We live in a world of options. Thanks to technology, you can employ almost anyone from around the world to help your business succeed. Between freelancers, consultants, and services firms, your options are nearly unlimited. The global appeal is obvious when you need translation services, but you should carefully evaluate your options. Working with freelance translators and reviewers may seem cost effective, however, a few considerations should be made in order to prevent further costs down the line. On the other hand, if you choose to work with a language service provider like Terra, you can benefit from an in-house team of reviewers. They can maintain consistency and guarantee the highest quality throughout all your projects. Here are three reasons to consider an in-house team of reviewers:
1. Maintain a consistent voice, tone, and style
An in-house team of reviewers can ensure that your brand’s voice, tone, and style always remain consistent. Having reviewers in house can improve quality assurance and can work towards maintaining the brand’s voice in a consistent way. If multiple linguists tackle a large-volume project, in-house reviewers can properly relay a brand’s voice and style.
One way you can assist your in-house reviewers and outside translators maintain brand standards is to utilize a style guide. Before the first translation project with a client begins, a project manager will ask the client for their style preference. This can include things like capitalization, date format, number formats, etc. An in-house team of reviewers can help create and maintain a style guide.
The style guide should outline grammar, spelling, punctuation, and tone. Plus, any other style elements or rules necessary to maintain a brand’s image and quality. A style guide can lessen mistakes and inconsistencies, as well as speed up the translation process. Certain industries may want a style guide that includes rules about ethics or compliance. Terms that are labeled DNT (do not translate) or terms that can’t be used in translation due to legal consequences may also be included. They may also provide a language glossary or termbase.
2. Manage your industry-specific terminology
Every industry has important jargon that requires some level of expert knowledge to understand and master. When you work with an in-house team of reviewers, you can ensure that all terms are translated the same way. Terms such as product names, slogans, parts, ingredients, and medications, and any words that appear frequently on things such as labels or user interfaces. Consistency helps avoid mistakes and confusions. Which is key in providing value to your consumers. Not to mention, this ability to master terminology can save time and stress associated with fixing mistakes.
An in-house team of reviewers will work to create glossaries and termbases that will manage industry-specific terminology. They will also implement these terms consistently. Being able to reference a glossary or termbase allows translators to work faster. They can verify their work quicker when having a trustworthy source for terminology to reference.
3. Build Trust
Working with an in-house team of reviewers improves consistency not only on a translation level, but in your workflow process. Because you’re working with the same team consistently, the linguists won’t vary from project to project. The in-house team of linguists will be able to maintain alignment with your preferences and can become true partners.
Often, clients work with different vendors in order to meet a tight deadline or satisfy demand. Using different linguists to do so can not only damage the quality of translations, but your credibility in the eyes of the consumer. Clients who work with an in-house team of reviewers, such as Terra’s, are able to develop a close collaborative relationship. Essentially, you’ll receive the benefit of having your own in-house team of translators and reviewers, without the cost. Terra guarantees that all of our clients will work with the same team, to maintain both quality and trust.
