A seemingly endless choice

If you have already read the previous post, you now have a text ready to be translated that is as well-prepared for translation as it can be. (If not, I recommend reading the post—it will guarantee that you are set up for the translation process as well as possible and even shows you some tricks on how to save money that way).

But the next question you face is a really difficult one: who do you choose to do the translation for you? There are many service providers out there—both self-employed translators and translation agencies. So, who is the best fit? Read on to find out!

Self-employed translator or translation agency?

In essence, these are the two options you can choose from and they both have their specific advantages and disadvantages:

Self-employed translators

The majority of translators are self-employed; only relatively few of them work at agencies or in-house translation teams of large corporations. Many of them are members of professional associations and did a degree or other translation-specific training. What are the pros and cons of working with them?

Pros:

• You can be sure that you will always talk to the same person and know exactly who handles your texts.
• The translation is always performed by same person, which means all texts are consistent in style and terminology. And as your translator gets to know you better over time, they will somewhat become your voice in a foreign language.
• Self-employed translators are much closer to their clients. It is easier for them to accommodate individual wishes and incorporate feedback and they tend to develop a more personal relationship with their clients. Queries can also be solved more quickly as there are no additional people involved.

(Many of these advantages also apply to boutique agencies, who work with individually chosen translators and know their clients very well because of their smaller size. They usually specialise in niche subject areas and combine the advantages of self-employed translators and agencies without many of their disadvantages.)

Cons:

• One person can only cover a limited number of languages, even if they are very gifted. But don’t underestimate the networks many self-employed translators forge over time—they might be able to point you to a trusted colleague who covers the necessary language(s). This could end up being a two-birds, one-stone situation: on the one hand, you can be sure that the new translator is trustworthy and delivers good quality (otherwise their colleague probably would not have recommended them). And on the other hand, you gain the same consistency advantage I described in the “pros” section above.
• Self-employed translators do go on holidays or get sick. Unlike larger companies, there often is nobody to cover for them—this is especially problematic when a translation is needed urgently. (The translator might again be able to point you to someone in their network though!)

Translation agencies

The other player in the profession is translation agencies. There are agencies both big and small and they are usually much easier to find on the web as they have more time and money to invest in search engine optimisation. They also come with their very specific set of pros and cons:

Pros:

• Agencies work with large pools of translators and are therefore able to cover a large number of both language combinations and subject areas.
• They have time and money to invest in tools and specialists for formatting and QA and might therefore offer additional services that individual translators might not be able to offer.
• They are always available, as colleagues can cover for project managers who might be on sick leave or taking holidays.

Cons:

• It is likely that your contacts at the agencies will change reasonably regularly. Either short-term in the case of holidays and sick leave, or permanently, when someone leaves the company. Unfortunately, the hand-over of clients always involves a loss of information and successors might not know the individual needs of a client as well as the original project managers.
• Agencies work with only a few employed translators; most jobs are sent out to self-employed translators. Some of them try to use the same translators for certain clients, but this is by no means guaranteed—instead, it is very likely that there will be a variation in style and terminology as different people work on subsequent projects for the same client.
• Agencies allow no direct communication between end clients and translators, for fear of loss of clients. This unfortunately sometimes leads to a loss of information and queries inevitable take longer to answer. Often, the translator is unable to implement answers before delivery to the agency, which means they miss out on important feedback from the end client.

Finding translators

Now that you know a bit more about the translation profession’s landscape, you hopefully have an idea who will fit your needs better—self-employed translator or translation agency. But where can find qualified translators or good agencies? This is the question I will explore in my November blog post. I look forward to welcoming you back then!