HOWDY PARTNER!
I have just returned from the ATC conference in London. I am not particularly a big conference person, however I have to say that I did find it very useful. I was invited to be a speaker, and my subject focused on partnershipping with other companies, and also creating a stronger bond with our freelance translator and interpreter community.
I have to say I was rather nervous on the day, as it is actually eight years since I was last invited to speak. My subject matter then was ‘How to work in the translation business and still have a sex life’. Obviously it can’t have been that great, or they wouldn’t have waited eight years to ask me again. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we were the main sponsors. But perhaps that is a little self deprecating. The reaction last time was rather lukewarm, as opposed to this time when my speech was much more serious. The reaction yesterday was great, and I was thrilled to be invited to attend two other conferences, one in the US and one in Europe. Interesting, isn’t it? The sex bit had no effect, but the serious bit went down well. C'est la vie!
The whole concept I believe of partnershipping is that partnerships fulfil three requirements: mutual respect, risk reduction and mutual benefit. By this I mean both sides recognise the other’s right to make a profit. That is why we are in business. Both sides respect the other’s strength and the fact that in being partners they create a stronger unit. It is about recognising that half the cake is better than none. Partnering is therefore a form of pragmatism.
It was very interesting for me to hear the presentation by a freelancer and I think this is one of the greatest benefits that I derived from my attendance at the conference. It was very interesting to be reminded by her of the pressures and issues that affect the freelance translator, working by themselves from home: how important it is to receive clear instructions in relation to basic issues such as delivery times, word counts and formatting, to mention just a few.
I also noted the effects that an unsympathetic and unfriendly project manager can have on a translator’s day. Therefore, at thebigword in the weeks ahead, it is my intention to start a campaign entitled “We love our translators”. But with that, I feel compelled to speak on behalf of language companies.
The speaker bemoaned the fact that some agencies don’t give a word count and therefore it can take her up to 10 minutes to ascertain the size of the document. Her feelings are that if she is busy she will not bother looking at that work.
I also have to remind our community of translators that last month in our company our sales staff and project staff spent thousands of hours in the air, visiting four continents to pitch for business. Our technology and marketing departments have worked many weekends to ensure that our latest version of LanguageDirector® 2.0 soon to be launched will improve our service, both to our customers and by making it easier for our translators to receive and collect work.
Our 330 office bound staff do not have the flexibility in their day as translators do. Due to the huge increase in work we are experiencing (thank goodness), they are working extremely long hours to ensure we can process the work. So, a successful love affair is when it is reciprocal.
My appeal in fact to you is for a greater understanding of the pressure that our project managers have to deal with. They are the communication link between our customers and our translators, and receive pressure from all sides.
So I also appeal to the translation and interpreting community. Not necessarily to love us back but to understand it is to all parties’ benefit to understand the pressures. There is no way that thebigword can continue to expand its operation without the wonderful work and great assistance and support from our freelancers. So I would be happy to hear from any of you out there how you feel we can build on and improve our mutually-beneficial relationship.
I have to say I was rather nervous on the day, as it is actually eight years since I was last invited to speak. My subject matter then was ‘How to work in the translation business and still have a sex life’. Obviously it can’t have been that great, or they wouldn’t have waited eight years to ask me again. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we were the main sponsors. But perhaps that is a little self deprecating. The reaction last time was rather lukewarm, as opposed to this time when my speech was much more serious. The reaction yesterday was great, and I was thrilled to be invited to attend two other conferences, one in the US and one in Europe. Interesting, isn’t it? The sex bit had no effect, but the serious bit went down well. C'est la vie!
The whole concept I believe of partnershipping is that partnerships fulfil three requirements: mutual respect, risk reduction and mutual benefit. By this I mean both sides recognise the other’s right to make a profit. That is why we are in business. Both sides respect the other’s strength and the fact that in being partners they create a stronger unit. It is about recognising that half the cake is better than none. Partnering is therefore a form of pragmatism.
It was very interesting for me to hear the presentation by a freelancer and I think this is one of the greatest benefits that I derived from my attendance at the conference. It was very interesting to be reminded by her of the pressures and issues that affect the freelance translator, working by themselves from home: how important it is to receive clear instructions in relation to basic issues such as delivery times, word counts and formatting, to mention just a few.
I also noted the effects that an unsympathetic and unfriendly project manager can have on a translator’s day. Therefore, at thebigword in the weeks ahead, it is my intention to start a campaign entitled “We love our translators”. But with that, I feel compelled to speak on behalf of language companies.
The speaker bemoaned the fact that some agencies don’t give a word count and therefore it can take her up to 10 minutes to ascertain the size of the document. Her feelings are that if she is busy she will not bother looking at that work.
I also have to remind our community of translators that last month in our company our sales staff and project staff spent thousands of hours in the air, visiting four continents to pitch for business. Our technology and marketing departments have worked many weekends to ensure that our latest version of LanguageDirector® 2.0 soon to be launched will improve our service, both to our customers and by making it easier for our translators to receive and collect work.
Our 330 office bound staff do not have the flexibility in their day as translators do. Due to the huge increase in work we are experiencing (thank goodness), they are working extremely long hours to ensure we can process the work. So, a successful love affair is when it is reciprocal.
My appeal in fact to you is for a greater understanding of the pressure that our project managers have to deal with. They are the communication link between our customers and our translators, and receive pressure from all sides.
So I also appeal to the translation and interpreting community. Not necessarily to love us back but to understand it is to all parties’ benefit to understand the pressures. There is no way that thebigword can continue to expand its operation without the wonderful work and great assistance and support from our freelancers. So I would be happy to hear from any of you out there how you feel we can build on and improve our mutually-beneficial relationship.
