You may need translation services for a number of reasons, but when it comes to businesses, they need to establish a long term relationship with their translation provider as global businesses need translation all the time. When you feel the need to hire professional translation, it is wise to research first into any of the companies you wish to hire. Hiring the company you found first could result in disappointing results, since not all translation companies are of high quality or are able to provide what it is needed.
Consequently, making sure you hire the best translation provider will prove to be less hassle in the long haul. What exactly should you look for in a translation company?
How to choose the best translation provider
Service Availability
Find a company that gives you a direct contact where you can communicate with a project manager regarding your requirements, perhaps through email or the phone. You want to avoid firms that ask for the raw content right away without any preliminary discussion. Content translation should always be a process of collaboration between the client, the project manager and the linguists assigned to the project.
Also, find a company that will use simple English, without the jargon involved. If you are not well versed in their terminology and industry jargon, you want a manager that will communicate to you in layman’s terms what they will accomplish.
You will also want to find a company that is flexible in handling your deadlines, one that can multi-task on many projects that need translation. Most of the time, a large translation company usually has the operating size that is necessary to handle your large projects that need translation, though this is not applicable all the time.
Translators
Speaking a language does not necessarily make one a proficient translator. It is the reason why you must hire a translation provider that employs mother-tongue translators who know your target dialect. It is also essential that the company you deal with has well-referenced translators that have good track records.
Also, you must ensure that the company you choose is familiar working in your area of business. This is more imperative when you work in a specialized field. You can check the track record of the company to see if they have experience translating for your area of business. This is important since some companies take on work without knowing if they have the resources to effectively deal with it.
Look for companies experienced in translating for your business sector. Specifically, large companies usually have the translators for the job, due to the large amount of translators they are working with.
It’ll also be an advantage if the company is using CAT tools and human translators in doing the work. This way, a cross-reference can be done to verify the validity of the translation, and in time it will reduce your translation costs.
Quality
Hiring skilled translators is important when you want to ensure perfect work all the time. This means the company you deal with should have a strict quality control process. Though it is rare to have top translators submit mistakes in translation, you want the assurance that any work submitted to you by the company will be proofread and flawless.
Certifications
Security is just as important as the quality you seek in your translations. With this in mind, you want a company that has been awarded with security certifications such as ISO27001. This will make sure that the translated content you have is safe, even if it contains sensitive information.
Testimonials
It might be difficult to evaluate the quality of translations the company provides, since you might not understand the target language. Consequently, you want a company that has good testimonials from previous clients. Having testimonials on their website is not enough. You want a company that provides detailed evaluations on their service upon request.
Another way of evaluating a company is through the clients they have worked with in the past. A company that has worked with large institutions and government agencies will tell you that their service is reliable and exceptional.
Price
Usually the price you pay is proportional to the number of words you need to translate. With this in mind, you do not want to hire translators that are priced next to nothing. Also, you want to hire a translation provider that has competitive pricing, regardless of their top status. You do not want to spend more than you need to.