The best formula for translation agencies
by Lingo24, 15th October, 2007
It is of vital import for an agency to know whether its interests are best served by retaining a core of full time translators or whether to rely on freelancers.
The bread and butter of any translation agency is providing their clients with timely, accurate and localised translations and the mode of providing this is via its translators. It is of vital import then, for an agency to know whether its interests are best served by retaining a core of full time translators or whether to rely on freelancers. The answer to this lies in where an agency envisions its future as being and how it means to position itself there. Let us firstly though, compare and contrast the merits of both in house and freelance translators. Having in house translators gives an agency a physical corporate presence and a sense of corporate identity. One should never underestimate the advantage of an intangible such as this; it is undeniable that such a collective sense of belonging does have a real quantifiable and beneficial effect upon professional pride and therefore, the quality of work produced by the assembled translators. A group of in house translators will almost certainly between them, have a knowledge of German, Italian, French, Chinese and Japanese to name but a few, but in addition, there will be some level of overlap amongst them, thus there is a ready in house support network, with it being in everyone’s interest to ensure an excellent quality of translation throughout the agency. Perhaps the two most important considerations in deciding upon full time staff are that they are always available, thus, clients need never be turned away and the other advantage is a strategic one; any top translation agency will always be interested in showing its bone fides and commitment to quality and professionalism – the most tangible way of doing this is by becoming affiliated with the professional body of translation agencies the ATC. The ATC or Association of Translation Companies represents the interests of translation companies and their clients worldwide; membership is a sign of a quality translation agency…one of the stringent membership criteria is that an agency must have a certain level of permanent qualified staff, without which, entry is debarred. When considering freelance translators, the great business advantage of using them is that you can amass a large circle of freelancers who will be happy to take on contract work for you, but who you will only have to pay pro rata. By using them you can also generally gain access to a wider pool of linguistic abilities than if you had just employed a permanent staff. Following on, from the point above, by using a large circle of freelancers, you will also gain access to a wider field of additional abilities. Many qualified translators are also qualified in other subjects as well. When, therefore, you are in need of specialist legal, technical or financial translations, it is very likely that one of your freelancers may well be qualified in Engineering or Law and will be able to provide a more professional and insightful translation than an in house translator. ‘Time is money’, or so they say, but by using freelance translators, this is certainly the case. By their nature, they will be looking to complete their task in the best possible time so that they can take their next commission. This has clear advantages as agency’s clients are generally always looking for the fastest possible turnaround. This can, however be a double edged sword…whilst providing a swift turnaround whilst on a commission for you, they might in equal measure be engaged by someone else when you need them…by using freelancers you forfeit exclusivity. What then is the best formula for a translation agency, in house translators of freelancers? Well, a look at the very best agencies will reveal a mix of both. The nature of the business model reveals that although both In house and freelance translators have their advantages, leaning solely toward one or the other will impart huge disadvantages. The ideal, as with life in general, is to take the middle path and enjoy the best of both worlds!
© Lingo24
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