In the last couple of years, the language sector has grown into a $30 billion a year industry. The exponential growth has been attributed to the increasing demand for translation services. There are so many translation companies out there and making a decision can be a daunting endeavor. Due diligence is needed before you settle on just any certified translation service. There are a couple of factors that you should keep in mind as you search for translation services.
Financial Security
You don’t want to be dealing with a translation company that will go out of business in the first year. You might be entering into a long-term relationship with the agency and it is important to make sure that the company is financially secure. Is the company growing? Are they profitable? It is crucial to ask such questions since you will be investing your hard-earned money into the services provided by the business. One of the ways you can know you’re dealing with a good company is by looking at how they pay the staff. Translators that are poorly paid are not likely to provide quality. You can do further research to determine if the company has a bad reputation for paying employees poorly.Certified and Accredited
If you want accountability, you should look for an agency that has workflows and systems in place. Such agencies will have handled several projects in the past and are experienced with the processes. You should be wary of agencies that claim to be certified yet they can’t provide the documents to back up their claims. A good translation agency should not have a problem showing their certification when asked.24/7 Customer Support
The nature of translation services requires that a company is available around the clock. Customers could be in different time zones and they will still want to be answered when there is a problem. Most agencies use freelancers for translation services. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the quality is diminished since the translator is working from home. A reputable agency will have translators from different corners of the globe. Their customer care should ideally be available around the clock as you might need an urgent revision.Core Business Is Translation
You don’t want to deal with a company that is only offering translation services as part of their main business. Such an agency is not likely to give your project the seriousness it deserves. Why should you work with such a company like this when there those that are fully dedicated to translation services? You can reach out to Ethno Link Translation if you’re looking for a company that is dedicated to high-quality translation services.Industry Specialization
There are translation agency services that offer specialized services. It could be a legal or medical niche. That is why it is important that you look for an agency that is familiar with your industry. You should ask for case studies in your particular industry. This will give you the confidence to work with the agency. You could go ahead to ask if you can get with the past clients directly if you’re looking for references.Vetting Process
Every translation agency will have a different approach when it comes to vetting translators. The vetting process should be part of the Quality Management System. There are standard requirements that a company is supposed to follow. If you’re looking for professional translation services, make sure that the agency is only working with native speakers of the language. The agency should also have a workflow system for their translators which will ensure that there is consistency in the quality that is provided.Signing NDAs
You might need very sensitive information to be translated. Both the company and the translators should sign NDAs just to be safe. This provides the guarantee that sensitive information is kept safe and you don’t have to worry about leaks.Glossaries Experience
Every industry has its own terms and jargon. This could be problematic for a translator who is not experienced with the glossaries in your industry. If it is a big corporation, the glossaries might have to be created for every language translation.To sum it up, the translation agency you choose should have technology integration capabilities which will improve the quality of output. The agency should be informed of the latest technologies which could be industry-specific in some situations. Make sure you check out a couple of agencies before making the final hiring decision.
