You may have automatically assumed that the most suitable option for the translation of your website, reports and other business documents is to hire the services of a large translation agency. In this article, I’d like to share some of the benefits of hiring a translator directly and explain the pros and cons of both options.
Hiring a translation agency, although it costs more money, can offer certain advantages:
- A large agency has the advantage of being able to cope with “high volume” by having dedicated project managers to handle splitting up a large translation among multiple translators. Although not ideal, if you need to translate a large volume urgently, then it may be the only option.
- If you need your text translated into multiple languages, chances are a large agency can accommodate this need.
- If your business deals with a variety of technical fields rather than one highly focused area, then an agency may be able to assign documents that require different specialties to different translators.
- A good agency may have provided their translators with materials such as glossaries to help them with their translations and ensure consistency.
- a good agency Can they have other quality control processes in place and should have at least vetted their translators according to some basic criteria, such as the number of years of experience and, in some cases, the successful completion of a short test.
However, you should not assume that either of these is the case. Since the agency could charge up to half the price of the translation on commission, you need to check what real added value they are providing. Is the agency carefully selecting the most appropriate translator for your project and then applying additional review and verification? Or are they just mass-mailing their translators, assigning the job to the first available person, and sending you the result without further verification?
You should also not assume that the above factors cannot be addressed by working with an individual translator. If appropriate for your project, working directly with an individual translator can bring several advantages and still address some of the needs mentioned above:
- You have direct contact with the professional who will actually work on your project. You can discuss with them any particular requirements or questions you may have. Rather, they can quickly check with you on any point in the text that requires clarification.
- You know that the same translator will work on your material and will know your project and company intimately.
- While an individual translator will only be able to handle a modest volume compared to a large agency and will be specialized in particular fields, many translators will also collaborate with trusted colleagues when necessary to handle a larger volume or consult them on a particular topic. However, a good translator will still check their colleague’s work for errors and make sure, for example, that their use of terminology is consistent.
- You can ask the translator what experience and knowledge they have in your particular subject area. Translators specialize in particular technical fields, but a professional translator should also be happy to give you an honest answer if she can’t take on a particular job.
- While in principle agencies can benefit individual translators with their knowledge base of terminology and translation memories, in practice many agencies do not perform this role. And in any case, today’s good translators will be familiar with and have access to large online terminology databases that have made traditional resources somewhat redundant.
Taking the above factors into account, if you have not considered it before, I recommend that you consider the option of hiring a translator directly if it is suitable for your business needs.
