INTERPRETING THE UK’S NEEDS
I have some really, really exciting news this week. So exciting, in fact, that I wish I were sitting at my desk in Leeds rather than on a sun terrace in Israel (well almost!).
This week has seen the launch of Poppy, a Nationwide Interpreter Booking System that will revolutionise the way that public- and private-sector organisations access interpreters.
It’s rare that you can announce a win-win-win development but this is it: great for organisations that buy interpreting services, great for the interpreters, and great for the companies that employ them.
Poppy, we believe, is the answer to all the dreadful stories we’ve heard recently – most of them from the UK’s courtrooms – about interpreters not turning up, being under-qualified and incapable of the work required, or travelling hundreds of miles to an assignment.
thebigword has backed the Poppy project which has taken 18 months of work and more than a million pounds of investment. We believe it’s the world’s only collaborative and sustainable interpreting solution with no single point of failure.
And the reason is that Poppy is based on a collaborative network of language services providers overseen by a Professional Advisory Panel. It provides access to interpreters from multiple accredited organisations including small enterprises, charities and the voluntary sector.
This provides a local service at national level and ensures that interpreters are appropriate to the task. The current issues of interpreters travelling unnecessarily long distances to assignments and not understanding local dialects and geography are overcome by using Poppy. It also brings work to local businesses in a sustainable way.
For the user, Poppy is amazing! It is a seamless process that provides one point of contact to multiple interpreters with all the backup of single-point management information and invoicing that gives any organisation a full picture of its interpreter spend.
For interpreters, whose professionalism and skill must be recognised and rewarded, it provides a much more flexible way of working and more opportunities to negotiate fee levels with local language service providers.
Whew! I now realise my work-leisure trip to Israel was a good idea. With Poppy enquiries coming in by the minute, it’s going to be a busy few months when I get back.
Have a great weekend,
Larry
This week has seen the launch of Poppy, a Nationwide Interpreter Booking System that will revolutionise the way that public- and private-sector organisations access interpreters.
It’s rare that you can announce a win-win-win development but this is it: great for organisations that buy interpreting services, great for the interpreters, and great for the companies that employ them.
Poppy, we believe, is the answer to all the dreadful stories we’ve heard recently – most of them from the UK’s courtrooms – about interpreters not turning up, being under-qualified and incapable of the work required, or travelling hundreds of miles to an assignment.
thebigword has backed the Poppy project which has taken 18 months of work and more than a million pounds of investment. We believe it’s the world’s only collaborative and sustainable interpreting solution with no single point of failure.
And the reason is that Poppy is based on a collaborative network of language services providers overseen by a Professional Advisory Panel. It provides access to interpreters from multiple accredited organisations including small enterprises, charities and the voluntary sector.
This provides a local service at national level and ensures that interpreters are appropriate to the task. The current issues of interpreters travelling unnecessarily long distances to assignments and not understanding local dialects and geography are overcome by using Poppy. It also brings work to local businesses in a sustainable way.
For the user, Poppy is amazing! It is a seamless process that provides one point of contact to multiple interpreters with all the backup of single-point management information and invoicing that gives any organisation a full picture of its interpreter spend.
For interpreters, whose professionalism and skill must be recognised and rewarded, it provides a much more flexible way of working and more opportunities to negotiate fee levels with local language service providers.
Whew! I now realise my work-leisure trip to Israel was a good idea. With Poppy enquiries coming in by the minute, it’s going to be a busy few months when I get back.
Have a great weekend,
Larry
