Translation Company Recruitment and Human Resource Management

In this article we describe, referencing the standard Translation Project Management process, internal and external human resource aspects of the translation company recruitment strategy, from the main aspects of linguistic production to the selection and formation of personnel, production flow and human resources and selection process and contraction.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO TRANSLATION COMPANY RECRUITMENT

Translation companies offer their clients full management of their localization and Translation needs from any Language to another with all the technological expertise necessary to make the final product. This often involves the replication of products per geographical region. Multilingual language company clients often lack the necessary resources to redistribute their product in regions or markets, against the single language company model where the client has many local offices for the distribution. Put simply, the translation and localization process can be handled at local office level or the central office as is the case of the multilingual translation services company model. With the Multilingual translation services company model the client depends on its supplier to manage all aspects of the process with very high expectations due to the Multilingual translation services company's expertise: The benefits of this model are minimal technical and linguistic complications and maximum standardization of their localized product within a very small time frame. We are no longer in the times where multinationals released their products on different regional markets on a gradual basis. Now the client can expect SIM ship releases of their products which means a simultaneous release of their product onto various regional markets.
To confront this challenge the multilingual Translation companies incorporate a team of professionals with different skill sets for example sales agents, Project managers, project analysts, translators of various languages, Desk top publishing specialists, localization engineers, etc. Depending on the production and management model chosen by a Multilingual translation services company the group must guarantee the standardization of the localized product across the whole production process, in other words all the team must be speaking on the same page. Added to this challenge is the time differences across which the different Multilingual translation services company resources are working in.
To guarantee efficiency and quality across all these production processes by different resources located across the globe there are two main problems the multilingual translation company has to crack:

On the one hand the Multilingual translation services company has to identify a streamlined and integrated production and management process through the use of global management tools and the implementation of advanced information and communication technologies.
Due to the above, and the second problem, this implies that there has to be continuous re-training and formation of the various personnel located across the globe in diverse teams from Europe and America to Asia. It also implies a coherent and optimal recruitment of personal in the diverse specialized areas with minimum disruption to the production cycle. This also involves the complicated process of external resource recruitment and monitoring their performance.

Along with the new demand from clients for more visibility and traceability of their products during the localization cycle and more control over their localized content the Multilingual translation services company has had to face yet another challenge, the use of Translation assisted tools such as machine Translation tools, Translation memory environments and automatic Project management tools. Without doubt the ability of the Multilingual translation services company to compete is influenced by the amount of investment and the degree of success to which they have implemented these ever changing tools.

In this article we will describe, making reference to the standard Project management process, the most relevant internal and external human resource factors, from their selection to their training and development.

Translation Company Recruitment - the key players in the workflow

Once the client has chosen his supplier and the Project is in process, he uses the following principal resources: Project manager, Translation Manager, Lead translator and Translator:

PROJECT MANAGER (PM)
The role of the translation project manager can differ from one multilingual translation company to another but their main function is to be the connection point between the various resources of a Project. On one side they liaise with the client to find out their specifications and expectations, budget and delivery schedule. They then have to guide the project through the various tasks liaising with the various resources responsible for those tasks, right through to completion while all the while ensuring that the workloads have been realistic and the project is delivered meeting the client’s quality, budget and deadline expectations.
It often happens that the client may change the budget or specifications of the project while in the production phase. It is the responsibility of the PM to ensure that these changes are implemented with minimal fuss without affecting the production cycle or the translation quote constraints within reason. It is also their responsibility to coordinate the resources that have been chosen for the project. Typically this may involve a translation team, engineering team, publishing team, testers and evaluation team, etc. The main task of the PM is to make the end product of each production phase available for the next phase. This may involve transmitting vital information to the relevant resource at the best time during the production cycle. The PM ensures that each resource completes his process or task on time and to budget thus ensuring the overall success of the project.. The PM also filtrates information back to the client in the most efficient and timely manner for example queries from translators or technical problems encountered by the engineers which need input from the client.

TRANSLATION MANAGER
The Translation is the boss of the Translation department. He has overall responsibility of the translators in the translation company and guarantees the linguistic quality of the work produced by the department, including texts that are sub-contracted to freelancers external to the company. He is also responsibility for the feasibility of projects undertaken from within and outside the department. He is involved in the planning of all projects and ensures that all projects run smoothly using the most efficient and economical methodology and processes. It is important to ensure that all department members are working at their optimal capacity and that control and quality measures are working correctly. He or she must also monitor each department member efficiently to ensure their performance is optimal, they are up to speed with the company processes and also their personal development and motivation flourishes. The updating of department processes and technologies should be a collective department process guided by the translation manager.

LEAD TRANSLATOR
There is a lead translator for every project Language assigned on leadership skills and experience. When there is regular work from a client it is advised to have a stable translation team with the same lead translator. This saves time when recurrent linguistic issues arise. The lead translator is responsible for the final linguistic quality of the project, all the components such as the glossary, software, help, documentation, establishing stylistic norms and standard terminology. Normally he revises the work of the other project translators to ensure that this goal is achieved and resolves technical problems (translation Memory and terminology issues, etc.). He is the bridging point between the translators and the Project Manager, the lead desk top Publisher and lead engineer and selects and analyses the freelancers chosen for the project if one is hired.

Translation Company Recruitment - SELECTION AND CONTRACTION PROCESS

The multilingual translation service company always offer the translators the opportunity to work in different positions giving them the opportunity to specialize in their preferred area thus motivating them more. This may be a field of specialization for their particular Language combination or an unrelated Translation position such as:
Management of Translation projects
Linguistic and functional testing on various platforms
Audio recording positions
Line manager
Terminology Management (creation and maintenance of multilingual glossaries)
Pre-Project Evaluations
Sales Support

Selection of translators

The selection of translators during the translation company recruitment process needs to be standardized. From receipt of C.Vs and aptitude tests to the interview stage and training after hire the Translation Company must maintain standardized recruitment processes while at the same time adapting to the local laws and legislation where the staff are being hired.
Standardization can be guaranteed in the following aspects:
• The information the candidate receives
• The aptitude tests (Translation and revision tests) and the evaluation. This includes the methodology of the tests and the formulas used to calculate the results.
• Ensuring the candidate is anonymous for the aptitude test thus ensuring results are objective
• Results feedback to the candidates

The following people are involved in the translation company recruitment process:

Recruitment manager: This person publishes adds and gathers the relevant C.Vs according to the specifications per language. Universities are a very good source of recruitment and its important for the translation company to maintain good relations with the various education centers where there may be potential candidates. This close relationship is also beneficial in that it can enhance and develop new technologies and methodologies in the localization sector.
The distribution of translation company offices often complicates the registration of candidates and for this it is better to have a centralized Database.

Translation manager: The Translation manager who conducts the evaluation of the tests selects the best candidates and is also involved in the interview process.

Line manager: also assists at the interviews and is involved in the final selection process.

Translation Company recruitment tests

The revision and Translation tests are the same throughout all the world wide offices of the multilingual Translation Company. During the selection process it is handy to do two tests: 1 external by email and if this is passed the second at the company offices. Both tests are evaluated by senior translators or a line manager in that language. During the test it is important to establish the following:
• The linguistic quality of the candidate: written quality of the target translation, terminology knowledge and translation methodology.
• Comprehension of the source language, both in general and specific terms of the company fields.
• Capacity to resolve problems in the translation, documentation and deadlines.

Translation Company Recruitment External tests
The objective of the test is to ensure that the translator is familiar with certain materials. It is done at home. The focus of the test is on quality as opposed to speed.

Translation Company Recruitment In-house Tests
Once the first test is passed there is an in-house test. Again the format of the test is the same across all the translation company branches. Here the focus of the test is not only on linguistic quality but also on the adherence to deadlines and instructions.
The evaluation or correction format is based on a standard formula

INTERVIEW

The interview process be it face to face or telephone should be supported by a series of processes and documentation:
• There should be a standard list of questions
• There should also be a formula for objectively evaluating the answers of the candidate.
• There should be a formal description of the post with clear guidelines of the specifications of the job plus the skills and expectations required from the candidate

WHAT IS SOUGHT FOR IN THE CANDIDATE

There are three important prerequisites that the translator should have:
1. Linguistic Excellence
2. Capacity to work in a team
3. Adaptivity

Translation Company Recruitment Training

The Translation teams must work in harmony to ensure linguistic quality and smooth production flow. The training efforts of the company should be directed in this area and try to ensure that the new translators comply with the quality and production standards established by the company within a year.

Training should include the following:
• Organizational structure of the company and different roles of each department
• General Procedures such as dress code and time management, right and obligations of the employees
• Processes specific to the department such as workflows, Project management software, process documents related to the Translation procedure and the interaction process between the different departments
• Technology: Translation Memory and internal translation tool Use.
• Style and Quality: Style Guide of the company and the main clients. Quality controls, query process and correction process

Once the training has been complete there should be an appraisal system in place to not only monitor the progress of the employee but also their development. This may include:
• Identifying other training needs
• Monitoring performance
• Establishing objectives and renovating objectives once achieved

SELECTION OF FREELANCERS

During very busy periods when the workload is too much for internal staff the Translation company needs a data Base of quality external translators.
The evaluation of the freelancers follows the same format as the evaluation of the internal employees, although there may be extra criteria for correction of the aptitude tests bearing in mind there will be no training: the freelancer must be fully trained already in the field they will be translating, for instance a Spanish translator with Spanish legal translation experience. This evaluation is conducted by a Senior translator.
All the selected freelancers must be logged in a central database under the field and specialty they have been chosen for. The database should contain the following information on the freelancer
• Contact details, prices, qualifications and aptitude tests.
• Current projects and availability.

It is very important to record the progress of the freelancer in the database. This includes information such as the adherence to deadlines, linguistic quality and capability of resolving issues. This helps to avoid problems on future projects.

CONCLUSIONS

The whole recruitment, training and monitoring of staff in a multilingual Translation company is the core of the business. As new markets open and technological advances continue at a fast pace it is of the ultimate importance for the MLV to keep up with these advances with regard to recruitment in order to stay competitive.

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Mark Kieran, CEO, One Stop Shop Translations

One Stop Shop Translations is a translation services company based in Madrid, Spain. If you just want to browse over our translation services recruitment opportunities, click here. One Stop Shop Translations realises the importance of translation company recruitment!

Traductor Espanol al Ingles – Ciarain Marx has just released Spanish version of his website.

Autonomous Spanish to English translator, Ciarain Marx has just released the Spanish version of his website. Ciarain is based in Madrid, Spain. Ciarain translates all types of texts from Spanish to English and revises all types of English texts. Each project is carried out with quality, punctuality and at a very reasonable price.

The website has many features including a full list of the clients and projects he has completed to date divided by specialist field. There is also an online translation quote feature.
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Ciarain had the following to say, “After so many years of successful trading it was time to enhance my online presence with the hope of winning more direct work from clients and cutting out the middle man, the translation services companies in most cases. It gives the public an insight into the prestigious list of Blue Chip clients I have built up over the years and in turn gives them an extra sense of security when dealing with me. These days an on-line presence is imperative to survive in today’s market.”

Crowd Sourcing and free translation

I have just finished watching a conference by Luis von Ahn and its sent my head spinning, the main reason being I am the owner of a translation services company. I have briefly looked into the topic and the implications are astounding.
We saw the fist example of Ahn´s work in the area of crowd sourcing with the security utility reCATPTCHA which digitizes documents by getting users to transcribe words that the OCR software is not sure of.

Now the crowd sourcing guru plans to use the same concept to translate the World Wide Web via a free language learning portal. Here are some interesting statistics about language learning, there are 1.2 billion people learning a foreign language around the world and in the US alone over 5 million paid over $500 for language learning software last year.

These statistics alone present a very valid case for the success of the language portal and thus ensuring the success of the crowd sourcing translation project but the consequences are severe for the translation and Language Learning sectors. Just on a side note, won’t the final system translations have to be proofed anyway?

Most IT companies with significant interactive crowd sourcing resources at their disposal tend to be very successful and argue that such a system is free, doesn’t discriminate the poor while adding value to the time, otherwise wasted. They invest in language learning which all sounds very good but let´s face it folks, most successful IT companies must have an ulterior motive. Apart from this crowd sourcing translation portal destroying the e-learning language sector overnight one has to ask the question whether they will begin to use the resource commercially and destroy the translation services sector as well.

For instance let's take a look at Google's track record. Up to five years ago there were no more than three to four Google adds per organic search, displaying on the side of the page. Now we have more adds than organic searches displaying on the side, bottom and top of the page. Of course, Google addwords is the main source of revenue for Google, it’s a business so we shouldn't complain!

In the case of the digitization project Google has a serious argument in that it would make millions of out-of-print books broadly available online but the counter argument was that it would give Google exclusive rights to profit from millions of orphan works and a complete library nobody else could compete with giving Google a monopoly status to name it´s price while also tightening it´s stranglehold on the online search market. Thankfully a New York judge ruled against the settlement google had proposed on the grounds of the good old 300 year old legal concept copyright. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/technology/23google.html

Bearing in mind that machine translations of Google still have a long way to go I think that the free language portal won´t be the last in a line of crowd sourcing gimmicks to translate the web and also strongly believe that they will get there sooner rather than later. However, we are safe for now given we can fall back on copyright, God only knows how many copyright infringements there are already in the google corpus of translations when we also consider that most translations are derivative works! In 2011 Twitter successfully translated its portal into 65 languages, however, this differs from the aforementioned case in that the corpus of twitter text is their own and does not infringe copyright rules!

I am looking forward to a lot of legal wrangles between google and the courts worldwide, the whole crowd sourcing translation issue appears to me to be a legal ticking time bomb!

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Mark Kieran, CEO, One Stop Shop Translations

For our latest translation rates click on this link or get an economically unbeatable translation quote here.

Remember that translation is not just simple straight forward translation but a complicated process that involves many stages and specialized expertise!

One Stop Shop translation re-vamps English version of Website

One Stop Shop Translations has just re-vamped the English version of its website. New features include an interpreting quote facility and an option to download the latest interpreting rates from One Stop Shop Translations. In addition there is a full client list and information on new translation services such as subtitling.

One Stop Shop Translation’s CEO, Mark Kieran says, “After four years of successful trading it was time to re-vamp the website and expand on some of the new translation services and knowledge we have acquired over the years. We also decided it was high time that we gave the public an insight into the prestigious list of Blue Chip clients we have built up over the years and in turn give them an extra sense of security when dealing with One Stop Shop Translations.”

Website Localization: Background and Methodology

To the average person the word Localization, (L10N), means nothing, but when we say it is the adaption of a product to a specific locale and mention the word translation, they can identify with this. However, there is much more to Localization than simple translation and in this article we will explain in detail website localization.

Website Localization is the process of translating a website (menus, help, tool bars, etc.) from one language to another without altering the code and adapting the translated website linguistically and functionally to a specific locale. This is done with the use of specialized software (CAT Tools). For all those companies who wish to publish their website in more than one language, translation companies offer a broad range of website translation services better known in the industry as “Localization services for websites”. Bearing in mind the complexity of localizing a website, some Translation companies take care of the whole process and where necessary coordinate with the designers and engineers of the client company to make the translated website function in the market it is destined for. One must also bear in mind the degree of ownership the client and the translation company have during the process when sourcing the original translation quote. The typical process involves the extraction of the translatable text from the website into a compatible Translation Memory environment format, translation and revision of the text within the Translation Memory environment by the translation company, re-engineering of the target text back into the original website format, linguistic and functional testing and bug fixing which can be done by either the client or translation agency. The project process will have a bearing on the price of the translation project and it is important at the onset of the project to clearly define who is doing each task.

What are the Services included in Localization of websites?

The following is a more detailed breakdown of the different stages of website localization and the ownership of each process. For instance, during the implementation of multilingual websites one must also bear in mind that the target Language is culturally suited to the particular region the site is destined for, for example the idiomatic differences between the Brazilian Portuguese market and the Portuguese Market.

The translation of websites includes:

Extraction of Translatable text

HTML and CSS (Static Text): Most websites are in hyper text mark-up language with the abbreviated extension .html and the cross website style governed by Cascading style sheets (.CSS). Most the translatable text is located in the .html files however, there are exceptions where there is some translatable text in the .css. The translatable text maybe extracted into word format, excel format etc. which are compatible with most translation memory environments or the html files maybe translated directly in tools that have translation memory and localization capability. In this case the translator must have the capability to work with the localization tool chosen by the client and will do a lot of the localization such as string re-sizing as he is translating. In the first case the translated files are re-engineered back into the .html website format by an engineer on the client or translation company side. The process and the owner of each task must be defined at the start of the project as it has an obvious effect on cost.

Graphics:Translatable text within graphics needs to be localized. A lot of graphics such as .png, .gif, .bnp contain text such as slogans that need to be extracted and localized. In most cases the translatable text in these graphics is not comprehensive and they are simply transcribed on a word or excel sheet

Audio: Many websites contain an audio component such as a presentation or Help tutor. If the source script for this is unavailable then the script for the audio needs to be transcribed for translation.

Dynamic Components of the website:Dynamic websites add a great deal of complexity to the localization of websites. A dynamic website allows the user to interact with the website for example performing calculations, compiling reports etc... It allows the input of variables from the user and an operation and output from the server system based on the variables received. The most commonly used coding languages for interactive websites are VBScript, JScript, PerlScript, ASP, PHP and various Database languages. Extracting the translatable text from this code is often a complicated process and is often translated in excel sheets with screen shots for reference.

Multimedia Components of the website: Apart from audio which is dealt with previously in this article there are other multimedia components of the website used to enhance interactivity enabled by plug-ins such as applets and Adobe flash. The text in these multimedia components need to be extracted.

Translation and revision of Website

Once the all the text has been extracted it is converted into its translatable format. Again the types of format of the files, the role of the translation company and client in each task and the use of TMs have a huge bearing on the process and should be decided at the out-set of the project.

HTML and CSS (Static Text): In many TM environments the HTML files can be translated directly, saved in the Translation Memory and many of the localization bugs fixed as the translator translates, however, in a lot of cases the translation company receives the html files in word or another format where the translation is carried out. The translations are then revised using a third party, the client or translation company depending on how the process was already defined.

Graphics: With the graphics a screen shot of the original localizable graphic and a space for the translation is prepared say for instance, in an excel sheet.

Dynamic Components of the website:With regard to the dynamic translatable text, again there are various localization tools with translation Memory capabilities that can handle all the aforementioned code and database files. Again the localization process decided upon and the role of each stakeholder has a huge bearing on how the files are received by the translator.

Audio:In cases where there is an audio component of the website the original script may available for translation, otherwise the original script has to be transcribed into a word or excel file. The target script is then recorded in a recording studio according to certain parameters such as sex, character...etc.

Multimedia Components of the website: The translators can use the original website version of the multimedia component for reference while translating in excel.

Localization Engineering of translated and revised target files

HTML and CSS (Static Text): If the translator delivers the html files directly then this process is a lot simpler as the engineer on the client or translation company merely has to upload the files on the server for the next stage of the website localization process. However, the process becomes a little more tricky if the files are delivered for instance in word. This means that the engineer, be it on the client or translation company side, has to do a lot of re-tweaking to dump the translated text back into the source text for the next localization phase. It complicates the engineering phase with an extra process that involves, depending on the format, text editors, WYSIWYG offline and online editors such as Dreamweaver and iWeb respectively.

Graphics: The translated text for the graphics must be re-engineered into the graphics via a graphics editor such as Adobe photoshop, Corel Draw etc......In most cases we need the original art work of the graphic to manipulate it.

Dynamic Components of the website: Again there are a number of approaches to this step. The engineer may just copy and paste the target texts back into the dynamic code using a simple website editor such as dreamer weaver or a development environment such VB studio.

Audio: Once the audio has been recorded it has to be post edited or tidied up by removing glyphs, static, long silences etc...

Multimedia Components of the website:The translated text is re-engineered back into the multimedia file using various software available on the market.

Localized Website Build

Once all the translated website files are ready they are uploaded into the correct directories on the server for the next phase of localization.

Functional Localization Testing

There are various functional tests that can be run on the files, conducted by the localization engineers: - Link testing: There are various tools that quickly tell us what links are broken and need to be fixed. A lot of editing tools have their own link check feature. e.g. Xenu and Dreamweaver.
- UI Testing: In the case where the translator has done no re-sizing of truncated and cut text or overlapping menus and dialogues, as he has not had the capability to do so with the file format he received, the engineer is responsible for this task.
- Cross Browser Testing: The engineer is responsible for ensuring that the site renders correctly across various browsers and has various tools at his disposal to carry out this task.

Linguistic Localization Testing

Now we have a fully functional website we have to have it tested online and in context by third party reviewer, a client reviewer or the translation company reviewer, whatever was decided upon. The linguistic bugs are documented and fixed by engineering. It is of the utmost importance that the linguistic bugs are updated too in the translation memory, otherwise the same bugs will keep popping up in later updates!

The same cycle of linguistic, functional testing and bug fixing continues until we have a GOLD version of the website that can now go live! As yo can see the process is very complicated and I have only scratched the surface. There are so many other questions to be asked during website localization such as will there be a partial localization or complete localization, is all the website worth localizing? For instance there maybe, out of date news which shouldn't be sent for localization to save time and cost. What SEO considerations have we taken into account for the localization of the website. Are the title, Headings, description, meta tags, alt tags translations effective key words. A literal translation of an English key word may be a very poor key word in another language. Carrying out SEO with translation in mind is opening up a whole new can of worms and there is a good article on this here with more details. Does the client have a style guide to follow on fonts and formatting? Is there a Glossary for particular words? To summarize when deciding on the optimal website localization process for us, other factors that influence our decision include the resources at our disposal, our budget, the tools we have and the deadline we have to meet.!

"Website Localization: Background and Methodology", is an article in the series "Localization: The definitive Guide" from One Stop Shop Translations. Other articles include:

- Software Localization: Background and Methodology
- Online Help Localization: Background and Methodology
- End User License Agreements Localization: Background and Methodology
- Software Documentation Localization(Quick User Guides and User Guides): Background and Methodology

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Mark Kieran, CEO, One Stop Shop Translations

For our latest website translation rates click on this link or get an economically unbeatable software translation quote here.

Remember that translation of software is not just simple straight forward translation but a complicated process that involves many stages and specialized expertise!