10 Mistakes to Avoid While Hiring a Professional Translation Agency

Hiring a translation agency can go wrong if you do not stop to consider some important criteria. Hiring an incompetent agency can cost you time and time. Through this article, let's look at the most common mistakes that companies make while hiring a professional translation agency.

1. Giving a Vague Brief

   A professional translation agency will have pre-set processes to deliver translation work. Sometimes, they may adapt their process to meet the client's requirements. If you have any specific translation requirements, you need to pass them on to the agency. During the process, you must give an exact and detailed brief to the agency. Leave out no room for ambiguities. This will remove any confusion and ensure accuracy in terms of formatting and writing standards.

2. Not Asking for References

   If you're working with a translation agency for the first time, it's important to know how good they are at the job. And the best way to judge that is through references and testimonials. If they are unwilling to share references, you can seek samples of their past projects. Go through the samples to gauge their competence level. Never trust an agency simply on verbal assurances.

3. Judging by Price

   Though outsourcing is primarily done to cut down on expenses, it doesn't mean the cheapest provider is going to provide you with the best services. Many providers offer lower quotes, only to lure prospects in. If you fall for that, you may have to pay severely in terms of costs and quality. Therefore, always judge a translation agency by their samples and references and never just by price. If you feel the price is a bit too steep, you can always negotiate with your service provider and ask for customized pricing.

4. Banking on Auto-translation Tools

   Many agencies depend only on translation tools. This helps them overcome challenges like skilled resource shortage and attrition. While the tools are great facilitators, they can never be a replacement for certified personnel. A good translation agency will bank on a mix of tools and human resources to get the job done perfectly. In this way, you can ensure that the translation is done accurately within record time.

5. Providing Unrealistic Deadlines

   Most translators adhere to a standard pace of doing work. Ask them to do more with less, and they may end up doing a shoddy job. Therefore, never push an agency with too stringent deadlines. The best practice is to provide a decent timeline. In case you have vast translation requirements, you can discuss the team size and timelines with your service provider in advance, and ask for a higher resource allocation for your project. Make sure that you choose a service partner who can scale up or dug down at your convenience.

6. Submitting Poor-Quality Text for Translation

   Your workman is as good as the tool you provide. In this case, the tool is the source text. No matter how good a translating agency is, give them an unclear copy, and they will come up with a botched translation. Sometimes, an agency will promise to turn a bad source into great work. But it is wise not to have any such expectations. It makes perfect sense to be realistic and expect the right outcomes.

7. Not Providing Images

   If you are seeking a top-notch translation job, it falls upon you to make the translator's job easy. Therefore, apart from providing good quality text, you should also provide the right images to support the text. This will help the translators understand the context and come up with better translations.

8. Not Enquiring About Communication

   Not all agencies offer open and flexible modes of communication. Some service providers may not be open to taking phone calls. So, speak to your prospective partner about the mode of communication that you are comfortable with and see if they are willing to accept that as the primary mode of communication.

9. Not Enquiring About Scalability

   If your requirement is heavy and the volumes keep fluctuating throughout the year, you need to have a partner who can effortlessly offer highly scalable services. So, make sure that your partner has the resources and the infrastructure to ensure need-based scalability.

10. Not Enquiring About Operation Timings

    Some translation agencies offer 24x7 services. Such agencies will help you wrap up work faster. It is always better to choose a translation agency with a global presence that operates from a different time zone and offers round-the-clock services.

The Conclusion

If you base your search on the above criteria, you will be able to hire the best translation agency for your requirement. You will save tremendously in the process and get global experts to accomplish your translation requirement.

Outsource Translation Services to Flatworld Solutions

Flatworld Solutions is a globally renowned translation service provider. We offer translation services to our international clients, hailing from 160 nations. We have a diverse team of experts who provide translation services in multiple foreign languages with native fluency. In the last 20 years, we have served more than 18,000 happy clients, and we would love to service you next.

Reach out to us for accurate and reliable translation services at affordable rates.