. The electronic age has arrived, and translators and agencies stand to benefit from it. However, while agencies invariably expect translators to have modems, they don't necessarily reciprocate. Agencies should have a dedicated modem line connected to a computer with a BBS installed, or maintain an on-line account with an organization like CompuServe or America On Line.
3. Have people in-house who understand the languages they deal with. I don't want to ask someone at an agency about a text and then be told that they don't know because no one there reads the language it's in. If an agency is going to do high volume work with a language, they should have at least one person who can read, write, and speak that language. The problems this will solve, the time it will save, and the frustration it will eliminate will more than justify the cost of hiring such a person.
4. Use a standardized independent contractor's agreement. Every time I work for a new agency, I have to sign a new agreement, after reading and studying it and then deciding if I think it's fair. We're all dealing with the same problems and issues in the industry, let's use the same agreement.
5. Use a standardized independent contractor's information sheet. Every time I submit material to a new agency, I have to fill out pages of forms. Wouldn't it be nice if there were one form which everyone used, and then you could just keep copies around your office and send it off as necessary? I think it would be great. After all, the agencies are all after the same information, so why not use the same information sheet?
6. Send detailed information to the translator about the job and how it should be done. Make a style sheet which specifies how to handle such matters as charts, graphs, page numbers, fonts, margins, and so on. This will not only make the translator's job easier, but will cut down on the time the agency spends answering the phone and explaining such details to the translator.
7. Provide clean, legible, readable copies of the material to be translated along with all other related material. A fax of a photocopy of a fax is not readable, no matter how good a translator might be at decoding information. Moreover, translators are hired to render information and ideas from one language to another, not to decode bad printing or writing.
8. Hire at least one person who is (or was) a professional translator. Working with an agency which considers the translation industry to be just another business is frustrating. The agency should understand the profession and the people in it. The only sure way to do this is have staff who have been professional translators.
9. Define a schedule and then stick to it. No one appreciates being told that a project will start on a particular day and then finding out it has been delayed by a week or two, or even a month. No one appreciates starting a job and then getting told that the deadline has been moved up and the job must be done in three days instead of four. Translators already work under extreme time constraints; the agencies and clients should at least stick to the original terms for the job.
10. Recognize the valuable and vital service that translators provide. Agencies and clients should not be concerned with what title to use for a translator or how to define their role in linguistic or corporate terms. They should be concerned with providing the in-house translator with a proper work environment, including computer hardware and software, dictionaries and reference materials, and understanding and cooperation. They should provide the free-lance translator with fair market price for the work, clear instructions concerning the material, and readable copies of all documents.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Very true remarks... about how translation agencies and clients should treat freelance translators
1. Pay translators within a reasonable amount of time. There is no reason why a translator should have to wait sixty or ninety days for payment. There is no reason why a translator should have to write letters and make phone calls in order to receive pay. Agencies should specify in their independent contractor's agreements how long payment will take and then make payment within that time.
2. Maintain a functioning BBS or on-line account
. The electronic age has arrived, and translators and agencies stand to benefit from it. However, while agencies invariably expect translators to have modems, they don't necessarily reciprocate. Agencies should have a dedicated modem line connected to a computer with a BBS installed, or maintain an on-line account with an organization like CompuServe or America On Line.
3. Have people in-house who understand the languages they deal with. I don't want to ask someone at an agency about a text and then be told that they don't know because no one there reads the language it's in. If an agency is going to do high volume work with a language, they should have at least one person who can read, write, and speak that language. The problems this will solve, the time it will save, and the frustration it will eliminate will more than justify the cost of hiring such a person.
4. Use a standardized independent contractor's agreement. Every time I work for a new agency, I have to sign a new agreement, after reading and studying it and then deciding if I think it's fair. We're all dealing with the same problems and issues in the industry, let's use the same agreement.
5. Use a standardized independent contractor's information sheet. Every time I submit material to a new agency, I have to fill out pages of forms. Wouldn't it be nice if there were one form which everyone used, and then you could just keep copies around your office and send it off as necessary? I think it would be great. After all, the agencies are all after the same information, so why not use the same information sheet?
6. Send detailed information to the translator about the job and how it should be done. Make a style sheet which specifies how to handle such matters as charts, graphs, page numbers, fonts, margins, and so on. This will not only make the translator's job easier, but will cut down on the time the agency spends answering the phone and explaining such details to the translator.
7. Provide clean, legible, readable copies of the material to be translated along with all other related material. A fax of a photocopy of a fax is not readable, no matter how good a translator might be at decoding information. Moreover, translators are hired to render information and ideas from one language to another, not to decode bad printing or writing.
8. Hire at least one person who is (or was) a professional translator. Working with an agency which considers the translation industry to be just another business is frustrating. The agency should understand the profession and the people in it. The only sure way to do this is have staff who have been professional translators.
9. Define a schedule and then stick to it. No one appreciates being told that a project will start on a particular day and then finding out it has been delayed by a week or two, or even a month. No one appreciates starting a job and then getting told that the deadline has been moved up and the job must be done in three days instead of four. Translators already work under extreme time constraints; the agencies and clients should at least stick to the original terms for the job.
10. Recognize the valuable and vital service that translators provide. Agencies and clients should not be concerned with what title to use for a translator or how to define their role in linguistic or corporate terms. They should be concerned with providing the in-house translator with a proper work environment, including computer hardware and software, dictionaries and reference materials, and understanding and cooperation. They should provide the free-lance translator with fair market price for the work, clear instructions concerning the material, and readable copies of all documents.
. The electronic age has arrived, and translators and agencies stand to benefit from it. However, while agencies invariably expect translators to have modems, they don't necessarily reciprocate. Agencies should have a dedicated modem line connected to a computer with a BBS installed, or maintain an on-line account with an organization like CompuServe or America On Line.
3. Have people in-house who understand the languages they deal with. I don't want to ask someone at an agency about a text and then be told that they don't know because no one there reads the language it's in. If an agency is going to do high volume work with a language, they should have at least one person who can read, write, and speak that language. The problems this will solve, the time it will save, and the frustration it will eliminate will more than justify the cost of hiring such a person.
4. Use a standardized independent contractor's agreement. Every time I work for a new agency, I have to sign a new agreement, after reading and studying it and then deciding if I think it's fair. We're all dealing with the same problems and issues in the industry, let's use the same agreement.
5. Use a standardized independent contractor's information sheet. Every time I submit material to a new agency, I have to fill out pages of forms. Wouldn't it be nice if there were one form which everyone used, and then you could just keep copies around your office and send it off as necessary? I think it would be great. After all, the agencies are all after the same information, so why not use the same information sheet?
6. Send detailed information to the translator about the job and how it should be done. Make a style sheet which specifies how to handle such matters as charts, graphs, page numbers, fonts, margins, and so on. This will not only make the translator's job easier, but will cut down on the time the agency spends answering the phone and explaining such details to the translator.
7. Provide clean, legible, readable copies of the material to be translated along with all other related material. A fax of a photocopy of a fax is not readable, no matter how good a translator might be at decoding information. Moreover, translators are hired to render information and ideas from one language to another, not to decode bad printing or writing.
8. Hire at least one person who is (or was) a professional translator. Working with an agency which considers the translation industry to be just another business is frustrating. The agency should understand the profession and the people in it. The only sure way to do this is have staff who have been professional translators.
9. Define a schedule and then stick to it. No one appreciates being told that a project will start on a particular day and then finding out it has been delayed by a week or two, or even a month. No one appreciates starting a job and then getting told that the deadline has been moved up and the job must be done in three days instead of four. Translators already work under extreme time constraints; the agencies and clients should at least stick to the original terms for the job.
10. Recognize the valuable and vital service that translators provide. Agencies and clients should not be concerned with what title to use for a translator or how to define their role in linguistic or corporate terms. They should be concerned with providing the in-house translator with a proper work environment, including computer hardware and software, dictionaries and reference materials, and understanding and cooperation. They should provide the free-lance translator with fair market price for the work, clear instructions concerning the material, and readable copies of all documents.
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