Step by Step Behind the Scenes of a Translation Agency

The world always focuses on the end result. We rarely pay any attention to all the work that went into creating that end result. Every time you see a movie, you don’t sit through the credits to read the names of the people that made the movie possible. Sure, you know the actors name, probably the director’s too, but who held the lights or dressed the actors or designed the sets? Not many people bother to learn about them. In truth, making something artistic has a lot to do with these people who are rarely called for interviews or appreciated by majority of the audiences.

It is okay to pay more attention to the final product but from time to time we must also appreciate the efforts of those who work hard to get that product to us. People go to factories to find out how something is made. That curiosity often makes us wonder about those things that are not even made in factories. Who does what during the process of creating something in a company? The services we get are also built and controlled by different people behind the curtains. If you ever enter a company’s building during working hours, you will hear a buzzing noise coming from all cabins. Those noises are also a daily ritual. Among them is the sound of someone issuing orders, someone picking the phone to talk to clients, meetings happening in boardrooms, and what not.

Unlike movies that give us a chance to sit through the credits and find out who did what during its making, most of the products and services we use regularly offer no such introductions. We have to guess on our own about the people who work continuously to provide us with quality services. Sometimes, we can also get a chance to see all of them at work like a trip to a factory. Seeing the behind the scene working of a company helps us develop a deeper level of appreciation for their work. We realize how difficult every work is and how grateful people should be for each person who plays their role in creating a product or service.

The Working of a Translation Agency:

Translation has been around for a long time. Almost since the birth of languages whose presence required a tool for their interpretation. People would not have been able to understand each other and the world would not have progressed much without translation’s help. Its basic function may be to connect us with each other but it also performs some very important tasks that helps with the smooth running of businesses, governments, and companies. The way the world is working today where products being made in China are also available in the countries of Africa, would have stayed a dream had it not been for the magic of translation.

But like every other thing, there is no wand that people have to wave around to get translation. There is a whole process behind each interpretation and an agency which handles the process. Each time someone needs a translation, they get in touch with an agency and after discussing the options with them, hand over a document to them for translation.

What Happens After You Have Given an Agency a Document for Translation?

A lot happens in a day at a translation agency. Everything has to follow proper procedure or clients won’t end up with quality work. Everyone at the agency makes sure that they follow the instructions that come with a project and do their job efficiently to keep the clients satisfied. Here is what happens once a client has accepted the terms and delivered their document to the agency:

1. Reviewing by the Project Manager:

Each big agency has multiple project managers that handle different sections of their team. Once a new task arrives, the project manager will go through its details to learn all about it. If they don’t know everything about the project, they won’t be able to guide translators accordingly.

2. Assigning the Task to a Translators:

Project managers know the specialty, strengths, and weaknesses of everyone on their team and that’s what helps them make their decision each time they have to assign a new task. According to the type of the translation, they contact an interpreter from the relevant department, and explain the details of the task to them. They also inform the interpreter about the deadline. From there, everything is on the shoulder of the interpreter who has to handle the document according to the client’s wishes.

3. Proofreading:

Once the translator has finished working on the documents that had a day’s deadline, they send it back to the project manager, who in turn transfer them to proofreaders. The task of a proofreader is to go through the translated document and make sure it has no spelling mistakes. They also fix grammar issues, if there are any. If this step is not followed, clients will get work full of errors. This is why a lot lies on the work of the proofreaders.

4. Submitting the Task:

After proofreading, the translation is sent to the client via fax or email. Some choose to pick it up from the office of the agency. Their document is labelled and kept safely until it can be handed over to them.

The details of the working of a translation agency shows how complicated the process of translation is and how much effort goes into each document.