Most Essential Questions to be Asked to Your Translation Company

In today’s globalized world, the demand for accurate, localized foreign language content is growing. If you have not been thinking about a global market, it may be the right time to rethink your position on the matter. 

According to a survey conducted by the European Commission, 90% of Internet users prefer browsing a website presented in their native language. Significantly, a staggering 70% of the world do not speak English,and yet 57% of websites are still presented only in English. 

MIND-BOGGLING, RIGHT? Therefore companies and manufacturers are increasingly using professional translation services suppliers to help them extend their global footprint into new markets and new target audiences. 

However, choosing a company for your translation needs can be an overwhelming task. Therefore, we have compiled a series of questions that you may need to ask when comparing different providers of translation services.

1-What is your project process and will it be customized to our needs?

A successful supplier of translation services should have a standard translation process in place and must also make sure that it fits the needs of clients. Also, in case the client is requesting a customized translation according to the specific requirements of his project, it is always a good idea to cater to all his needs. The translation agency should meet such customer requirements as budget estimates, project timeline, and delivery date. Also you need to establish early and clear communications, as this will be the key to strengthening your partnership.

2-Do you have industry-specific knowledge or you’re a jack-of-all-trades?

Whenever you have a translation project, you should look for a translation company with industry-specific expertise. For example, you shouldn’t partner with a translation company that specializes in legal translation for working on your medical documents. Also it is always a good idea to see if the company has in-house native translators or will be outsourcing to a third party agency

3-Do you have the technical infrastructure to support our work?

You should know what translation software tools the company uses. For example, if your business primarily deals with large audio and video files, you will, of course, not want to choose a translation company that has a slow bandwidth and minimal storage space. Also, you need to check if they are using Translation Memories, as this will affect both the quality and cost of the translated material.

4-What about the technology you’re using?    

The rate at which a provider of translation services can exchange files plays an important role in setting the timeline of your project. Under no circumstances should you deal with a company that cannot execute and smooth file exchange? If you are using a content management system (CMS) for your source files, you need to ask if the translation company is willing to integrate it into their system. If they cannot do this, it means spending long hours on manually exporting and importing data – in languages you that you might not even comprehend.

5-What are the types of formats you’re  dealing with?

XML, HTML, YML, Articulate, InDesign, FrameMaker. If these look like gibberish to you, that is okay, as your main concern should be that your translation company has full comprehension of these terms. Since the format source may vary from one project to another, you should partner with a translation company that can handle various formatting styles. 

6-What do your clients say about you?

During the phase of looking for a translation partner, you should know what others are saying about their experiences with this company. Typically, three references are quite enough. Get in contact with those references via phone or email and see what they are saying about their experience in dealing with the translation company.

7-What about your quality assurance process? 

You should know if the company’s translation process is TEP (translation, editing and proofreading) or they just have a one-stage translation process. With the TEP process, 3 linguists will  be working on the project. The first one will simply do the translation, while the second linguist will do the editing part and the third one will be responsible for proofreading. Also, some companies offer focus group feedback and in-country localization testing as part of their quality assurance system. What’s more, you have to check if the translation company is ISO certified, as this ensures that they cater to the needs of customers and other stakeholders while still meeting statutory and regulatory requirements.

8-How do you determine project costs and delivery time?

A good translation company should be able to provide you with an estimated project cost. However, the smaller the project is, the easier the cost estimate is set, and the faster turnaround time is. Things, however, are different when it comes to large-scale projects ─ mainly because a lot of changes are likely to take place during the course of this kind of project. Therefore, if you are, for example, shopping around for the best deal regarding a large-scale project, and you’re getting a bid that is relatively low compared with the rest, the chances are that the bidder hasn’t got the full picture of the project.

9-What are the payment methods you accept?

When you are choosing your translation partner, you need to make sure if they have multiple, flexible payment methods. Also, as there’s always some hesitation about online payment for security reasons, you need to ensure that the company you select will be  offering reliable and secure payment methods. It’s highly recommended that you pay where there is a secure connection supplied, such as the services by PayPal. If companies ask you to do a wire, a bank to bank transfer, always call and confirm with the bank about the integrity of the account holder. 

10-What’s Your Confidentiality Process?

You might have confidential materials that need to be translated such as bank account numbers, legal documents, and patient medical history; therefore, you need to make sure that the company you’re working with has certain security protocols in place. You’re advised to sign a non-disclosure agreement prior to starting your project.

The Final Word

The questions on this list might not be the only standard guidelines for your business. You may find yourself omitting or adding a few questions to the list. Our goal is to set a path that will help you in determining the right fit for your specific needs.

Why Torjoman?

When looking for an all-in-one translation company, your search will definitely stops at Torjoman. Over the past two decades, we have completed 9,500 projects in over 120 languages. Following our promise of excellence in quality, we at Torjoman adhere to key guidelines that ensure that our final projects will exceed client expectations.

• Project Managers – At Torjoman, we take pride in assigning a project manager to each of our clients, with the sole duty of meeting all the requirements of each project, therefore guaranteeing a 100% success rate, no matter the size. 
• Native Translators – We house 500+ native translators to ensure the resulting content is immediately understandable to the target market and sounds natural, as would be expected if the text had been prepared within the target country.
• Advanced Technology – We use the latest technology in translation memory TM tools – with the purpose of providing consistency and improving quality of translation, saving time as well as increasing revenue. 
• ISO Certification –  Being  ISO17100 certified guarantees that your documents go through a rigorous process of examination to be free of errors. 

We’ve gained the admiration of high-profile clients such as Google, Apple, Sony, and IBM, among others. With services offered in 10+ leading industries like:

• Manufacturing 
• Technical 
• Marketing 
• Legal
• Financial 
• E-commerce
• Travel and Tourism
• Education
• Medical 
• Oil and Gas

We’ve established a global reputation for translating large volumes of content, with top quality and fast turnaround. Besides, being able to offer services beyond translation – i.e. localization, desktop publishing, proofreading, multimedia translations, and interpretations – makes it possible for us to create bespoke budget-friendly projects for our clients. Having 4 main branches (Dubai, Riyadh, Cairo, and California) ensures the flexibility required for our global clients, as we are always available to serve them.

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