract should ideally regulate this. You should have certain guarantees about response times.
Handling Revisions
Translation work often involves many revisions. Make sure your service provider is aware of that fact and prepared to adapt their documents to your requirements. Some translation and interpretation services providers limit the number of revisions. You might have to negotiate special terms if you want to avoid that.
This is commonly rolled into a more general quality assurance service that should be provided as part of the standard package. When you’re talking to a potential partner for this type of work, always inquire about their approach to QA and ask for specific examples. The Language Doctors is always ready to showcase past work, and we also have a long list of successful case studies to present to you.
P. S. Working with a professional translation agency can benefit you even more. We’ve analyzed this in detail in a recently published whitepaper, which we’ve released freely for everyone. Check it out if you’re interested: https://thelanguagedoctors.org/white-paper/
A Pricing Structure That Works for Your Needs
A very important factor to pay attention to is the pricing structure. You need to know exactly how you will be charged for the company’s services and what you can expect to see in your bill at the end of the month (or whatever billing period you have chosen). It might be worth negotiating a personalized pricing model if your project is more complicated and strays away from established norms.
Typically, you’ll either be charged according to the content’s length or the time it takes to translate it. Certain orders might use a unique pricing scheme when it makes more sense. For example, when the work involves more research.
Ask for a Trial Period
Once you believe you have identified a good partner for your needs, ask if you can run a trial of their services over a short period of time. This should give you an opportunity to see exactly how the company works and what it brings to the table. If the trial proves successful, you can continue working with the company on the previously established terms.
The Language Doctors offers the possibility to trial our Connected Care Interpreting Platform, providing you with free credits to test the platform’s different features until you’re sure you want to take things forward. Check it out now: https://cc.thelanguagedoctors.org/
The Translation Process at The Language Doctors
At The Language Doctors, we follow the ISO 17100 standard in our translation work during the translation process. We begin by analyzing your project’s feasibility, including edge cases like translating graphic texts and qualified specialists. We then sanitize your data by fixing any formatting issues or converting between necessary formats, and we prepare an individual offer for your project.
After your translation has been completed, it’s verified by at least one more professionally qualified native speaker. At this stage, the work is additionally checked for various other problems, including inconsistencies, correctness of numbers and units, and logical errors. Once your project has been delivered to you, we offer an open communication channel for your feedback.
Closing Thoughts
We understand the difficulty in finding someone you know you can count on in the modern market for translation services. Thanks to the extensive experience of The Language Doctors and our long-standing presence in the translation sector, we’ve seen that you should never compromise the quality of the translation and interpretation services you’re using. One small mishap can potentially cause significant problems for your business.
That’s why we encourage you to reach out to us and see what we can do for you. The Language Doctors is one of the most experienced translation and interpretation services providers available right now. We not only bring multiple languages to the table, but all of our experts continuously develop their skills. We are even certified to work on government projects. Get in touch with us today and find out what TLD can do for you: https://thelanguagedoctors.org/
