How Does a Translation Company Work?

Wondering how a typical translation company works? Would you like to discover helpful tips that will allow you to evaluate whether a specific translation service provider is likely to meet your expectations? Keep reading!

What does a typical project at a translation company look like?

Choosing the right translation company may be a tough nut to crack, especially if you don’t have much experience in the field and all the terminology shared by a translation service provider is all Greek to you. It’s worth mentioning that each agency works differently and advocates different strategies. Therefore, it’s impossible to come up with one universal scenario that would allow you to determine all stages and processes that take place during the process.

Nevertheless, it can be stated that each quality translation service provider should be able to answer a few popular questions such as:

• What are the stages of a typical translation project?
• Who is going to be responsible for the final version of the translation?
• Is someone going to proofread the document?
• What does the company take into account during the translation process?
• What does the price depend on?

If a specialist isn’t able to answer the above-mentioned questions, it might be a sign that you should continue looking for another company able to provide you with satisfactory pieces of information.

A quality translation service provider — what to pay attention to?

The process of choosing a reliable translation service provider can be a bit challenging, therefore, we’ve prepared a list of elements you should consider while making a decision:

1.      The approach to the translation project

We won’t reinvent the wheel when we tell you that different people need different translations. If you want to grasp the general meaning of an important business email written in a foreign language, you probably won’t need an incredibly proficient translation. A company that takes into account the objective of the translation and your budget is worth its weight in gold.

2.    Free quotes

It’s natural that clients compare various offers before making a final decision. If a company isn’t willing to provide you with a free quote outlining estimated costs of the translation, it might be a sign that you should continue looking. Moreover, such a quote should take into account the objective of the text and the deadline.

3.    “Supplementary” services

Why did we put the word “supplementary” into quote marks? Well, although localization can be seen as an individual service, a successful translation needs to be tailored to the target audience. Therefore, a translation company that doesn’t localize documents isn’t likely to satisfy your needs.

How does a translation company work? The takeaway

Although every translation company works differently, there are a few universal stages like research, quotes, translation, localization and proofreading. All of them are constituent parts of a quality translation process. Don’t wait and choose a company that offers services meeting all the above-mentioned criteria.