Category: Terra News

10/10/2023

Terra’s Wellness Program: Prioritizing Well-Being for a Thriving Workforce

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on Terra’s Wellness Program: Prioritizing Well-Being for a Thriving Workforce

At Terra, the health and well-being of those who work with us are a top priority when it comes to talent management. Although we have placed great emphasis on wellness since the foundation of the company, with the accelerated growth we experienced in 2021 and with new perspectives gained during the pandemic, we created the Wellness Program to provide a comprehensive response to various staff needs.

The health crisis we experienced worldwide with COVID made it evident that for operations to work and people to prosper, professionals must enjoy good health. Taking into account that professionals spend a considerable percentage of their time at work, companies are increasingly interested in providing tools to improve overall well-being.

With a strong emphasis on physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being, our program is designed to address the diverse needs of our team, fostering a positive work environment and supporting individual growth.

Here’s a closer look at our wellness program.

What “Well-Being” Means at Terra

At Terra, we are dedicated to cultivating a culture of corporate well-being through a comprehensive action plan. We recognize that well-being encompasses four essential perspectives: physical, mental, emotional, and social. Our goal is to prioritize each of these perspectives through strategic initiatives that enhance the overall quality of life for our people.

Through our wellness program, we aim to achieve several key objectives. While the benefits of a well-being plan are diverse and sometimes unforeseen, our primary focus is on the following:

  • Reinforcing our interpersonal relationships
  • Establishing spaces for constructive dialogue
  • Sharing practices and spaces with colleagues from other areas
  • Preventing work-related stress and maintaining an excellent work environment
  • Strengthening the spirit of teamwork and our sense of belonging
  • Reinforcing the concept of self-awareness and self-care

Examples of Initiatives within the Wellness Program

The actions planned by our Human Resources department are driven by a holistic perspective of overall well-being. Our dynamic wellness plan evolves annually to cater to the specific needs of our teams. Here are some examples of the initiatives we implement:

Terra's Wellness Program Prioritizing Well-Being for a Thriving Workforce
  • Weekly active breaks: These engaging sessions include activities like stretching and mindfulness. We also share resources such as informative articles on physical and emotional health through various communication channels.
  • Coaching and one-on-one conversations: The members of our Human Resources team who are mental health professionals provide coaching sessions and personalized discussions to support the well-being of our team.
  • Work climate meetings: Individual interviews and team-specific meetings are conducted to discuss and enhance the work climate, fostering a positive and inclusive environment.
  • Workshops on Emotional Intelligence and Team Building: We offer optional workshops that focus on developing emotional intelligence and strengthening teamwork among our team.
  • Diversity and inclusion: To consolidate a safe space where everyone can be their authentic selves, we have established a Diversity Policy. This policy encourages free expression through different communication channels.
  • Annual meetings: Whether conducted virtually or in person, these meetings serve as opportunities to strengthen bonds and nurture a sense of teamwork.
  • Coworking space: While Terra operates completely remotely, in 2022 Palermo Studio opened its doors to offer a coworking space where people from different teams can meet and enjoy each other’s company while working.
  • Flexible working hours: We understand the importance of personal and family well-being. Therefore, we offer flexible working hours to accommodate personal or family medical issues and to support parents with school-age children.
  • Personal days and birthdays off: Our team has access to personal days to attend to personal matters when needed. Additionally, if their birthday falls on a working day, they can enjoy a day off to celebrate.
  • Social commitment: Through our Terra Cares program, team members can suggest non-governmental organizations (NGOs) whose mission aligns with their beliefs. We provide pro bono translation services to these NGOs, and our team has the opportunity to contribute as project managers, translators, editors, and more.

Our initiatives may vary from year to year, but the underlying principle of prioritizing well-being remains constant in all actions facilitated by our Human Resources team.

The Takeaway

Terra’s Wellness Program demonstrates our commitment to the well-being of our team. By addressing physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of well-being, Terra creates a supportive and thriving work environment. As the program evolves each year to cater to changing needs, Terra’s dedication to our team’s well-being remains unwavering. By investing in the wellness of our team we hope to set the stage for mutual growth, engagement, and fulfillment within the organization.

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Terra Recognized as a Great Place to Work Across Borders 
26/09/2023

Terra Recognized as a Great Place to Work Across Borders 

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on Terra Recognized as a Great Place to Work Across Borders 

Recently, Terra was recognized as a Great Place to Work across borders due to our efforts to create an outstanding employee experience in the U.S., Spain, and Argentina. The Great Place to Work (GPTW) Certification is a recognition and verification process for companies that want to showcase their exceptional workplace culture. 


What makes this certification unique is that it relies on both employee feedback and independent analysis to determine a company’s scores. This means that job seekers can trust the certification as a reliable indicator of companies that truly provide a positive and outstanding corporate culture. 

 
We spoke with Natalia Quintás, our Chief People Officer and head of the HR department, for her insight on what it means to Terra to earn this certification. 

Why We Pursue GPTW Certification 

The GPTW model allows us to assess the vital aspects of the organizational culture we’d like to foster at Terra, which is based on values and the well-being of our team. It is a global model that evaluates the same aspects with the same system in every country. For us, this is useful because it provides us with invaluable information and indicators that can be analyzed in depth and compared to make the best decisions for our teammates around the world. 

In the last three years, Terra grew both in the complexity of the business and the size of the team. We now employ people of 27 different nationalities. “As we keep growing and incorporating more and more diversity, transmitting our culture and values so that everyone embraces them becomes a top priority and a great endeavor,” Natalia explained, “This inspires us to up our game in terms of internal policies and processes, not only within the HR department but in the management of the people in different sectors as well.” For example, our operations leaders faced new and bigger challenges guiding their teams and the other departments stepped up to the plate to provide them with the support needed. 

Applying in Three Regions 

This year, we decided to expand our business operations to Spain. Now, with three strong hubs in terms of operations and concentration of talent, we saw the need to have more detailed information to gauge what is happening with our people in each of these hubs, but also to be more aware of what is happening in the markets where we operate. For us, positioning our employer brand in each of these locations is crucial, and being able to be surveyed and measured in three distinct regions shows what Terra has really become—a global company. 

Recently, Terra was recognized as a Great Place to Work across borders due to our efforts to create an outstanding employee experience inthe U.S., Spain, and Argentina.

“Getting the three certifications is a very rewarding treat for our HR team and team leaders,” Natalia shared, “It is a huge accomplishment for us, and it shows the commitment we have to create action plans where the people and their wellbeing are at the center of everything.” We also know that it entails a great challenge, as it is a starting point to continue improving and thinking about the best interests of the team. However, it is not only the result of the work done by the HR department, but the individual contributions of every member of every department are key. The team spirit truly shows.

What We Learned 

“Every single statistic we get out of the survey is important to us,” Natalia said, “But still, knowing that 96 % of the people consider Terra a great place to work means the world to me. It speaks for itself.”

 
Other impressive statistical findings include: 
 

  • 99% of the people say they feel welcomed when they join the organization 
  • 98% of the people feel team members care about each other  
  • 97% of the people feel management promotes inclusive behaviors 
  • 97% of the people say they feel proud of working at Terra 
  • 96% of the people would recommend Terra to friends looking for a job 
  • 95% of the people think leaders are approachable and it is easy to talk to them 
  • 95% of the people feel it is a fun place to work 
  • 95% of the people say they can count on the help of other team members 

The Takeaway 

Terra Recognized as a Great Place to Work Across Borders - GPTW

According to Natalia, this certification measures credibility, pride, respect, fairness, and camaraderie in the three countries where our operations are centered, confirming that our cultural framework is consistent and strong in a multicultural context. This survey is the backbone of our strategic plan for human resources management. Gathering this much information allows us to truly listen to the different voices in our company and enables us to create action plans that have a meaningful impact on every individual who works with us. 

 
“I could not be prouder and more excited about obtaining the certification,” Marina Ilari, CEO of Terra, said, “For Terra, this means we are on the right path to providing a welcoming and safe work environment for everyone who interacts with our company. For our leadership team, it means we have more tools and more information to continue to do better and be better.”  

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Fostering Inclusion and Embracing Diversity: Terra's New Diversity Policy
29/08/2023

Fostering Inclusion and Embracing Diversity: Terra’s New Diversity Policy

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on Fostering Inclusion and Embracing Diversity: Terra’s New Diversity Policy

Terra recently launched our official diversity policy. Federico Colombo—the HR Generalist who led the initiative— shared insights into the inspiration behind the policy, its creation process, and its expected impact. CEO Marina Ilari and Chief People Officer Natalia Quintás also provide their valuable perspectives. Let’s break down what they shared with us.

Diversity Policy: The Journey Begins

The idea for Terra’s diversity policy was the result of several conversations around diversity and inclusion certifications. Adri Carbajal, Operations Lead at Terra, suggested we look into different organizations and explore ways to effect change. And while we had always embraced inclusivity, the need to officially document our commitment to diversity and inclusion became evident.

There were several factors that contributed to the need for such a policy:

  • Increasing awareness: The global conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion has been gaining momentum in recent years. We’ve become more aware of the tremendous benefits that come from fostering diversity and creating an inclusive workplace.
  • Changing demographics: With our expansion into global markets and collaboration with diverse populations, we recognize the importance of embracing different cultures and perspectives. As a multicultural company with teams all over the world, it was crucial for us to establish a policy that respects and values this diversity.
  • Ensuring fairness: We understand the significance of providing fair and equal opportunities to all candidates. That’s why we’ve adopted blind recruitment processes, which help reduce biases during the hiring process. This commitment to creating a level playing field for all applicants demonstrates our dedication to fairness.

“By implementing this policy, we aim to foster an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and included,” Federico shared, “We believe that embracing diversity will lead to enhanced creativity, collaboration, and overall happiness within our team.”

Building on the Foundation

Terra’s journey toward the diversity policy was an evolution rather than a creation from scratch. Although there was no previous written policy, diversity and inclusion were always fundamental values at Terra. The challenge lay in organizing and articulating these values into a cohesive framework. To aid this process, Terra sought assistance from the Institute of LGBT+ Public Policies, whose expertise helped shape the action plan and timeline.

Employee Input and Insights

Terra actively values employee feedback and involvement. Every year, we participate in the Great Place to Work survey, and this time, we specifically wanted to gather insights from employees regarding diversity and inclusion. This was incredibly valuable to us because we were able to capture their thoughts and feedback, which we then incorporated into our policy. Their input played a significant role in shaping our approach to diversity and inclusion.

The Committee’s Crucial Role

Recognizing the importance of diverse perspectives, Terra formed an internal committee comprised of Adri, Angie, Marcelo, Marisol, Natalia, Paula, Santiago, and Federico himself. Their collective expertise and direct contact with employees made them invaluable contributors to the policy’s development. By actively involving the committee from the outset, Terra aimed to create a policy that truly reflected its values and principles.

“The creation of the committee allows us to create an internal and safe space to run debates looking for improvements in our policies and procedures to ensure that we are taking care of our people at Terra in all aspects,” Natalia shared, “Our desire is that every person at the company feels that Terra is a great place to work and that they can be authentic and feel respected for their individuality.”

Policy Pillars: A Comprehensive Approach

The diversity policy at Terra encompasses a range of pillars: gender, sexual/LGBT+, generational, functional, neurodiversity/neurodivergence, and ethnic or national origin diversity, as well as interculturality. These themes form the bedrock of the policy, ensuring that diversity and inclusion are integrated into all internal processes.

Aligning with Company Values

Marina Ilari, Terra’s CEO, emphasizes the policy’s alignment with the company’s core values. “We’ve always been fully committed to diversity and inclusion; this is woven into our fabric as a company and it’s part of our mission,” Marina explained, “But I believe this policy will give our efforts a clear framework so that not only can our team members refer to it, but also potential collaborators and clients can learn more about our positioning and actioning on this important topic.”

Looking Forward

Terra recently launched the diversity policy company-wide. Training sessions are being conducted with leaders and employees to foster awareness and understanding of the policy. Additionally, Terra aims to share the policy with clients, showcasing its internal operations and commitment to diversity and inclusion. Looking ahead, Terra has identified three key steps: Training and Education, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), and Ongoing Measurement and Accountability, to further enhance diversity and inclusion within the organization.

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What Does Continuous Improvement Mean for Terra
18/07/2023

What Does Continuous Improvement Mean for Terra?

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on What Does Continuous Improvement Mean for Terra?

The concept of “continuous improvement” in the business world involves making regular small changes with the goal of improving a process, a product, or other key element of a business. For us at Terra, continuous improvement has become a cornerstone of our culture. We’re constantly identifying areas for improvement so we can provide the best possible service to our clients. Being ISO-certified also encourages us to strive for quality and excellence in all that we do.

Continuous improvement is something we take very seriously, and it permeates multiple areas of our day-to-day operation. Let’s take a closer look at how we incorporate continuous improvement into all areas of Terra.

Culture

At Terra, we are lucky to enjoy the work we do and we owe that enjoyment largely to a culture that is rooted in authenticity, inclusivity, and transparency. Terra puts a focus on the whole person and there is a significant emphasis on personal and mental health. Our stronghold on a healthy and supportive culture directly manifests itself in the company’s year-over-year retention rate of 95%.

Additionally, we are also GPTW certified, which means we survey our staff every year to learn about how they are feeling and what can be done in different areas of the business to improve the work environment and well-being of members.

Feedback

Feedback is a key element to our success at Terra. We thrive off of feedback as it helps feed our insatiable desire to be better. For us, feedback isn’t just about what didn’t go right. It can focus on what could be better or what went really well. Feedback on what we do well helps us identify how to replicate that success.

As part of our processes, leaders provide regular feedback to their reports, but also encourage them to provide feedback back to them. We believe that feedback is a two-way street.

Training

How we train employees is also an area we continuously look to improve upon. Terra’s training model combines a broad spectrum of topics according to the needs of different teams and roles. Employee training may include detailed instruction on the use of CAT tools and periodic training in the latest features from each tool, project management skills, diversity and inclusion workshops, deep dives into subject matter knowledge, or soft skills. While most training initiatives originate from the human resources department, operations leads are given the autonomy to execute ad-hoc opportunities to address the needs of their team.

Process

Terra prides itself on being a boutique service provider, which means we create customized solutions for our partners. When we begin a new partnership, we make it our mission to learn on a granular level the scope and needs of the project to then design, mold, and redefine a workflow that meets our partners’ needs. In the spirit of continuous improvement, that workflow is then evaluated over and over again, implementing micro-adjustments (or macro-adjustments) as needed to ensure the best possible experience is provided.

As we grow, we know that our internal processes also need to be revised and improved upon. This is where the feedback from our people becomes crucial, as these processes have a direct impact on the way they work every day.”

The Takeaway

A core belief at Terra is that we can always do better—for both our clients and our employees. Continuous improvement is a priority that we will always share as a team and we look forward to making our client and employee experiences better every day.

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New Collaboration_ Terra Cares & SSF - Portada
06/06/2023

A New Collaboration: Terra Cares & SSF

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on A New Collaboration: Terra Cares & SSF

We could not be more thrilled to announce that we recently started collaborating with Sustentabilidad Sin Fronteras (SSF) through our Terra Cares program. Through this program, Terra supports non-profit organizations to help overcome language barriers that prevent them from achieving their goals.

In this blog post, we want to share the mission of SFF and how we will work together to help them reach their goals as an organization.

What is SSF?

SSF is a non-profit organization founded by a group of professionals with the aim of fighting climate change in Latin America. Their mission and vision are to address and fight climate change by raising awareness and working on mitigation and adaptation projects with key stakeholders. They also do some advocacy work to accelerate climate action.

Both Terra and SSF are committed to making a positive impact on the communities and the environment.

How It Started

Terra Cares aims to help organizations whose mission we believe in as a company or organizations that members of our team feel passionate about. This program opens the door to all Terra members to suggest organizations they believe we can help. In the case of SSF, it was María del Carmen, Organization & Methods Manager at Terra, who proposed this organization.

We came in contact with SSF through Nasha A. C. Cuvelier, Co-Founder of SSF. “When we spoke with Nasha at the very beginning of our collaboration, she mentioned that her team at SSF had been thinking about expanding beyond the Spanish-speaking community,” Cintia, Operations Lead at Terra shared, “However, the major drawback they had at that moment was that their budget didn’t allow them to have a professional linguist translate their content into English. Nasha mentioned that it was truly a blessing when Terra reached out to them to help them exactly with what they needed the most.”

How Translation Brings Opportunities to SSF

Terra translated the SSF website into English. With this update, SSF hopes to be easily found by international organizations and other NPOs whose missions are related to sanitary justice, the fight against poverty, gender equality, etc.

In addition, SSF recently worked on their 2023 Climate Change Annual Report and they presented it on April 27th, 2023. This report—created in collaboration with Uno.Cinco (a Chilean NGO) and with as many as 22 co-authors—has great significance, as it addresses topics like damage and loss, biodiversity, fair ecological transition, climate finance, artificial intelligence, and climate change—among others.

The Terra team had the honor to attend this presentation through Daniela, Victoria, Noelia (members of our operations team who have worked on their projects), and María del Carmen.

What’s Next for Terra Cares & SSF

Soon Terra will help SSF translate the 2023 Climate Change Annual Report into English. Having this report translated into English will allow them to go beyond Latin America and share it with international organizations like Climate Action Network. They will also present it next November at COP 28 in the United Arab Emirates, which is the biggest climate change conference.

When asked if she had a message for those who participated in the project, including both the project management team as well as the linguists involved, she said, “Thank you. Thank you so much! Without your help, we would have never dreamed about having a report in English. Widening our organization’s horizon is critical for us to accelerate climate actions. Thank you for being part of the solution to this global challenge with us!”

Our whole team is truly proud of having had the chance to do our part for a cause that greatly impacts our planet.

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A Year in Review 2022 with Terra
27/12/2022

A Year in Review: 2022 with Terra

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on A Year in Review: 2022 with Terra

Every year our team likes to pause and reflect on some of our favorite moments from the past 12 months. Which is why we are so happy to report that 2022 had a lot of highlights. Let’s take a closer look at some of the top moments of the year, so we can all celebrate together.

“I’m so proud of what we accomplished as a team with Terra this year,” CEO of Terra Marina Ilari said, “What makes me most excited is the fact that we continue to work with our values of quality, inclusion, and team-spirit front and center of everything that we do!”

Now let’s spend some time together reflecting on 2022!

We Got New Branding

We started the year off on a strong note by finalizing Terra’s brand refresh. We felt a call to refresh our branding, as Terra evolved significantly over the past few years and deserved branding that illustrated that evolution. The main goal during this refresh process was to highlight our strong company culture and our commitment to partnership with our clients.

We Grew Our Team

Our team has grown so much in 2022 — by 97% to be exact! A significant part of that growth is thanks to our LQA work where we specialize in 13 different languages. We keep welcoming new members to the Terra family every day.

We Came Together

After two and a half years, we finally had our annual in-person event in Buenos Aires in August. It was a lovely weekend where we had the opportunity to meet people in person who we had only met on video calls and over digital chat. This event gave us a chance to get to know each other better thanks to team-building activities and a party joined by freelance linguists that collaborate with Terra on a regular basis.

We also had the chance to connect with each other and other industry colleagues by returning to industry conferences now that the world is opening up more. Members of our team attended:

We Achieved Certifications

At Terra, we pride ourselves on being a nice place to work and having a strong company culture. We went through the Great Place to Work (GPTW) certification process for a consecutive year and passed, seeing improvements in the overall results. This certification allows us to be considered for several rankings and during 2022 we ranked in the following (in our segment, which is up to 250 collaborators):

We also achieved a new honor and landed a spot on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America list. Our CEO Marina Ilari also received recognition as the CEO of one of the 19 fastest-growing LSPs.

We Gave Back

Giving back to our community is a value shared by everyone at Terra. In 2022 we continued our support through Terra Cares to organizations like Chicas en Tecnología, Doctors without Borders, and Asociación de Desarrolladores de Videojuegos Argentinos. Their projects amounted to 113,832 translated words in total. We look forward to all the exciting challenges and achievements that 2023 will surely bring and can’t wait to share how the year unfolded this time next year. From everyone at Terra, we wish you a healthy and happy new year!

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Terra Translations Earns Great Place To Work™ Certification - Portadaa
18/10/2022

Terra Translations Earns Great Place To Work™ Certification 

Posted on | by Theresa Sarah | Leave a Comment on Terra Translations Earns Great Place To Work™ Certification 

At Terra Translations, our values compel us to cultivate a company culture that we can take pride in. We’ve made it a priority to ensure that all our team members feel seen and supported. Going the extra mile to check in with each employee has been our focus, especially over these past few challenging years. In return, our employees have spoken! For the second year, Terra earns a Great Place to Work (GPTW) recognition.

What is GPTW?

GPTW is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and leadership behaviors. These attributes guarantee market-leading revenue, employee retention, and increased innovation. The certification aims to make the world a better place by recognizing companies with healthy and engaging workplaces.

In order to be certified by GPTW, organizations are given a comprehensive employee survey. Over the course of a two-week period, the company will also complete a Cultural Proposal that summarizes the work environment and culture. Upon completing these reports, a third-party committee reviews submissions and identifies whether the organization meets GPTW’s certification criteria.

GPTW Year Two

Last year Terra earned an impressive 93 out of 100 regarding employees’ opinions on Terra being a great place to work. This year we did even better, scoring 98 out of 100. Not only is this score higher, but Terra also had a higher overall average for survey statements, rising from 92 to 94. After Terra shares the results with teams, we do something unique. We organize special meetings with every team member and HR to review the results and discuss any additional needs they may have. This is to ensure our employees have a safe space to comfortably voice their opinions they find difficult to share within a larger group. Terra implements feedback from our team members at every level of the organization.

Earning this designation for a consecutive year signifies Terra’s growth and commitment to employee well-being. The GPTW team supported Terra throughout the 2021 year to better connect our employees’ passions with their work. Their guidance has been critical to our continued success and our overall survey score improvement.

Our Commitment Continues

Terra will continue building an empowering workplace with ongoing initiatives such as our well-being program and career enrichment. For instance, we ensure that our team has the necessary equipment and accessories that make their jobs more comfortable. We hold stretching sessions and share articles that promote mindfulness. Additionally, we identify skill gaps and offer training programs that allow employees to grow their skills and knowledge. Lastly, as a remote company, we work diligently to curate social spaces and strengthen interpersonal relationships. This includes launching an employee recognition program where staff nominates their colleagues. We also have a dedicated studio where employees can gather to work or meet in person as they like. To ensure a positive and effective impact on our employees, we adapt our initiatives to their needs. They can choose to participate or not with an open invitation to share how we can improve.

People First

With a people-first approach to company culture, Terra believes in authentic and genuine care for our staff.

“We firmly believe that people are the most important thing in our company. And that is not just a mere catchphrase: It’s a reality,” explained Natalia Quintás, Chief People Officer at Terra. “We consider people in every decision we make.”

Unfortunately, not all companies promote a work culture where everyone feels like they belong. The threat of disconnection and division looms as our future grows more remote. For management, the transition and engaging a remote workforce can be daunting. At Terra, we emphasize inclusivity and diversity and let every person know that we’re in this together. We are not a company driven by competition but by collaboration, we complement each other.

As we continue our journey of learning, we consider GPTW a vital tool in this evolution. The feedback from this survey and our post-survey check-ins will only help us improve and become a stronger organization for our team and future team members as our company grows. We set our sights on next year’s certification, as it will be an achievement we will continue to strive for.

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How the Translation Industry is Helping Ukraine - Portada
17/03/2022

How the Translation Industry is Helping Ukraine

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on How the Translation Industry is Helping Ukraine

In light of recent events, we want to take some time to share how the translation industry is coming together to help the Ukrainian people and those affected by the situation. 

Let’s take a look at the initiatives and organizations that could use support and the incredible work translators and interpreters are doing to keep the information and news flowing—including how our team at Terra Translations is currently helping. 

How Translators and Interpreters are Getting Involved

Translators are offering a helping hand to the Ukrainian people in a variety of different ways. Translation industry experts are translating news broadcasts, providing medical translation assistance for those wounded and receiving care in foreign hospitals, and offering translation support for legal issues like immigration. With so many refugees fleeing to other countries, there’s a great need for translators around the world who can help make the process of receiving aid easier. 

Countless professionals in the translation space are teaming up to figure out how they can best be of service to those in need. For example, a handful of Polish translation organizations have compiled a database of Polish translators and interpreters for refugees that are in Poland and require language assistance. The Translation Vendor Management LinkedIn Group is collecting contact information for translators from Ukraine who have been impacted by the war in Ukraine and are looking for freelance work. 

Another critical initiative comes from Kate Tsurkan, a translator who lives in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. She called on social media to have more Ukrainian writers published in English to expand their reach and elevate their voices. To accomplish this, the help of translators is required. 

Organizations to Support

Many different organizations are stepping in to provide support to the Ukrainian people. Here are a few examples of organizations in the translation space who are devoting resources to assist Ukraine, some of which are currently looking for additional translators to support them in their efforts.

Other initiatives not directly related to translation that need support in the form of donations and volunteers include:

How Our Team is Providing Aid

At our core, Terra exists to connect the global community. We believe everyone deserves opportunities and access to information in order to live authentic, fulfilled lives. For our partners, colleagues, and friends in Ukraine, their opportunities and their democracy are being threatened at an incomprehensible level. To our Ukrainian partners and all of those seeking peace, we stand with you.

We encourage our global colleagues and partners to support Doctors without Borders, the Ukrainian Red Cross or Razom to directly aid the people of Ukraine. Terra is making donations to these organizations in an effort to reinforce words with action.

Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine and we will continue to extend our support throughout this trying time.

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A Commitment to Women Beyond International Women's Day - Portada
08/03/2022

A Commitment to Women Beyond International Women’s Day

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on A Commitment to Women Beyond International Women’s Day

The translation field, like many others, has historically been dominated by male participants. In the past, female translators weren’t always awarded the same opportunities as male translators or taken as seriously, despite the fact that they didn’t lack the talent or skills required to get the job done right. 

Even in time periods and locations where women weren’t encouraged (and often actively discouraged) to pursue formal education and careers, many women pushed forward and forged paths of their own in the translation space to become professional translators and interpreters.

We’re happy to report that today, the translation industry is now heavily dominated by female linguists. At Terra Translations, we are proud to be a part of the reason that many women are thriving in our industry. 

Terra has always been a company that values women. Since it first began, the CEO position was first held by Beatriz Cirera and later by her daughter, Marina Ilari. To date, Terra has 154 total team members, 112 of which are women. Currently, out of 17 leadership roles, 13 are held by women and many of Terra’s staff are involved with associations whose mission is to empower women.

In honor of International Women’s Day, we want to highlight some of our efforts to support women in the translation industry. 

How Terra Supports Women

Terra Translations is a certified women-owned business and we believe it’s our responsibility to lift other women in our industry up. As a part of this mission, Terra supports Chicas in Tecnología by providing pro bono translation services. Chicas in Tecnología is a non-profit organization in Argentina that works to reduce the gender gap in technology in that region by motivating and training the next generation of women leaders in technology.

Women in Localization is another nonprofit organization we love to support with a mission of fostering a global community for the advancement of women and the localization industry. Women in Localization accomplishes this mission by providing networking, education, career advancement, and mentoring opportunities to women in the localization industry. 

Another organization we like to support is Women in Games which aims to build a fair, equal and safe environment that empowers girls and women to join and thrive in the global gaming ecosystem.

Our CEO Marina Ilari is particularly passionate about supporting these types of organizations, including Enterprising Women Magazine, which is a national and global magazine for female entrepreneurs. As of 2020, Marina joined their Advisory Board. This Advisory Board is made up of professionals giving back to the women business owners’ community and as a board member Marina helps provide leadership and inspiration to female entrepreneurs worldwide.

At Terra, we don’t wait until International Women’s Day to celebrate women in our industry and beyond, we choose to celebrate them every day and hope you will join us!

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10/01/2022

NEWS: Terra Translations Launches New Branding

Posted on | by Jacqueline De Marco | Leave a Comment on NEWS: Terra Translations Launches New Branding

While we’ve been working on an exciting project for over a year now, there is no time like the new year to reveal what we’ve been up to! Everyone at Terra couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome the new year with a brand refresh that we think our staff and clients will love!

Join us, as we share why we underwent this change, what the process looked like, and what it means for our clients.

Reasons for the change

Marina Ilari, CEO of Terra Translations, wanted to refresh our brand to ensure it shows the world who we are. “I’m so excited about the brand refresh because I think it truly represents who we are as a company with a dynamic, young, and innovative team,” Marina explained, “I think this shows more authenticity because it shows who we are as a team and I hope people that interact with us will see that as well.”

Colleen Beres, Director of Business Strategy at Terra, noted that a branding change is a key part of Terra’s evolution, “Terra Translations has been growing rapidly over the last few years,” Colleen said, “We are not the same company we were 10 years ago or even three years ago. So it was time for us to align who we are internally to what the world sees.” Colleen also expressed that this brand refresh is an opportunity for us to share our excitement and show the world that we are an innovative, fun, and collaborative place to be.

Building the new brand

Tracy from Savage Solutions, the strategic marketing agency that oversaw our rebrand, was there from start to finish to make sure our voice, brand architecture, and messaging better aligned with our updated brand. This rebrand was an extremely collaborative process between the Terra and Savage Solutions teams. “For me, as an art director, being part of meetings with Terra and then getting all the feedback from interviews, was essential because we take all of that into account to make sure that your messaging, your voice, and your tone really aligns with the visuals,” Tracy shared.

Tracy’s goal was to highlight our unique company culture, “You’re a large company, but you’re such a close knit like family vibe, and I wanted to make sure that that came out in the refresh,” Tracy said. 

Matt from Savage Solutions explained that the process to build a brand refresh starts off with a lot of discovery calls and research, “That’s where we get the true personality, the true feelings, the values, what the team believes in… that really flows into the messaging, into the voice, and into the core values, and mission statement, which ultimately, once we know what we sound like, what we believe in, the images, and the visuals just match that,” Matt explained, “So that whole process of discovery to final logo, final brand is really collaborative.”

While we’re thrilled with the rebrand as a whole, Marina is particularly happy with the logo that Savage Solutions developed, “The A and R are together almost like they’re holding hands and to me that speaks to partnerships,” Marina said, “It speaks to friendship, and that we’re in this together. And I really think that represents who we are at Terra when we’re working with you. We are holding hands together.”

Mariana Horrisberger, Business Development Manager at Terra, is particularly impressed with our new color palette and the custom doodles that Savage Solutions created for us. “I’m most excited about our new colors and our new doodles,” Mariana said, “I think that they’re going to let us be more creative and more expressive with our client-facing documents and even with the internal documents. I feel it’s just more authentic to who we are and I think it’s going to let us express ourselves more.” 

Mariana continued, “Our current clients can still expect the same level of quality and commitment to our work and to the level of dedication that we currently employ in every single project, but I also feel like our potential clients will see who we truly are and they will be able to see how we’re not just your everyday translation company, we are more human. We have our personalities and we let them show and we want our clients and our potential clients to see that too.”

Our partner

We collaborated with Savage Solutions on this rebrand, who we met through an organization we’re both members of—Scale Up Milwaukee. Savage Solutions is a creative firm located in the Third Ward, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, mainly focusing on branding, establishing, or reestablishing brands. They spend most of their time repositioning brands out in the wild, whether online or in retail. 

When it comes to the Terra rebrand, Cory, Founder of Savage Solutions, explained that, “There was a modernization that had to happen from your visual aspect that you were already living and doing and breathing.” Cory’s goal was to push Terra forward, “The maturity of professionalism that the brand represented was one of the things that we wanted to make sure that we portrayed, but still having a little aspect of fun that goes along with it.” Upon connecting with Terra, Cory was surprised to see how much fun our team has as a virtual organization even though we all work remotely.  

“Because as an organization that is so virtually based, you guys still seem to find a way to have fun.” “We landed on a page where you guys are doing videos that just blew us away on the humor. It’s something that people might not think is humaneness and the personality that your brand had wasn’t being portrayed in the way that it was represented visually. So we wanted to bring out a little bit of that personality and a little bit of fun.”

What does it mean for our clients?

During our rebrand we refreshed our brand positioning statement to make it clear just how important the client experience is to us. 

“I think Terra and our clients are going to benefit from the brand refresh, because it truly feels authentic to us,” Mariana said, “I want our clients to look at the new website and go, this is totally you guys…So I’m really excited about getting feedback from our clients and a lot of teammates as well.”

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