Six questions you should ask your translation company

In today's globalised world almost all companies have an international presence. Sometimes, passing on the same message in different languages can give you the edge over the competition; but when the translation is not as expected in terms of quality, it can really damage your company's image. This is why the use of a professional translation company is the answer to ensuring your message is perfectly adapted to your target market.

Regardless of your reason for wanting to translate content, it is worth investigating thoroughly before choosing a translation company. Hiring a translation provider without any prior research could bring you more than you bargained for, with low quality translations that can seriously damage your brand.

A series of questions for your future translation company

Before you agree to work with a translation company, you should consider the questions which we will detail below. The answer will provide you a lot of clues as to the type of company and whether they will really meet your expectations. At the same time, you should investigate their client and their opinions of the company. Then, there's the battery of questions:

1. Do they work with other companies in my sector?

Not all translation companies work in all sectors. There are specialised and generalist agencies, but they all work with customers in specific areas. It is important that the translation company you are investigating has worked or works with companies that are similar to yours. For example, if you are a pharmaceutical laboratory and need a technical translation, it is best to work with a translation agency that already has clients in this field, as you make sure that their translators are specialised. Choosing a company that has no experience in the pharmaceutical field could be risky, and the result might not quite be what you were expecting.

2. Who will be my contact at the translation company?

It is important to know who will be responsible for managing your translation projects. Depending on the translation company, there may be one, two or more people working on a project. Smaller companies usually have a translator in-house who can also act as an account manager. On the other hand, the larger translation companies have project managers who are specific to each project.

3. Do you have the technology to manage your translations?

Efficient translation management, as part of a company's internationalisation efforts, is not an easy task. The person charged with this task often has a lot of other responsibilities and has to deal with the constant back and forth of emails to translation companies. It's an endless amount of admin with little added value, and it can be rather tedious. For this reason, it is important to work with a translation company that has technology in place so that you can request translations and, at the same time, have visibility of the project status and adequate cost control. These translation platforms will make your life easier.

4. Can they manage large-scale projects?

Do you have a large translation project? Many translation agencies can handle a large number of documents without a drop in quality or service. But, of course, you always have to make sure that this is really the case and that they are able to meet the established project deadlines.

5. Do they use quality controls? Which are they?

In a translation company, each stage of your project will be handled by a professional, ensuring the project meets the client's needs, and quality control procedures are in place to guarantee optimum results. This is why you should always check a company has international certifications in place, which can guarantee the quality of their translations and processes.

6. What is the final price of the project?

It is important to work with an agency whose quotes are transparent, with clearly itemised amounts that reflect the client's individual needs and meet their expectations for a quality service. Some companies charge you a set amount for the entire project, while other charge for words translated. Cost should not be the main factor you consider when evaluating several translation companies. However, it is useful to compare quotations from different professional translation service providers.

Do you want to work with an honest and transparent translation company?

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