Business communication requires finesse and precision to be effective. As part of the development of its activities at the international level, it must find a way to make the content of its website or its documents accessible to all. To do this, she must then use the service of a translation professional in order to guarantee a relevant result. It is precisely at this level that translation agencies come into play. To choose one, a few criteria are essential: responsiveness and availability, language offering, know-how and experience and finally the price.
1) Responsiveness and availability
The first point to consider when evaluating a translation agency is its responsiveness and availability . Upon receipt of an order , the time it will take to signal that work has begun must be the minimum possible. However, as an automatic response can be provided by said agency , this criterion alone is obviously not enough to fully appreciate it.
It is then also necessary to estimate the average processing time for a translation job . Standard durations can serve as a reference depending on the quality and difficulty of the given task. These will make it possible to assess the performance of the agency to be chosen to carry out the translation missions . This operation is done by first consulting the history of tasks already carried out by the translation agency on an exchange platform or on its website. If necessary, you must directly ask for proof documents or a portfolio.
Furthermore, apart from the availability to carry out the work, the reliability of a translation agency in terms of support is a crucial element. Since misunderstandings may arise during the completion of the translation mission , exchanges between the two parties must be facilitated. As “the client is king”, the agency must prioritize the efficiency of the responses to provide them in relation to their requests and/or their concerns.
2) Language options
Depending on the needs of the translation work , the agent will use the skills of a bilingual professional or an appropriate native speaker . A native language, also referred to as a “ native language ” or “ mother tongue ”, has an advantage over bilingualism. Indeed, it is true that bilingualism allows you to move from one language to another with relative ease. However, for these two languages it is often only didactic knowledge. A native speaker will have the advantage of being able to detect all the nuances and pitfalls of the target language.
Of course, if the work to be done involves multilingual translation , a translation agency with a multilingual team should be chosen first. The selection of native language agents who can take charge of the mission has already been made beforehand by the agency. Choosing an agency with multilingual skills will save time and, consequently, money.
3) Know-how and experience
If the question of the languages used represents the essential subject of the work of a translation agency , it is not enough to count the number. Linguistic skills must be demonstrated in order to provide output of adequate quality. Prior to the collaboration, the assessment of the level of mastery of the languages claimed by the agency will be done by consulting the assessments of former clients. However, care must be taken to verify that the profiles of the latter are real.
On the other hand, before entrusting a mission to a translation agency , you must still see its expertise in the various fields concerned. The specialization of an agency in the precise theme of the translation to be done will help to choose it rather than another. For the customer, at the time of ordering, it is already a preliminary and important guarantee of satisfaction, success or positive response to his request.
Finally, despite the adage “value does not wait for age”, the number of years of translation that a service provider has under their belt is decisive. People become calmer over time, this is also the rule for translation agencies . The number of springs accumulated learns to face all difficulties and optimize intervention time. An agency with several years of experience therefore inspires more confidence than a young company.
4) Price
From a pricing point of view, even if translation offers generally tend to copy each other, a wide variety of quotes are still offered. It all depends on the backgrounds from which the translation agencies come , but also, as mentioned previously, on their experience. Regardless, the workload levels of potential partners at the time of contracting should also not be overlooked.
Several factors define the prices given by the various translation agencies . To get out of this situation, using customer reviews is always the option that allows you to obtain the best quality/price ratio in translation service offers . If necessary, websites or blogs presenting a comparison of the environment in question can be consulted.
In summary, when a company has a document to translate, it wants to have the most accurate translation at the best price . To achieve this, she must carry out a certain process in order to choose the translator or translation agency that best meets her needs. Compliance with each step of this process leads to the expected result whatever the sector of activity. In other words, before calling on a translation expert, it is really necessary to take the time to evaluate them properly.
