Proverbs and Translation

By Prof. Kadhim Ali, Ph.D,
Dept. of Translation,
University of Basra, Iraq

kadhimalali [at] yahoo . com

Proverbs are extracts of life experiences, and they can explain much of life. Below are some proverbs taken to explain some aspects of the translation process:

(1) A barber learns to shave by shaving fools

Just like the case in every profession, novices should be given their first opportunities by handling petite translation cases. On the one hand, a translation trainer may begin with his/her trainees by using fabricated texts. Unlike authentic texts that may be written by big shots in the different areas, literary and non-literary fabricated texts which may be written by the trainer himself lend themselves easily for translation. On the other hand, junior translators are supposed to do translations at any rate and cost for whoever wants a translation. A word of warning is necessary here: the translation should be carried out only after ensuring fully that no serious damages will be inflicted upon the client.

(2) A burnt child dreads the fire

Translation trainers should be very much careful not to upset, reproach, or punish their trainees. By being not mindful of this pedagogical and psychological axiom, trainers will negatively affect their trainees by turning them more and more introvert and passive in the translation classroom. First lessons should be of the encouraging sort, and students must be rewarded on their achievements whatever the degree of success may be.

(3) A chip of the old block

It has very often been observed that the family has a role in the making and shaping of translators. Just as the genes are responsible for passing a particular quality onto the child from its parents, memes are also responsible for transferring aspects of cultural evolution. The meme consists of any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that gets transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind of the family, or more, to another (the child). Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, practices, habits, songs, dances and moods and terms such as race, culture, and ethnicity. Most important of these in our special case are the ideas, thoughts, habits and practices of translation. These memes get more and more refined with the passage of time. It is worth pointing out that during what was called the golden era of translation, culminating in the House of Wisdom, family translators played a great role in the development of Arab and Islamic civilization. This can have relevance to private and government translation agencies by discovering and trying to promote the talents of those children.

(4) A clean carpet often hides a dirty board

To err is human, Pope says. And translations are full of errors of different sorts. They pass unnoticed because the language of translation is semi perfect. But these errors never escape an eagle-eyed critic who is well-trained and proficient in the two languages. So, unless the translator is very much trusted and tried, do not let yourself be cheated on by surfacely decorated, embellished and ornamented translation. Translation frauds like “This book is translated by a committee of university professors”, seen on some books translated into Arabic, must be expected and dealt with properly by not buying the book. Finally, all that glitters is not gold.

(5) A hungry stomach has no ears

Whether on the level of individuals or nations, it is uneasy to alleviate or tame the hunger for translations. It has been noticed that translations at such times found their way easily into the target cultures. But they go through a very complicated process of acculturation and examination when the hunger for knowledge and translation no longer exists. To use Venuti’s terms, foreignizing is expected at the first phase, while domesticating is done at the second phase.

(6) Beggars must not be choosers

Let those unindependent translators whose needs for money are much greater than anything else understand that they cannot choose their material for translation. They can only have the right to choose when they become independent or senior translators, in case they work for a translation agency or bureau.

(7) Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow

Novice translators must translate immediately at any cost and result and not to put off things for tomorrow. It very often happens that such translators do not practice translation in the hope that their translations may become better at some time in the future. They are definitely right in this, but on condition that they practice today.

(8) By others’ faults wise men learn

Translation trainees can learn translating by two things: practicing translation and studying parallel texts and translation critiques. We have already talked about the urgency of translating, and the second thing that should be emphasized here is parallel texts in which STs and TTs are put together in one book or two books. Parallel texts have the advantages of teaching trainees the meanings of words, the structuring of sentences and expressions and the methods of translating. These texts are now fashionable, and one can easily find poetry collections and novels that provide original texts with their translations. In addition to this, it is of maximum importance that trainees follow and read translations critiques to see and understand the advantages and disadvantages in translated materials. Such critiques offer invaluable explanations and alternatives, and trainees can learn a lot from the ups and downs of other translators.

(9) Cut your coat according to your cloth

It is no use for novices to try in their formative years to translate tough names and subjects. While tough authors tend to employ the highest of their competencies, tough subjects uneasily lend themselves to interpretation and translation. Both tough authors and subjects need time to decipher their codes.

(10) Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill

During the learning and training period, junior translators do need to make a mountain out of a molehill. They have the right to brag to their colleagues and friends about what they are learning and doing. This is part of the human nature, and has always been observed in the behaviour of skillful and distinguished people.

(11) Every sin carries its own punishment

Yes. But while small sins are inexplicable and unforgiven, and deserve the appropriate punishment, big sins committed in the translation of complex units and structures are excusable and pardoned. The problem is that some trainees commit different sorts of sins, and there may be a time when the trainer, reviser and or teacher is unable to distinguish between big and small errors. So trainees are advised to avoid committing the small sins!

(12) If you want a thing well done, do it yourself

Senior translators who have established themselves in the market must not entrust their tasks to junior translators, especially when the translation material and client are serious and important.

(13) It is easy to despise what you cannot get

Destruction is easier than building, and criticism is easier than production. Finding faults with other people’s work has been noted to be carried out in great cases and situations at relative ease and speed. However, critics, revisers and translation trainers who are unable to display options and alternatives are in matter of fact mere quibblers. They surely deserve the charge of being jealous of the success of other people.

(14) Jack of all trades and master of none

Any aspiring translator who aims at recognition and success in his or her work must specialize in one area or two.

(15) Little and often fill the purse

Junior translators must practice and learn at gradual and steady paces. They must not take one big dose on one day and stop for a month. Gradualness also means carrying out translations piece by piece. This will ensure accuracy, organization and relaxation.

(16) One is never too old to learn

This is an instruction for all, junior and senior translators alike. There is always something new to learn, or old to be remembered. Translation conferences, workshops and forums offer a great deal to learn from them. There is also the opportunity to learn and share new ideas and thoughts with other people.

(17) Prevention is better than cure

Advance preparation and practice will surely save translators from any translation difficulties and challenges they may face.

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

Love Your Work, Love Your Life: Make it Happen as a Freelance Translator (Part 5)

By Neil Maycock,
Tomedes Translation Services,
Sheffield, England
http://www.tomedes.com

Part 5: Your Clients

Clients are the lifeblood of your translation service. The fact is, without clients, you have no business. One of the most important aspects of your freelance translation service is to find clients and then to develop and maintain good relationships with them so they return to you again and again with projects.

It is always a pleasure to work with good clients, to establish a professional relationship built on mutual respect and trust. It is worth your time to market yourself and your translation services to attract the best. A first step in establishing trust is to reassure your clients that you have the skills and expertise to finish their job in a timely and professional manner.

Unfortunately, more clients do not necessarily mean more income. More translation jobs do!

More clients do mean more negotiations, more financial paper work and more headaches for most translators.

Too many translators spend too many resources getting new clients that will not bring them more jobs. We believe that translators should focus on translating and not marketing because that's what they are good at.

Try looking for a minimal number of clients that will bring you tons of new translation jobs each. Take www.Tomedes.com for example – one client (a single and secure payment source) that will let you work on many translation jobs at your time and your rates.

Chapter 5.1: What is the best way to get new clients?

When getting new clients you must set a goal. The best goal as we in www.Tomedes.com see it is getting the most profitable clients for the least resources spent.

There are many ways freelance translators get new clients. We will focus on the most common ones.

1. Good old advertising – Many translators' still use old-fashioned ways, like newspapers ads and postal flyers. These methods are relatively expensive and their return on investment is usually negative. We would advise you to focus your efforts on online marketing.

2. Online classified ads – this is a basic online method many translators use. Looking for job on websites like www.craiglist.org and www.monster.com or local jobs sites usually requires a lot of time without making a real advantage of the global nature of the translation.

3. Online advertising – This method is one of the most popular ones, particularly using Google AdSense or a similar tool. Advertising your services to people who looked for the exact same services using Google or other search engines is a great idea. The problem is, all the translation tycoons have already been doing it for a number of years. You will need a lot of money to compete with them and to get reasonable leads using this method.

4. Join a translation agency – joining a translation agency was a good option a few years ago but not anymore. Agencies spend a lot of money on marketing due to growing competition, and the freelance translator ends up paying their advertising expenses through high commissions.

5. Translation marketplaces – this is definitely the best option today and more and more freelance translators realize that. Working from home or a small office at your own time and your own rates is a privilege translators did not have just 5 years ago.
But even among the translation marketplaces, you have a few different options.
You should look for one that delivers you a single secure payment as opposed to many small transactions from clients from all around the world.
You should look for one that will handle the negotiations with the client for you. This will save you a lot of time and money. There is only one marketplace that fits all the above – www.Tomedes.com

Chapter 5.2: How should I negotiate with my clients?

Many translators ask us for negotiation guidelines. The best advice we give them is not to negotiate. One should do anything he can do avoid negotiation.

Your client is probably more experienced than you in negotiation and negotiation often leads to unbridgeable conflicts between a translator and a client.

Working with www.Tomedes.com you will never have to negotiate with the client. www.Tomedes.com will manage the marketplace for you.

If you are still interested in negotiation guidelines, here are a few tips that may be worth a fortune:

1. Decide on the thresholds you are not going to cross. For each negotiation parameter – money, time, revisions - define your limit. Then, decide on your starting point for each. You must leave a bargaining margin for each parameter

2. Put yourself in the place of the client – try to think as the client thinks. Analyze which parameters are more and less important to him and when talking to him, say what he wants to hear.

3. Don't make the first move – a basic negotiation guideline is always let the other side make the first offer. That also works for your case. Ask the client about his budget and his timetable - when he needs the translation job to be completed. You might be surprised by his answers, so don’t sell yourself short.

Chapter 5.3: How should I handle rude clients?

The best way to handle rude clients would be to avoid them. Unfortunately, we cannot always identify a rude client when we meet one, so here is a list of proper reactions for rude behaviors by clients:

1. Action – The client does not value my work. He does not appreciate the time, effort and thinking I devoted to translating his document.

Reaction – No action will compensate you for your feeling. Any reaction on your part will probably elicit a negative response from the client, and this chain of reactions will do no good for you or for your business. The best action would be to move on to working for a better client.

2. Action – The client expects me to work for free – he wants me to proofread, translate or fix revisions for free.

Reaction – In this case, you might ask a colleague if the task the client is asking you to do for free is reasonable. You cannot be objective at this point and free revisions and even free translations in some cases may be acceptable.

3. Action – The client requests endless revisions.

Reaction – You must always define the number of free revisions before starting the translation job. When you consider his revision requests, be honest. Does the client exaggerate or are these revisions essential due to your mistakes or misunderstanding. If you believe the client is exaggerating, talk to him and try to explain it to him with examples from the domain of his occupation.

4. Action – Payment issues – The client is willing to pay you only a partial amount, not willing to pay at all or wishes to postpone the payment.

Reaction – These cases are unfortunately more common that one would expect. You should explain to the client in a polite manner the importance of this payment for you before threatening him with legal issues (most of the time, he knows your threats have no actual meaning).

Every business has lost debts and in some cases it will be better to go on and work on other translation jobs instead of hiring a collection agency.

The best method to deal with rude clients is to avoid them in the first place. By working with as few clients as you can, you will be able to develop long-lasting relationships with your clients. When you work with www.Tomedes.com we will handle the client relationship for you - a great idea to avoid these difficult issues.

Chapter 5.4: How should I handle unexpected events

You probably have experienced some unexpected events that affected the quality of your work or made you miss a deadline for a translation job. Try managing your risks in advance – think of any event that may happen and incorporate it in the quote you give the client. For example, if you know you will be unable to work one day, add this day to your quote.

The best advice we can give you is to be honest with your client. The moment you learn of something that might affect your work, contact your clients and let them know. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that usually they understand completely and will not ask for any compensation.

Anastasia, A Russian translator registered with www.Tomedes.com , told us about a time when she accidentally sent a translated document to the wrong client. She immediately contacted both clients and surprisingly both understood her honest mistake and appreciated her being frank with them.

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

Love Your Work, Love Your Life: Make it Happen as a Freelance Translator (Part 4)

By Neil Maycock,
Tomedes Translation Services,
Sheffield, England
http://www.tomedes.com

Part 4: Growing your translation business

Success is a wonderful thing and quite often you’ll find that your successes breed more success. Of course, when you register with www.Tomedes.com , you can use their tools to streamline your business processes, giving you more time to handle the translation end, which will make it even easier for you to grow.

Once you get up and running, you may see your business growing whether you want it to or not. Start planning for growth early so you can stay on top of things as your workload increases.

Go through some what-if scenarios (What if I’m sick? What if my computer crashes? What if I take a holiday? What if I'm overloaded with jobs?), and start to plan so you’re ready to handle most anything that arises.

Eventually, you may start looking to add revenue streams to your little enterprise. If so, read on.

Chapter 4.1: Should I outsource my work?

You may have heard the word “outsource” before. It refers to a process through which you contract with another translation service provider for assistance with the jobs your clients have asked you to complete.

One day soon, you may find yourself completely overwhelmed with work, or a client may ask you to work in a language you don’t use. You hate to turn away jobs, yet you know you can’t handle these new requests.

You should not feel uncomfortable to outsource jobs. You might be surprised to find out that more than half of the freelance translators turn to outsourcing as a way to handle the work. Your client wants the job to be completed as early as possible and as long as you follow his guidelines and provide a high quality service, he may not care who actually translated each word in his document. Yes, an outside contractor will do the job for you, but you may face issues with quality control, especially if the job is in a language you are not familiar with.

Actually, many translators registered to Tomedes have also registered as buyers to outsource jobs through www.Tomedes.com . The quality assurance mechanism and the vast number of language pairs make www.Tomedes.com the first choice for outsourcing translation jobs by most translators.

If you do decide to outsource a project, establish guidelines up front:

• What amount will you pay for the work?
• When is it due?
• Who will be responsible to proof the work?
• Who will make revisions, if needed?
• Who will have rights to the translated document?

When you outsource a project to another person, you remain responsible for the project’s completion, so make sure you’re comfortable in that role.

If you’re squeamish about outsourced jobs, you can always tell your client, “No.” Almost every translator does it on occasion, and many of them say it hasn’t damaged their relationship with the client.

Chapter 4.2: Should I start a translation agency of my own?

No matter what made you consider starting your own translation agency, many of the reasons you list may lead to a wrong decision.

Most of the translation agencies are earning little if no revenue at all. Translation agencies are just another element in the translation food chain and in today's globalized market; they have trouble finding their place. Online marketplaces like www.Tomedes.com are getting their portion.

There are two possible reasons why you think of starting your own translation agency:

1. You are tired of translating documents on your own all day – if that is the case, you will get tired of managing translators very soon. You can't run a translation agency without having a passion for translation.

2. You receive more translation jobs than you can handle – if that is the case, the magic word is “outsource.” Outsource jobs and maximize your revenues. Use online marketplaces like www.Tomedes.com that will ensure you get a high quality job, as if you did it yourself.

Before you consider bringing more people into your small business, think about what that move means: you will become a personnel manager. If translation is your first love, you may not want to wrestle with bigger business issues.

If you do decide to start your own translation agency, begin with a solid foundation of research to make certain you are familiar with all the implications. You’ll need to know about

• Employment tax laws
• Human resources issues
• Budgeting
• Finance
• Accounting

Put together a detailed, written business plan that lays out all the essential information in an organized manner. Provide a description of your business, a marketing plan, an analysis of the competition, proposals for operations and personnel, financial data – everything an investor or client will want to know about this new enterprise.

You can find many examples of business plans online; follow them and create a strong plan to get started down the path to success.

Chapter 4.3: Should I teach language classes?

Most translators recognize that the ability to work with languages is special – it’s a gift, an art, a craft. It’s not surprising that many of them also teach language skills to others.

Teaching languages can add a new dimension to your business life that involves only independent work today.

Working with language is your life’s work, and there is no reason you cannot teach others to work with a second language. If you think you’d like to teach, go for it. For best results, prepare your course in a professional manner. First, you must choose if you will teach conversational language or help others to become literate in your language, as well as conversational. Either way, you’re going to need instructional materials – a course outline, a workbook, and language tapes.

Start in a friendly setting, perhaps a community recreation center or youth center. If you have completed college coursework in a second language, think about teaching in a community college.

Sign on for a single course; you’ll know soon enough if teaching is for you. If you love the experience, keep going and share your gift.

Before you start, you must make sure you are doing for the right reasons. If you want to add another dimension to your business life, that's makes sense. But, if you are looking for more revenue because you don't generate enough translating, teaching may be a wrong decision. If that is the case, you must focus on one business and make the most out of it.

Try to find out why you do not make enough income from translation. Learn how working for a marketplace like www.Tomedes.com can improve your financial status.

Chapter 4.4: Should I provide other language services?

Do some research, and you’ll discover that translators provide a variety of language services.

• Certified translation
• Notarized translation
• Audio and/or video translation
• Interpretation
• Proofreading and editing
• Research
• Consulting

If any of these tasks sound interesting to you, take some time to learn how you can get started.

You might consider focusing on doing what you love and what you are good at. You are good at translation and you probably love translating, so why should you add more services to your portfolio?

Analyze the reasons for that – Is it because you don't get enough income, is it because you're getting bored? Have you considered working with a translation marketplace like www.Tomedes.com where you will get a vast number of translation jobs on different domains?

Chapter 4.5: Should I learn additional languages?

Researchers believe that language acquisition is a natural phenomenon. That is, our brains pick up language without being asked to. Infants and toddlers provide perhaps the best example of language learning. They make it look easy.

You know from experience that it takes hard work and years of dedication to learn a second and a third language. Most people find it nearly impossible to get past the very early stages. So when you ask if you should learn another language, you must know that you’re really the only person who can answer that question. To do so, break the large question down into a series of simpler questions.

• What language should I learn?
• Why that one? What’s in it for me?
• Is it similar in any respect to a language I already know?
• If not, do I have time in my day to spend learning another language?

To be useful in your translation business, you need to develop a high level of comprehension and literacy in your new language. It will require quite a bit of serious study. We at www.Tomedes.com suggest you make sure you are making the most out of your current knowledge before acquiring more of the same.

Of course, you might want to learn a new language because it’s sweets for your brain. If that’s the case, get going!

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

Love Your Work, Love Your Life: Make it Happen as a Freelance Translator (Part 3)

By Neil Maycock,
Tomedes Translation Services,
Sheffield, England
http://www.tomedes.com

Part 3: Managing the Financial End of the Business

It’s a lucky person who has an opportunity to work at what he/she loves. Love won’t pay the bills, though, so you need to develop a business mentality and manage your finances in a businesslike way. www.Tomedes.com will give you a secure source for payment, but it’s up to you to handle things after that.

Two pieces of advice regarding finances can go some way toward helping you keep the business on solid footing.

First, keep a separate invoice for each client. Make a note at the top of the fees you and your client agreed on for the job (for example, $.12 per word). Make a separate entry for every task you complete, along with its associated charges. And indicate payments you receive from the client.

And develop a bookkeeping system that will allow you to track your income and expenses. There are a number of good electronic systems, or you can get a ledger and keep your books by hand. The numbers work the same, either way.

At www.Tomedes.com we want to help you focus on translation and not on bureaucratic issues. You will get a single secure payment for all the jobs done in the same month. No payment delays, no partial payment and no need to chase after unreliable clients.

Chapter 3.1: What payment methods are available to my clients and which are best?

Any payment method would be applicable as long as you are compensated for commissions, late deliveries and so forth.

It’s very difficult to identify one best payment method. If you can wait for the post, your clients can mail you a check. They can wire money through Western Union. Or they can send payment to your PayPal or Moneybookers account.

There are some unscrupulous characters out there who will cancel payment on a check or a credit card transaction, even at PayPal. It’s nearly impossible to protect yourself from these types, although www.Tomedes.com can help. Fortunately, the bad ones are vastly outnumbered by your good clients, who want to treat you fairly.

In today's online business environment, most of the freelance translators prefer getting their payments through Paypal or Moneybookers. They have little or no commission at all and are consider secure (both are supported at www.Tomedes.com ).

Chapter 3.2: What payment terms should I ask?

It is a sad fact that there are people out there who are less than honest. There is always a risk that you won’t be paid for your work if you deliver copy before receiving payment, although registration with www.Tomedes.com reduces that risk dramatically.

You can protect yourself to a certain extent by asking for a retainer before you begin any job, coupled with a payment schedule tagged to your deliverables. It is not unreasonable to ask for 25 percent of the final fee at the project’s outset; 50 percent upon completion of a first draft; and 25 percent when you deliver a final, revised draft.

We believe that you should never reject a translation job because of payment terms. The standard in the translation market is full payment done after the job is completed and approved by the client. The chances are you will not find clients that will pay you before the job is completed. Many professional translators we meet report that their clients expect them to deliver revised copy without compensation; overcome this challenge by figuring the cost of revisions into your original bid/quote.

Remember, if you do a thorough proofread on your work before you deliver it, your client is less likely to ask for revisions. Most often, when there is an error in a translated document, it is a typo; look for typing mistakes, grammatical gaffes, and incorrectly translated text.

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

Love Your Work, Love Your Life: Make it Happen as a Freelance Translator (Part 2)

By Neil Maycock,
Tomedes Translation Services,
Sheffield, England
http://www.tomedes.com

Part 2: Managing the work

It sounds so simple: you make a bid on a translation job, you are awarded the project, and www.Tomedes.com handles much of the paperwork. That part is simple; the complicated part is in getting that job, and all the others you have on your calendar, finished in a timely manner to your clients’ satisfaction.

Freelance translators frequently work on more than one job at once. And it’s not uncommon for those jobs to have a 24-hour turnaround. You can handle the workload in a couple of different ways. On the one hand, you can wing it, go without rest and food, and finish your tasks as best you can in an unstructured environment. Or, you can get a planner, establish regular hours for work, set up office space, and manage your time and your work efficiently.

Clearly, the second option is the better option. It’s up to you to decide how many projects you can juggle, given your own personal time constraints. There are a few translators who say they have never missed a deadline, but it happens more than you may think. And it’s not good. So be honest with yourself and your clients about your ability to deliver.

Chapter 2.1: Which job takes priority? Where should I start?

Most of the translators accept different jobs from more than one client, all with the same deadline. It takes time to learn how best to manage this scenario and decide which of your jobs takes priority. You will undoubtedly make a mistake or two along the way; as long as you develop a system in the process, you’ll be okay.

Two important insights we keep getting from translators we meet:

1. There is no good trouble – If you have trouble with too many translation jobs today and you do not handle it properly, you might find yourself with no translation jobs tomorrow.

2. Failing to plan is planning to fail – You must plan your tasks if you do not want to fail.

We believe that each translator should develop his own planning methods so we will not recommend any planning tool. Writing notes might be as good as using Microsoft Calendar or a Gantt chart (a type of bar chart that you can use to illustrate your schedule) to plan your tasks.

Prioritizing translation jobs is not an easy task. We are going to present you 3 common methods. They all have their pros and cons; we tend to think the third one is the best one for most translators.

1. FIFO – first in first out-

According to this method, the order you work on translation jobs will be based on the time you received them from the client; it is not dependent on the due date.

You will first work on the first job you get, then on the second one and so forth.

Translators that work with this method claim that it is the simplest method and if they work around the clock, they never miss a deadline.

2. LIFO – last in first out-

According to this method, the order you work on translation jobs will also be based on the time you received them from the client, only in this case, you will first work on the last translation job you received.

Very few translators that we know work with this method which requires many resources but might be efficient.

3. Early due date

According to this method, the order your work on translation jobs will be based only their due dates.

You will work first on the translation job you must deliver first (the one with the earliest due date).

This method is the most efficient one in today's dynamic world. It will ensure you finish all your translation jobs in time.

At www.Tomedes.com we believe that the early due date is the best method. The minute we offer you the job, we will make sure you know the time left to deliver it.

Chapter 2.2: How can I set realistic deadlines?

Deadline – the very word has an ominous ring to it. Actually, deadlines can be your friends if they are realistic and achievable. Your challenge is to set deadlines that you can meet and that meet your clients’ needs. Before you get started, distinguish between “hard” deadlines, those that you absolutely must meet, and “soft” deadlines that will motivate you to keep to a schedule without carrying dire consequences if you miss one.

Here are a few tips to help you set good deadlines:

• Pick deadlines for tasks that need them, but don’t get so excited about due dates that you create unnecessary stress for yourself. And setting a bunch of frivolous deadlines won’t help you manage your time on task.
• Be totally honest with yourself: if you know for a fact that a project will take you at least two days, don’t give yourself a deadline of tomorrow. On the other hand, if your client wants the job completed tomorrow, that must be your deciding factor; it’s a hard deadline.
• Set due dates that will come up in the near future. A deadline of two days from now will light a fire under you in a way that one next month just can’t do. If you’re working on a project that really is due in a month, break it into smaller parts and establish a series of deadlines that start as soon as tomorrow.
• Write your deadlines down in your planner. It’s fine to have them in your head, but you’ll find they have much more of a driving force when they’re looking back at you from a page in your calendar.

Many of your clients are going to specify a drop-dead date for the completion of their project, and that will help you map your time. If someone is vague on dates, don’t be shy about asking; it will save misunderstanding in the future.

Chapter 2.3: How can I keep on task and on time?

It is relatively easy to stay focused on your job when you go to someone else’s workplace every day. When you work for yourself, especially if your office is in your home, you may find it more difficult to spend time on task. Your business cannot flourish if you don’t devote yourself to it when you’re supposed to. One very simple way to stay focused on your work is to remove outside distractions. Cell phones, instant messages and personal email are interruptions that you don’t need during your working hours. Discipline yourself to read your email at the end of the day; don’t log on to your IM server while you’re working; turn off the cell phone and do your text messaging after-hours. Make an appointment with clients who want to use IM to discuss business during the day.

Begin each day by going over the tasks planned for the day. Keep them in your mind as you work through your day.

Schedule time in your day for personal tasks. Resist the urge to bake cookies or scrub the floor during working hours, especially if you work from an office in your home. Write those tasks in your planner, assign a priority to them and handle them as you do the rest of your projects.

You can avoid fatigue and “translator’s block” when working on a lengthy project if you look for good stopping places and set it aside every now and again throughout the day. Use the time to work on something else. Better yet, do some yoga or take a walk. You’ll return to work refreshed and reinvigorated.

Stay on top of your clients’ deadlines, but don’t panic if one is looming. Panic isn’t productive; relax, catch your breath, get a glass of water.

Chapter 2.4: How can I manage my time?

Unfortunately, most freelance translators don't know how to manage their time.

The majority of freelance translators have a steady flow of work, yet only a small percentage work a regular schedule. The majority work at least five or six days every week, juggling up to three projects at a time. When you register as a provider with www.Tomedes.com and manage your time wisely, you may quickly find yourself with a happy assortment of translation jobs.

At www.Tomedes.com we believe that you, as a translator should focus only on translation and not on other issues like managing negotiations and conversations with clients. We want to help you manage your time more efficiently.

Start keeping a planner; prioritize your projects; reduce distractions and you will have done much of what time management experts recommend. The trick now is to follow through.

Don’t let yourself be sidetracked by bells and whistles from tasks that are important. Use the tools you have put in place to manage your time, and be serious about it.

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

Love Your Work, Love Your Life: Make it Happen as a Freelance Translator (Part 1)

By Neil Maycock,
Tomedes Translation Services,
Sheffield, England
http://www.tomedes.com

Introduction

We decided to write this ebook in response to the many positive feedbacks we received from freelance translators. They told us we made their business so simple yet so different. They said that after implementing our methods, they started enjoying their working hours while doubling their output.

We believe you are already the best at what you do - you have all the skills of translation. Instead, we are going to show you how to make the best of your translation skills.

Be forewarned – at www.Tomedes.com, we think differently; some of the translators defined it as thinking outside the box. As you read the following pages, you will see how we are cracking down most of the fundamental assumptions of the translation profession one by one. So open your mind and give us a chance to help you expand your business.

We know your time is extremely valuable so we put this ebook together in a logical order with brief chapters. You can probably finish reading it in an hour.

We are offering this document as a free service to translators everywhere.

We want to help translators to make a positive change, so please forward this report, or the download link, to your colleagues. Then, register with www.Tomedes.com . It is totally free and takes only a couple of minutes. (It seems that translators can recognize a good product when they see one, because the large number of translators who have registered with www.Tomedes.com in our short existence has already outpaced our most optimistic predictions.)

The material in this ebook will help you answer crucial questions that concern many translators:

• Should I ever work at no charge?
• Should I charge more for rush, or urgent, jobs?
• Should I offer a discount for early payment? Should I offer a reduced rate for repeated words?
• How can I set realistic deadlines?
• Should I outsource my work?
• What payment terms should I ask?
• How to handle rude clients?
• And much more…

Part 1: Bids and Quotes

Working as a translator, you probably know that quoting a price is the most important part of the job, yet it is almost impossible to give the right quote if you have little to no information of the nature of the translation job.

We would solve this problem for you if we could, but at the moment, we don't know of an ultimate solution. We are going to give you some words of advice that may be worth a lot of money to you.

Did you know that only 60 percent of the professional translators work at it as a full-time job? Most of them say their business is a profitable enterprise, but less than half earn enough to make translation their sole occupation. Why? Because they forget they are translators.

The best advice we can give you is to never forget that you are a translator and not a financial expert. Follow your instincts more than you follow fixed rates.

Tammy, a great English to German translator, sent us a question about a state-of-the-art program she bought that calculates a quote for any translation job based on 25 different parameters. She asked us why the quotes she gets using the program are always too high or too low. Our answer was . . . you guessed it - follow your instincts. Tammy had already wasted money on the program but she hasn’t stopped thanking us for encouraging her to stop using it. We feel fortunate to work with Tammy, one of the first English to German translators to register with www.Tomedes.com

Chapter 1.1: Set your rates

The interest rate is not fixed, the currency exchange rate is not fixed and the price of the bread you buy at the grocery store is not fixed, so there is no reason for your rates to be fixed.

No matter what your clients or colleagues say, never commit to a fixed rate, even if you think you cannot get a better one. There are two vital aspects you must understand and act upon when setting your rates:

1. Don't try to re-invent the wheel – translators all over the world use the number of words to determine their basic rate. Don't invent other methods because they will not work. We have spoken with translators who set their rates based on the number of characters, number of lines, or number of words in the target document. They all came back to the old-fashioned way.

2. Experiment with the rate.Once you have set the basic rate for a document based on the number of words, start playing with it. Raise it or give a discount based on any factor you may think of separately.
This is not as easy as it may sound. Most translators are actually afraid of this stage. This is the exact place where you should follow your instincts.We will try to help you with the process in the next pages. At www.Tomedes.com we encourage you to bid for any job that fits your skills and your availability to do it. The more times you bid, the more you learn to properly quote for translation jobs.

We did not forget the other side of the equation – the clients. Once you understand the needs of the client and the way he thinks, everything gets easier. That will be described in detail in the Clients' chapter. Anyway, always be ready for a negotiation and for a discount in the rate you quote.

If you expected us to give you a fixed rate you should use, sorry to disappoint. Translators ask for anything between 0.03 and 0.15 USD per word. The average is about 0.11 USD.

Chapter 1.2: Which parameters should have effect on my rate?

Once you decide on the basic rate based on the language combination and the number of words, you will have to start playing with it.

Translators from all over the world keep telling us that this is the best method when setting up a quote for a specific translation job. At www.Tomedes.com , we try to give as much information as possible to the translator so that he can give his best quote.

This list of the parameters should be used as a checklist. Go over the items one by one, decide which ones are relevant for the specific job and use those items to change the rate in the percentage you believe will be proper. Usually the changes per parameter will not exceed 10%.

Here is the list of parameters you should take into account:

Job's Parameters:

• Size – you may want to give a discount for a long document or raise the rate for a short one.
• Domain – you may want to raise the rate for technical domains.
• Text's complexity – you may want to raise the rate if you will have to use glossaries or other sources.
• Repetitiveness – you may want to lower the rate if you have a high percentage of repetitive phrases so that you can use translation memory tools.
• Technical issues – you may want to raise your rate when having to deal with issues like PDF documents, PPT presentations, tables, or charts.

Time Parameters:

• Deadline of the translation job – you may want to raise the rate for a short deadline and discount it for a long one.
• Working hours – you may want to raise the rate if you will have to work on holidays / nights / weekends to complete the job on time.

Client Parameters:

• Client's location – you may want to raise the rate if the client is from developed countries or lower it if he is from developing ones.
• Client's business entity – you may want to set different rates for individual clients vs. corporations.
  
• Client's type – you may want to raise your rate if working directly with the end client or lower it when working with a translation agency.
• Client's history – you may want to set a different rate for new clients than for existing ones.
• Client's profitability – you may want to set a lower rate for clients you assume may be long term and profitable ones.
• Client's negotiation skills – you should add a negotiation margin if you believe the client is intending to negotiate for a better price.

Money parameters:

• Payment terms – you may want to raise your rate for future payments and lower it for early payments.
• Payment currency – you may want to raise your rate if you must accept the payment in foreign currency or uncommon currencies.
• Payment method – you may want to raise your rate if you must take payment in an unsecured or high commission payment method.

Your Own Parameters:

• Your experience as a translator – you may want to raise your rate if you are an experienced translator with a solid reputation and references from clients.
• Your relevant experience for this specific translation job – you may want to raise your rate if you have worked on similar jobs in the past.
• Your relevant education – you may want to raise the rate if you have completed academic courses which will help you do this job, or if you have official education as a translator.
• Your current workload – you may want to raise the rate if you are loaded with work and this job is not that important for you.

Chapter 1.3: Can I change my rates once I have set them?

If you read the previous chapters, you probably know that at www.Tomedes.com , we do not believe in fixed rates. In fact, we believe that every translation job is different and should have its own rate.

That said, we also know that any rule has its exceptions and so does this one.

1. When working for a client on a regular basis, the client may demand to know your rates for future projects. We suggest you explain to him that every project will have its own rate based on various parameters and that this method of calculating rates will yield more accurate quotes for his translation jobs.You will be surprised to know that many clients understand this and are ready to work with you without a schedule of fixed rates.However, some will demand that you make a hard decision, a decision that we cannot help you with. The biggest help we can give you is to register with www.Tomedes.com , where you will have no commitment whatsoever and will have all the information you need to give the best quote for each job separately.

2. Nothing is more important than your reliability as a translator. You should NEVER change your price for a job after starting to work on it even if you are losing money. You should also remember that the client is always right; if he claims that you promised him a fixed rate for future jobs, you may have to accept it.

Chapter 1.4: Should I ever work at no charge?

You would expect it to go without saying that you should never work for free, and in most cases, that’s absolutely true. On occasion, however, a client may ask you to complete a trial project at no charge to demonstrate your expertise.

Surprisingly, quite a few translators are willing to submit a brief sample, 200 to 400 words in length, at no cost to the client. However, no other service provider works for free, and there is no reason for you to do so. Clients may not understand that there are scammers in any market, and if someone wants to cheat them, he will do so. A test project will not stop cheats.

At www.Tomedes.com we believe you should never work for free. You will get a payment for every job, even for proofreading a 50-word document!

Chapter 1.5: Should I charge more for rush, or urgent, jobs?

Somehow, almost all translation jobs are urgent. "Urgent" is one of the first words client use when asked to describe the job, and it is the word translators hate to hear.

But "urgent" is too obscure to build a rate around. This word must be broken into pieces. (At www.Tomedes.com you can see the time left for the deadline – simplicity at its best.)

Get more information from your client; ask him when, exactly, he needs the job done. You may be surprised to learnthat for some clients, urgent means a couple of weeks.

Next, ask him if you can translate the document in several pieces so that the first ones will be ready for delivery in a short while.

Only then, if you reach the conclusion that this translation job really is urgent, should you consider whether the deadline is feasible at all, assuming that the average translator translates 1,000 to 3,000 words in an average 8-hour day. If it is not feasible, you must help the client understand that no translator will be able to complete the job in the requested time.

If the deadline is feasible, decide whether you can do it. Can you postpone the other jobs you intended to work on at this time? If you can, it is totally legitimate to charge more for an urgent job.

Chapter 1.6: Should I charge more for a job that involves weekend or holiday work?

One of the benefits of working for yourself is your freedom to set your own schedule. If you prefer to work at night, work at night. If you want to go to the market in the middle of the morning, go.

The other side of this very nice perk is that, when you give yourself a morning off, you sometimes must make up for that time on the weekend. In fact, 90 percent of your colleagues work on Sunday!

The time has a way of balancing itself, so most translation professionals do not charge more for a job that involves weekend or holiday work. Their reasoning is simple: work during the weekend and take Tuesday or Wednesday for yourself.

In today's global market, one's weekend is the other's working day and one's night is the other's day. If you try to charge more, you may find that your client will take another translator from another part of the world.

At www.Tomedes.com we do not believe in dates. We will offer you translation jobs and indicate how much time you have to complete them.

The bottom line is that your holidays and weekends are your problems.

Don't make them your clients' problems – don't charge more.

Chapter 1.7: Should I charge more for special services?

Anything special should affect your rate. Martha, an experienced American translator, told us that she thinks of her work as a production line in a factory: a standard product will get the standard rate, and any special product that has different features will cost more.

We do not agree with Martha on this one, because all translation jobs are not created equal and every job is a special one. Still, we realize that some cases require much more work than others and therefore deserve a higher rate.

Nearly 80 percent of source documents are delivered as Microsoft Word documents. Sometimes, though, your client is going to want it delivered in another format. Or perhaps the job is an especially difficult one. For whatever reason, you know this job is going to be more work than your usual .12 USD per word rate will cover.

You will be wise to preview the source documents and get a very clear description of the project before you quote a rate for any job. You want to be fair to your client, yes, but you also want to be fair to yourself. At www.Tomedes.com you will be able to see a portion of the document before placing a bid; you’ll also see the file type and other important parameters.

Chapter 1.8: Should I charge my personal clients at a different rate than I charge agencies?

Most of the translators we know would say they prefer working with end clients but almost all of them get most of their money from working for translation agencies.

The reason for that is simple. Translators are good at translation, they are not good and do not have time to deal with marketing. On the other hand, translation agencies are good at marketing.

So, if you can't beat them, join them. Try generating the best relationship with translation agencies and online marketplaces like www.Tomedes.com .

Remember that translation agencies are just mediators and as such, you will have to propose to them competitive quotes.

If you ask yourself why you should charge agencies less than private clients, the answer is simple – translation agencies usually pay on time, whereas getting the full payment from many end clients may be almost impossible.

The problem with online translation marketplaces is that you get the payments directly from the end clients and you have to negotiate with them. www.Tomedes.com brings a new approach to the process – you will just place a bid and forget about it till you get the email indicating that you had been awarded with the job. No negotiation, no payment terms, no chatting and wasting time - Just pure work.

In addition, as we mentioned before, you should count the jobs you work on and not the clients.

The bottom line is that if you work with private clients, don't feel uncomfortable in charging them more than you charge translation agencies and translation marketplaces like www.Tomedes.com .

Chapter 1.9: The Wisdom of Discount Pricing

You can offer several different types of discounts, including quantity discounts for clients who bring you huge jobs; seasonal discounts for those times of the year when business slows; promotional discounts to promote your business; and cash discounts to reward your clients who settle their account before it’s due.

The best and easiest way to make your client satisfied is to give him a discount. The problem starts when you have existing clients that keep asking for higher discounts.

The discounted rate becomes the standard rate and you end up losing money.

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution for this problem. Any direct contact between a client and a provider is a potential conflict. Many translators we have met take it personally and are frustrated by the never-ending conflicts with clients.

That is exactly the reason we believe translation agencies had been a good business model for clients and for translators. But not anymore; today, translation agencies are taking high commissions that make the reduced payment you receive look ridiculous.

The best model today could be found in www.Tomedes.com where there is no contact between client and translator. No one will ask you for a discount or exhaust you in an endless negotiation. www.Tomedes.com will take care of all the contacts with the clients.

Chapter 1.10: Should I offer a discount for early payment?

Eighty percent of freelance translators do not offer a cash discount for earlym payment and we believe they are doing the right thing. The problem with any kind of discount is that your client will expect a discount from now on, and he will expect it to get higher and higher.

We at www.Tomedes.com believe that you should do what you are good at – translation. The less you waste your time on other things - like negotiating payment terms - the better. Try to simplify all financial issues, as they are pretty complicated as they are. Focus on translation, and if you don't have enough jobs, focus on getting more jobs (that’s jobs, and not clients).

Chapter 1.11: Should I offer a reduced rate for repeated words?

At www.Tomedes.com we are strong believers in an ultimate combination of man and machine. We believe that any routine work can be replaced or aided by computers or machines.

If you are not using any TM (translation memory) program, we strongly suggest you start using one. We are not going to promote any program, although we have our favorite. TM programs will not replace you – they will just help you in translating more words in the same amount of time.

However, we do not support the current trend of translation clients demanding translators to use TM tools. We believe that every translator has methods that work the best for him.

A high percentage of repeated words or phrases can definitely make your translation work easier and shorter in duration. If that is the case, you should take it into consideration when calculating a quote. Our advice would be not to present it as a discount because one discount leads to the other and the client learns to expect discounts.

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

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.

Any independent translation agency that employs more than one or two persons should have an office plan that allows for the segregation of the three basic operations: translation, marketing and sales. Anyone who plans to combine these three functions in a single space – or indeed within a single person – will soon discover his mistake. The concentration required for high-quality translation work is such that it needs to be performed in a space that is free from ambient interference. At the same time, the marketing and sales functions – or departments if you like – by their nature involve a great deal of verbal communication, telephone calls, consultation and discussion. Clearly, the three operations do not go together, and the basic spatial layout of a translation agency should reflect this simple fact. Below we will describe each of these three spheres in some more detail.

More than anything else, the people in the translation department will require silence. They cannot work, or at least not properly, if they are unable to concentrate. So positioning your translation area at the front of a building with windows opening on to a major thoroughfare is obviously not a good idea. Despite fashionable trends in office design, moreover, it is our strong conviction that the translation department should have a spatial structure that effectively discourages people from physically communicating with one another. Ideally speaking, each translator should have his or her own room where they can work in peace and quiet. If that is not feasible, at least make sure to provide an environment where people can work quietly and independently, rather like a library reading room. We are not suggesting that there should not be any communication at all; obviously, professionals need to consult with each other to improve their knowledge and skills. The important point, however, is that the translators should be able to communicate on their own initiative, rather than being disturbed at random and distracted, unpredictably, from the constant attention that the translation process requires.

Something rather like the opposite applies to the marketing & sales department – or at least to its marketing section. This is a far more dynamic part of the translation agency. The basic function of the marketing department is to fuel a constant flow of ideas to attract business, and of techniques to put those ideas into practice. This calls for a great deal of consultation and planning, either internally or externally over the phone. The people working there should obviously not be bothered with calls for silence and reproachful glances, but should be able to chat and telephone as they please. The marketing department should be positioned and equipped to reflect its dynamic nature.

The sales department is again a different story. In terms of spatial demands, it hovers somewhere between the pristine silence in the translation rooms and the dynamism of the marketing section. This has to do with the dichotomy between the verbal and written client contacts comprised within the sales function. On the one hand, sales employees will have to be able to answer client calls, canvass prospects and follow up quotations, amongst the myriad of other sales-related duties. As a result, this part of your business will look – and sound – rather like a call centre. On the other hand, sales employees need to be able to study client requests (especially the more complicated ones), calculate offers and draw up quotations, operations that are at least as error-sensitive as the translation process itself and require the same type of concentration.

To sum up, the design of your office will have to recognise the three basic functions which any professional translation agency, however small, should be able to accommodate: translation, marketing and sales. Ideally speaking, each of these functions should be granted a space of its own that does justice to the nature of its operations and provides an optimal environment for the associated work processes. In other words, the translation department should have as many rooms as there are translators, or otherwise consist of a communal working space with facilities, rules and customs similar to those in a library reading room. The marketing department should be equipped and designed to promote optimum internal and external communication, whereas the sales department also requires a separate space, if only to accommodate the non-verbal aspects of its processes.

Segregation is of the essence, and if you cherish any wish to use an open plan office design for your translation business you are well advised either to abandon that wish or move to a different profession.

About the author

Fester Leenstra is co-owner of Metamorfose Vertalingen, a translation agency in Utrecht (The Netherlands). After having worked for several translation firms in paid employment, he took the plunge in 2004 and incorporated his own company.

For further details about Metamorfose Vertalingen, visit:

http://www.metamorfosevertalingen.nl
http://www.beedigd-vertaalbureau.nl
http://www.vertaalbureau-engels.nl
http://www.vertaalsite.eu
http://www.oost-europavertalingen.nl
http://www.scandinavie-vertalingen.nl
http://www.medisch-vertaalbureau.nl
http://www.technisch-vertaalbureau.nl
http://www.juridisch-vertaalbureau.nl

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

What is a "Translator Profile"

By Rick White, Language Intelligence Ltd.

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.

At Language Intelligence, to help us formalize this translator qualification process, we create and use translator profiles. A translator profile becomes an abstract representation of each linguist required for a given project. The profile portrays the attributes to look for in a translator when recruiting for a project.

The most significant quality assurance step taken on any translation project is assigning the proper resources. If the proper translation resources are not assigned to a project, all remaining quality assurance steps will be affected: editing, proofreading, reviews or audits, etc. In other words, if the original translation “product” is not accurately translated, all subsequent steps will be focused on correcting the translation rather than enhancing it. Obviously, this makes translator selection critical, and the construction of the translator profile becomes a logical and effective approach to translator selection.

PREPARING FOR A TRANSLATOR PROFILE

The ability to construct a translator profile is a significant skill, and the application of this skill will affect the outcome of a project. Based on this, anyone involved in sourcing or managing a translation project needs to be able to construct this profile. For example, we have a Vendor Manager who is responsible for qualifying and recruiting our overall resource pool, but our Project Managers also understand the concept of the translator profile, which helps ensure that the proper resources are applied at the project level.

At Language Intelligence, we create a translator profile based on detailed information about each specific client and project. The profile identifies criteria to look for in a translation resource, but it also provides us with a method of prioritizing the criteria.

Some of the priorities are immediately apparent: education, native language, professional achievements, accreditations in the source and target languages, awards, certifications, etc.

However, these criteria, while incredibly important, are only meaningful to us if we have spent the time to gather the information necessary to construct a thorough profile. Even though a translator might already have proven to be highly skilled, the manager responsible for recruiting must delve deeper into the translator’s product experience and knowledge, in order to appropriately assign jobs to the translator. The process then moves towards answering questions that relate specifically to understanding exactly what the client's needs are.

For the purpose of this article, we will create a hypothetical client and translation project. Let’s start with what we know: a client in the Medical Device industry has developed a new type of blood analyzer that they would like to market in the European Union. The client has a user manual and a software interface that needs to be translated.

And so we begin to develop an understanding of the client’s goals. The more a translation vendor can learn about a client’s reasoning behind globalizing their products, the better the vendor can choose the most appropriate resources.

Here are some of the most important questions a translation vendor can ask: Why is the client localizing this content? Which specific languages and locales are they targeting? What is the end product? Who is their target audience? What is the specific content requiring translation, and what is its intended use? Which steps in the translation process are necessary?

Let’s answer some of these questions for the fictitious client and begin to build a translator profile.

Question	Answer
Why localize?	To establish new markets for their product.
Which language(s) and locales are required?	French for France, German, Italian, and Spanish for Spain. (All European Union member countries and, therefore, subject to the regulations imposed by the E.U.)
What is the product?	A new style of blood analyzer that functions the same way as traditional blood analyzers, but is smaller. Therefore, it might have broader distribution possibilities.
Who is the target audience?	Doctors, RNs, and technicians in hospitals, doctor’s offices, and clinics.
What is being translated?	User manuals explaining how to operate the analyzer, how to process the data, and how to use the accessory software.
Which localization steps are required (and therefore require a linguist)?	Translation, edit, third party review, and DTP review/QA.

From this information, we can begin to construct the translator profile and decide which linguists are appropriate for the various steps of this project.

How do we ensure that we properly address the client’s desired image, audience, marketing plan, launch locations, etc. Based on the answers to the above questions, a second round of information gathering begins, with the goal of narrowing our focus to the detail required specifically for the profile. Should the translator live in-country? What subject matter expertise is necessary? Is it important that the translator have professional experience related to the subject matter aside from their related translation experience? Even the age of the translator may be examined. For example, if this were a marketing survey for a new soft drink geared towards the 18- 35 demographic, perhaps someone in-country and who falls within that age range themselves might be a better choice if it is clear that they have exposure to popular culture and advertising to their age group. Let’s look at the answers to these questions.

Question	Answer
Should the linguists live incountry?	Since language evolves, at least one of the translators, likely the editor, should live in the relevant country.
What is the required subject matter expertise?	Diagnostics, chemistry, pathology, software.
Does this translator need an educational background related to this subject matter?	Relevant education credentials would be a plus, but it would not be the deciding factor when weighted against relevant experience and references.
Will age be a factor?	Probably not in this situation.
Is related professional experience necessary?	Yes, experience working with related clinical studies, diagnostic machines, or health care would be beneficial.

CONSTRUCTING A TRANSLATOR PROFILE

Combining the information we have gathered, we can now construct our profile and start the selection and recruitment process. The data we collected in the first round of questions will allow us to focus on relevant translation project experience listed on a translator’s resume. Since the blood analyzer is functioning in a similar way to traditional blood analyzers and does not introduce a dramatically new technology, we can assume that translators that have previously translated blood analyzer content will have relevant experience. We also know that we will need a translator that understands both software translation and medical device translation. This may be a single resource, if we’re lucky, but more than likely, this will be a separate linguist. Lastly, we know that we are going to have to recruit translators, editors, and reviewers. We might be looking for a resource that has experience working on these tasks specifically.

Looking at the answers to the second round of questions, we have learned that we will need to find at least one linguist in-country. We understand that education is important, but it will not be as critically weighted as previous experience translating this type of content (the translator selection trump card), or even professional experience.

Now that we know the criteria by which we will select our translators, how will we conduct the search? The next step is to create a list of keywords that we can use as search tools. In this instance, there are some keywords related to a translator’s education, translation experience, and other professional experience that can be found on resumes or CVs. We will be looking for certain keywords in each category. Using these keywords, we will identify translators currently existing in our resource pool, and then we will determine whether we will need to recruit for this project specifically.

Category	Keywords
Education	Medical science, chemistry, pathology, IT, computer software technology
Translation Experience	Medical Device, blood analyzer machines, automated testing systems, diagnostics, chemistry, pathology, clinical trial protocols, computer software, operator manuals, user manuals
Related Professional Experience	Medical doctor, laboratory technician, physician’s assistant, RN, healthcare provider, software engineer, computer programmer, IT professional

At this point, the advantage of creating the translator profile will become evident through the ease of assigning and recruiting the translators. Likewise, the value will be further reinforced when the translation step is executed on schedule and the consecutive QA steps run smoothly.

Once the concept of the translator profile has been understood and incorporated into the planning step of every translation project, you will have addressed the most significant direct overall improvement to translation quality that can be made.

ClientSide News Magazine - www.clientsidenews.com

Corporate Blog of Elite - Professional Translation Services serving ASEAN & East Asia

Why do localization Projects Fail?

By Willem Stoller,
Welocalize

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. 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.

Extracting through dialog the true localization requirements from the client and managing client expectations over the course of the project are crucial activities for all Localization Project Managers. Some examples of those project requirements are:

• What are the intermediate and final deliverables? A clear description of all intermediate and final project deliverables is crucial. Project deliverables include all product deliverables, plus project-specific items such as progress reports, defect reports, completed check lists, translation memories, glossaries, etc.
• What is the timetable for all deliverables? How are the deadlines classified (desired, critical, etc.)? Sometimes we are dealing with very “hard” deadlines such as tradeshows and this increases project risk
• What is the budget for the project? How are variances handled? Is this a “time and materials project” or a firm, fixed-cost one? This should also cover setting clear expectations about change orders.
• What is the budget for the project? How are variances handled? Is this a “time and materials project” or a firm, fixed-cost one? This should also cover setting clear expectations about change orders.

There is more to communication than that; during project execution it is important to communicate clearly what is required from each team member. Failing to do so results in rework, unassigned activities and general frustration among the team members. That brings us to our next topic...

NO TIME TO PLAN…

You have spent substantial time negotiating requirements, budgets and deadlines. Now the deal is closed and both vendor and client want to get on with the project and start the translation activities. In most cases your deadlines are already tight to start with and the last thing you want to do spend some more time on planning activities before delving into translation. It is very tempting, but the knowledge that most projects fail due to either misunderstood requirements or lack of planning ought to make you think twice.

Now is the time to complete planning in terms of project approach, resource allocations, deadlines for all intermediate deliverables, risk management, etc.

This is best done through a detailed project plan that can serve as:

• A roadmap for everyone involved, i.e. the stakeholders, in the project. It will outline project phases, and it will indicate how activities and milestones within the phases are dependent on each other. Additionally, it will document the deadlines for all project deliverables.
• A clear description of each stakeholder’s responsibilities. I like using a Linear Responsibility Chart (a table with the left column identifying all project deliverables and the rest of the columns identifying each stakeholder). The cross-section of the two columns specifies one or more of the following responsibilities of each stakeholder for a project deliverable: create, review, approve or not applicable.
• A metric against which to measure project performance in terms of progress, money spent and quality. A baseline schedule in Gantt chart format provides a simple way to compare planned versus actual performance. Cumulative budget versus actual cost comparisons provide good indicators of financial performance.

I hear you saying: “I have no time to write a 50-page project plan” and you are right. The amount of detail to be covered in the project plan is a function of:

• Number of stakeholders, in particular team size
• Complexity of project and product
• Localization maturity of client
• Number of deliverables
• Use of new technology

For most localization projects a well thought-out MS Project schedule complete with resource assignments, notes describing deliverables and constraints and all budgetary information will be enough documentation.

Also, during this planning phase you can do some activities in parallel such as the preparation of translation kits, glossary translation, initial client reviewer meetings, etc.

Now you might think once I understand the requirements and I have done my planning homework it will be smooth sailing? The next topics will highlight some other reefs you might shipwreck on.

SLIP SLIDING AWAY…

As a vendor project manager you have a number of conflicting objectives:

• Keep your client happy and meet his/her expectations in terms of deadlines, quality and budget
• Keep your own management happy in terms of gross margin per project and overall throughput in terms of projects

One of the easiest ways to please the client is to accept any and all changes with a smile and can-do attitude. Follow this line of reasoning and you will soon meet your nemesis scope creep, resulting in missed deadlines, lowered margins and general dissatisfaction both for your client and your own management.

How can we have a “can do” attitude and still keep control over the scope of your project? If you did a good job on defining requirements and initial project planning you will start your project with a well-defined scope. To keep this scope under control requires a formal procedure for approving any change to the original scope of the project; not doing so is setting yourself up for failure.

Scope control on localization projects involves:

• During the proposal and planning phases discuss in detail how change will be managed through change orders.
• For each scope change generate a timely Change Order. The key here is timely: as soon as a scope change has been requested and not at the end of the project!
• Communicate, discuss and obtain approval for each change order based on its impact on project objectives (schedule, budget, functionality and quality)
• Use version control software and translation memory to keep track of versions of source files and localized files.
• Also using a tool to manage resource allocations across all project (e.g. MS Project Server) helps you to assess the impact of scope changes on your own and other projects.

The most common scope changes involve: updated source files, additional locales and additional deliverables. In some situations it is better to treat the request as a new project instead of a change order, especially if this request involves new deliverables.

A good rule to remember is that your project scope should include everything that is essential to meet project objectives and nothing else.

THE REVIEWER: A REBEL IN DISGUISE?

Our last failure scenario is unique to localization projects: The role of client reviewers and their potential impact on the project. For most localization projects one of the final project milestones is formal acceptance of the product deliverables by your client. Typically there will be one or more reviewers for each localized version of the product.

Unlike software development projects, localization and translation projects have subjective quality requirements due to the nature of natural language. In particular terminology and style are subjective and mostly determined by the client reviewer’s preferences.

It is critical to capture correctly the terminology and style requirements as seen by the Client’s reviewers early in the project and subsequently managing those Client reviewers’ expectations.

During the planning phase of the project you need to get client reviewers identified and you should develop a trust relation with these reviewers. Often you are dealing with sales or marketing staff in country that got saddled with the review responsibility on top of their normal duties.

More dangerous to your project are those reviewers who do not accept “corporate control” over product localization. They will not like your localization because they had no say in the original English version and they feel that their particular market deserves a much greater degree of locale adaptation than that corporate management is willing to pay for. This situation presents itself in particular for marketing and training materials (web or off-line). As a localization project manager you might stumble into such a corporate minefield and find that localization quality is used as a weapon in the struggle for control between different parts of the client organization.

It is next to impossible to recover from such a failure scenario, therefore during the planning phase adequate time needs to be spent on the role of the reviewers. Clearly defining the review process and assuring the early involvement of these reviewers in determining terminology and style is your best bet in avoiding this potential minefield.

IN CLOSING…

Localization project management requires a very pro-active “can do” attitude combined with strong analytical skills. The complex task of localization project management is best illustrated in the diagram below:

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The Proper Care and Feeding of Humans: Human Resources Basics for Translation Companies

By Kim Vitray,
Operations Manager,
McElroy Translation,
Austin, Texas 78701 USA
http://www.mcelroytranslation.com/

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 (1) filling a position from within, via an inhouse posting; (2) asking current employees about potential candidates they may know; and (3) advertising in the Sunday edition of the local newspaper (which includes a web posting for seven days). Other recruitment tools may be more effective in your environment, or depending on the position to be filled. An inhouse posting is best when the position you are filling requires someone who is already familiar with your company’s or department’s processes and workflow, and the position that may then become vacant may be easier to fill, or to fill from outside. Your current employees are also very good sources - because they know both the potential candidates and the company, they will know whether they are good matches. And a well-written ad will generate the maximum number of qualified responses.

Job Description

Speaking of that well-written ad, its basis is a well-written job description. A written job description accomplishes many purposes: clarifies what kind of person should be hired, communicates the job responsibilities and requirements to that person, and provides a tool against which performance can be evaluated. A good job description has five parts: (1) job summary, (2) essential duties, (3) qualifications, (4) education and experience requirements, and (5) general working conditions and physical requirements. The job summary should give the position’s primary responsibilities in one or two sentences. The essential duties should be in bullet format and identify in specific detail all the job duties entailed in meeting the primary responsibilities. Include a final bullet that says “performs other tasks and cross-trains with other positions as assigned,” so that there can be some flexibility within the position. Qualifications, also in bullet format, include such things as organizational ability, computer skills, written and oral communication skills, or the ability to multi-task, exercise judgment, or work with interruptions. Be thoughtful about identifying the education and experience requirements necessary for the position. Is a degree necessary? What kind? Will work experience substitute? What kinds of work experience? How many years? General working conditions and physical requirements should list, for example, ambulatory or lifting requirements, the hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and visual acuity required for computing, stress related to responsibility and authority, or the potential for extended or irregular hours. Finally, have a pay range in mind. Software packages are available to help you draft job descriptions, and another very good resource is the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM, www.shrm.org).

Newspaper Ad

Now that a good job description is written, preparing a newspaper ad is easy. Be sure to have an attention-getter opening line, one that will cause the reader to be interested in your business and the position. Then describe the primary duties and qualifications as succinctly as possible. List the hours, pay range, and benefits - if you don’t list the pay range, you will screen many more résumés than necessary from candidates whose expectations you cannot meet. Finish by telling candidates exactly how to apply (e.g., cover letter with salary requirement and résumé via email).

Hiring Process

Define your hiring process, based on the position. For instance, when we recently hired a proofreader, we used the following process: (1) HR screened 200 incoming résumés; (2) the Editing Manager reviewed approximately 60 résumés that passed HR screening; (3) the Editing Manager distributed a proofreading test to the 10 best candidates; (4) the Editing Manager interviewed the top five candidates based on the test responses and results; (5) HR called the references of the two candidates remaining after the interviews; (6) the Editing Manager made a decision and offer, which was accepted; and (7) HR sent thank-you letters to all the interviewees. The screening criteria for the initial 200 résumés were (1) appropriate education, skills, and experience given in the résumé, (2) good English language skills (and no typos!) in the cover letter, (3) a pay expectation close to the range given in the newspaper ad, and (4) adherence to the instructions for applying. Although the person who dropped off a paper résumé in person meant well, her inability to follow instructions and the inconvenience caused by providing paper instead of an electronic file, given the volume of résumés and the time involved in screening, caused her to be screened out rather than in.

Behavioral Interviewing

If you haven’t heard of behavioral interviewing or don’t know much about it, make the time to find out. No matter how experienced you become at interviewing, you’ll still make mistakes, but behavioral interviewing techniques will minimize them. Behavioral interviewing is based on the assumption that past performance is a good indicator of future performance.1 Instead of asking a candidate what their skills are or how they would handle a particular situation, ask for specific examples of how they have used their skills or how they have handled that situation. Behavioral questions begin with such phrases as: Tell me about a time when… Give me an example of… Describe for me… How did you handle a situation where… What did you do when…. The other key point with behavioral interviewing is to tolerate silence. When the candidate says they cannot think of an example, insist (in a friendly manner and tone) that you are sure they can think of one and that you don’t mind if they take a few minutes to think about it. Asking the best kind of question will only work if you wait for the best kind of answer!

What You May Not Ask

There are certain issues you cannot ask about in an interview, and the basic rule is if it’s not job related, you can’t ask it. Topics that you cannot ask about include race, color, religion, creed, national origin, citizenship (although you can ask if they are legal to work in the U.S.), sex, marital status, name, age, birthplace, disability or handicap (you can ask if they can meet the physical requirements in the job description), criminal history (you can ask if they have ever been convicted of a felony), or language (unless it is job related, which may certainly be the case for those of us in the translation industry).

Other Interviewing Tips

Plan your questions in advance, in writing. Ask every candidate all of the questions; however, try to do this within the context of how the discussion unfolds naturally, rather than starting at the top and going down the list in order. Always allow the candidate ample time to ask questions, but only after you have finished asking yours (otherwise, the candidate may tailor his answers to what he believes you want to hear). A question I often end with is, “What are the last three books you’ve read?” because it brings the interview to a friendly, light-hearted moment that makes a good transition to the candidate’s questions. Do take notes during the interview, but be sure that everything you write is job related and professional. Most states require that all solicited résumés and application materials be kept for one year, but you should check your state’s requirements.

Calling References

Use only professional (not personal) references, preferably supervisors rather than HR staff, and contact at least three of them by telephone. You will learn a lot from their responsiveness (or lack thereof) and their tone and word choice. At the very least, confirm dates of employment, position held, ending wage or salary, and reason for leaving. If the reference is willing, also ask about the candidate’s quality of work, work habits, dependability, initiative, problem-solving and decision-making ability, interpersonal skills, and computer skills.

Orientation

Your great new employee is finally on board, so an orientation session on their first day is your next step. Some of the issues to be covered in this session are the W-4 and I-9 forms, your employee handbook and company policies, a confidentiality agreement, benefit information, and COBRA and HIPAA notices (more on these later).

Employee Handbook

In today’s litigious society, having an employee handbook is more important than ever. It will also save you time and trouble, in terms of answering questions, making decisions, and taking actions fairly and consistently. Typical employee handbook topics include policies (customer service, workplace harassment, computer and email use, problem resolution), employment (definition of full- and part-time, introductory period, performance evaluations), compensation (recordkeeping, pay periods and procedures, overtime), benefits (medical, dental, COBRA, HIPAA, 401(k), time off, holidays), conduct (attendance, smoking, termination, personal business), and rules (security and safety, substance abuse, workplace violence, concealed weapons). You may also wish to include a welcome letter, including your company’s mission statement if there is one, and company history. Your state workforce commission and SHRM are great resources for template handbooks, and you should have your handbook reviewed by an HR professional and an employment attorney. Give new employees 24 to 48 hours to review the employee handbook, and then obtain a signed acknowledgment that they have received, read, and understand and will abide by it. This acknowledgment statement is also a good place to reiterate that your handbook does not constitute a contract of employment; an employment attorney can help you with this language. Finally, try to review and update your employee handbook yearly.

Performance Evaluations

The next step in the employment process will be to evaluate the performance of your newly hired and oriented employee. This should be done at the conclusion of a 90-day introductory period, at six months, at one year, and then at least annually thereafter (although semiannually would be better!). Why? How else will they know how they’re doing, what’s going well, what needs improvement, what you expect, where they can grow, what opportunities are available, and how they can succeed? Every employee deserves at least once a year an investment of your time, effort, and personal attention in an honest and formal evaluation of their performance. Preparing the evaluation properly and well will take considerable time and energy to be specific, accurate, and complete. These evaluations should be in writing, and should include a self-evaluation by the employee. If the employee being evaluated is a manager, consider soliciting anonymous feedback from his or her reports (I use a software/web package called AllPoints Feedback for this (www.allpointsfeedback.com), and others are available). This process works best if the written evaluation and self-evaluation are exchanged the day before a scheduled meeting, so that both parties have time to reflect on the feedback and to prepare to discuss it. Set aside plenty of time for this meeting, and do not allow it to be interrupted.

Following are some key points to keep in mind regarding performance evaluations:

• When documenting a behavior, whether positive or negative, give at least three specific examples of that behavior. When the behavior is negative, the point is not to humiliate the employee with a litany of mistakes, but to make the point that her performance has been tracked and that you have a basis for the statements you’re making about her performance. Then place more emphasis on the future than the past.
• Avoid “always” and “never.” Don’t say “Employee X is always late for his shift” unless that is absolutely true. It’s probably more accurate and better to say, “Employee X was late for his shift at least two times per week during the last three months.”
• Nothing should be a surprise. If something in the evaluation, particularly constructive feedback, is being heard by the employee for the first time, you’ve not done your job during the year.
• Be timely. Not being timely sends a message to the employee that the evaluation isn’t important and you don’t care about them.
• Try to list as many accomplishments as possible - it’s a strong moment when you can come up with more of these than the employee can.
• Ask outright for what you want to be different.
• Ask what you can do differently, better, or more of.
• Be as polite, respectful, and positive as possible; be very aware of your body language and tone, in addition to your words.

I keep a file folder (not their official personnel file) for each employee, and every time there’s a problem, question, comment, accomplishment, or communication regarding that employee I put a copy of it or note about it in the file. Then at the end of the year I don’t have to rely on my memory and have a lot of good information to refer to in preparing the evaluation. If you do this, however, consider that everything in this file, as well as the employee’s official personnel file, including their written evaluations, may appear in court one day. This will help keep you absolutely honest, accurate, objective, and professional.

Performance evaluation template forms are commonly available, but should be modified to be specific to your organization or even the particular position being evaluated. Our typical written annual performance evaluation includes the following sections: responsibilities; accomplishments; job knowledge, performance, and productivity; dependability, cooperation, and initiative; work environment and safety; overall performance; and action plan. If the employee being evaluated is a manager, we usually add these categories: managerial skills, communication skills, problem solving and conflict resolution, administrative skill, and time management.

Performance Problems

When your employee experiences a patterned performance problem or slump, assume there’s a reason and try to find out what it is. Employees don’t intend to perform poorly or have problems, and my experience is that it’s most often the result of a non-work issue. Our approach is to support the employee however we can (flexible hours, reduced hours, time off, referral to counseling, financial assistance) but at the same time focus on a return to the desired performance level within a reasonable timeframe.

Progressive Discipline

I have had quite a bit of success with simply inviting an employee with a performance problem to help me avoid the disciplinary process. But when that doesn’t work, you’ll need to implement progressive discipline. The typical progressive discipline process is (1) an oral warning for a first offense, (2) a written warning for a second offense or lack of improvement, (3) suspension for a third offense or lack of improvement, and (4) discharge for a fourth offense or lack of improvement. Clear documentation during this process is extremely important.

Personnel Files

An employee personnel file should contain (1) pay/status change forms, (2) time off forms, (3) performance evaluations and training documentation, (4) the W-4 form, and (5) application information, confidentiality agreement, and handbook acknowledgment. The following information should not be kept in personnel files, and should be kept separately from each other: (1) benefit information, (2) I-9 forms, and (3) payroll records. Although there are many good reasons for the segregation of this information, the primary reasons are to protect personal health information and other personal data, and to limit the information available to strictly what is required should you be subject to a compliance audit or investigation. These files should all be kept in a locked cabinet, and retained as required by federal, state, and local laws.

Termination (Voluntary)

Every employee will eventually resign, if their termination is not caused by some other event. You should always obtain a dated and signed resignation letter that includes the date of the last day of employment. If possible, hold an exit interview, conducted by someone in HR (even if you have to contract with a consultant) who did not directly work with or supervise the employee. During the exit interview, ask about general employment matters (hours, responsibilities, workload, advancement), training, pay, supervision, and reason(s) for leaving. You will also need to provide COBRA information and forms.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) contains a rule designed to ensure the privacy of protected health information (PHI). This Act primarily impacts health care providers and insurers, but also affects employers that sponsor group health plans. The deadline for compliance was April 14, 2003 (or 2004, depending on the size of the health plan), so if you have never heard of or don’t know much about HIPAA, contact your insurance broker or representative for information, forms, and assistance. At the very least, you may have to provide a Notice of Health Information Privacy Practices at new-employee orientation and include it in your employee handbook, sign HIPAA Privacy Business Associate Agreements with the various insurance or benefit entities you contract with, and have Individual Authorization for Use and/or Disclosure of PHI forms available if an employee requests your assistance with a matter that involves PHI. Depending on your particular situation, you may also be subject to other compliance requirements.

COBRA

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) provides for the continuance of group health coverage (at the employee’s election and expense) after certain “qualifying events” that would otherwise result in the loss of coverage, such as termination, reduction of hours, death, divorce, or Medicare eligibility. The continuance in the case of termination is usually up to 18 months, although there are varying lengths of continuance according to the different qualifying events and other circumstances. Your state may also have a program for continuing coverage beyond the federal requirement. Again, your insurance broker or representative may be able to help; or you can contract with a company that provides COBRA administration. Revised regulations regarding when and how you must give notice and the formats of model notice forms will take effect November 26, 2004, so be sure you are ready for these changes.

Conclusion

Don’t despair - it is possible to fulfill the HR function in your company even if you are small or growing. Independent consultants are available, who can be contracted with on a per-hour, per-project, or retainer-type basis, and you can find these consultants through the local chapter affiliate of SHRM. Look for a consultant with a PHR (Professional in Human Resources) or SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) certification, which indicates that they have a certain amount of education, testing, and experience in the field. You can also obtain HR (and other) services through a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). Then, when you are ready, add a qualified part-time or full-time HR representative to your staff. Because handling the HR function well will protect your most important asset, and save you time, trouble, and money in the long term. This paper is intended to provide accurate and authoritative information regarding the subject matter covered. Neither McElroy Translation nor the author are engaged in rendering professional HR or legal services. If legal or expert HR assistance is required, the services of a competent, licensed professional should be sought.

Notes

1 Human Resource Essentials, by Lin Grensing-Pophal (Alexandria, VA: Society for Human Resources Management, 2002), pg. 42.
2 Ibid, pp. 44-45.

This article was published in the September 2004 issue of The ATA Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Number 9.

Originally published in the ATA Chronicle

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