Our translation company Profpereklad is recognised by Common Sense Advisory as one of the twenty largest Language Service Providers (LSPs) in Eastern Europe. We are the only Ukrainian company to ever rank this high on the Common Sense Advisory’s ranking list https://csa-research.com/.
After all, if you are dissatisfied with the quality, everything else is unlikely to matter. Prepare a test sample on the subject matter and of the complexity level that match your needs and send it to the shortlisted agencies.
Do not tell the agencies it is a test sample―submit it as a project. This way, the result will be a realistic rather than a polished translation of your test sample.
Translation not followed by revision and/or proofreading won’t be of high quality. Make sure that there are reviewers and proofreaders in addition to the administrative staff, who answer the phone and negotiate quotes, as it often happens in smaller agencies.
Furthermore, the agency must have employees responsible for selecting and testing potential vendors; otherwise, your project will be assigned to any available translator found in the Internet.
At a bare minimum, the vetting process must include qualifications- based selection, testing (specifically in the translator’s area of expertise rather than a generic test for everyone), and a probation period.
Our statistics show that about one in every thirty applicants qualifies to work for Profpereklad. Which can only mean that the remaining twenty-nine translators must be working for someone else. Find out more about our translator selection process in the popular Ukrainian online magazine about technology
Translators should accept translation projects only for fields or subject matters in which they specialise. Be wary of any translators who claim expertise in a wide range of areas!
The same person cannot specialise in both automotive and pharmaceutical translations. Only industry specialists will be able to convey the intended meaning accurately. Our company provides translation services in over thirty fields of speciality ranging from industrial equipment to clinical trials.
Be wary of any translators who claim expertise in a wide range of areas!
Most translation agencies have hundreds of translators listed in their databases. It is physically impossible to keep track of the specialists who have proved reliable and those who have underperformed in the recent projects. Therefore, the agency must have a system for translation quality assessment based on revision, feedback, and grading.
Most clients have specific style and terminology requirements, which sometimes may transpire as the project moves along. You want your service provider to take heed of your comments and promptly respond, don’t you? Find out if the candidate agency has a procedure for processing comments, and whether there is a quality assurance division.
Make sure the information you have been given is reliable by visiting the candidate agency’s office. Two out of three translation agencies misrepresent their services in their presentations (as reported by using the mystery shopping method).
Make sure that the agency has the staff it claims to have and ask the employees how the procedures described in the price quote work, or whether they are in place at all.
Small agencies mostly deal with basic personal documents and will not be able to handle complex translation projects involving technical materials, website localisation, and/or DTP services. We do not translate personal documents.
Profpereklad specialises in complex projects and supports companies in their expansion into new markets.
Not only do we translate industry-specific specialised texts, we also perform localisation projects, i.e. we adapt the company’s content to the primary target audience’s needs so that the company can market its products in the target country and continue growing. The localisation process involves translation by native speakers experienced in marketing and cultural adaptation to account for the particulars of the target audience.