By Hilary Picken | January 15, 2019 | Top Tens Translation Tips
The role of a project manager in a translation job is very important for many different reasons. Their responsibilities in the translation process ensure high quality translations and outstanding service which delivers peace of mind for those not as experienced in dealing with translations.
Though in some agencies, the sales team provides costs, a Project Manager is well-placed for creating quotes. It isn’t just a question of providing some figures based on a rate card. A Project Manager will screen the text for complexities, gauge appropriate translators and analyse the text for things like duplicated copy to guarantee the word count is accurate.
Understanding the text and what is required for a translating it is very important so having expert linguistic experience is vital. This knowledge is very important when it comes to accurately performing many aspects of their role. Project managers are often the last native speaker who sees the text before translation and often pick up on anomalies that the client may not have noticed.
A Project Manager must understand what a translator’s strengths are and if they have the ability to produce the desired style and standard in a translation. Appreciating a translator’s workload and knowing if they can complete the work on time is just as key.
Once a project has been put into progress, the translator may have queries, from what is or isn’t to be translated to concerns about the terminology or content in general. They also even notice issues in the source text the client hasn’t. Once received from the translator, a good Project Manager will distinguish between queries the client needs to answer and those which can be dealt with internally, saving the client time and hassle.
Generally the turn-around time of a translation is non-negotiable and safeguarding this means managing many different aspects of the process. This includes things like receiving the original text from the client on time, handling queries effectively and selecting translators who can achieve the goals set at the beginning of the project. They will also know when time can be saved by taking advantage of different time zones or multiple translators, without of course compromising on quality.
A good translator will have appropriate experience and be qualified to a high level. Whilst experience shows that not every translation needs proofreading, a good Project Manager will quality check their translators’ work before returning it to the client. This covers elements like un-translated text, formatting and layout and even questionnaire inserts, scales and coding.
On time delivery, high-quality translation services with the least hassle possible and all delivered with great service: this is what a project manager strives for and ultimately should deliver.
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