Continuous improvement of service

Many argue that a “good translation partner” must have the needed ISO certificates to prove themselves as professional translators, whilst others argue that the years of service is the real indicator.

For sure the ISO certificates are important and the ‘must haves’ for a translation partner in today´s demanding and fast-changing world. They offer a defined structure in processes for project management, translation activities and talent management and last but not least, data security. But…certificates and managed processes, offering proof of know-how and capabilities are not the only strong indicators of a good service partner.

There are plenty of others facets to indicate specialist activities helping to differentiate between the different parties. It might be useful to also understand the key people within the company and what the potential translation partner has achieved in the past years in way of innovating its own services or processes. I would argue that a translation partner, who has held the ISO 9001 and maybe 17001 certificates for the past 10 years and has not budged an inch since, may not be able to adapt to your constantly changing environment. However, this is a completely subject point of view, just as the chosen words used in some translations are subjective.

When it comes down to it, the traditional basics of service indicators are still the main players. What is their history? How quickly is the phone picked up? How transparent are they in their working processes and can ‘I trust them’? How proactive are they? How reliable are they?

By the way…many translators state they work “according to” ISO 9001, 17100 and 27001. Does that mean they own the certificate? Do they pass the audit year by year?

You can be sure NORAK does!