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Translation Of Internal Reports & Communications |
By:
Nigel Massey |
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In today's global economy, it is not only trade that is
international. It's the companies and their employees too.
Therefore it's increasingly common to have companies with a
variety of languages spoken in the divisions. So perhaps we
should expect that translation of internal reports and
communications is a regular occurrence?
I have worked at some pretty large international companies and
from my own experience most businesses have not adapted to the
language needs of the company. In fact most have not localized
and translated their mission statement.
What seems to happen is either: 1) the company informally states
that there is a single core language of the company and
therefore the translation of internal reports and communications
is not considered required. 2) An internal effort is made to
'translate' information on an as requested basis.
Let us consider these in turn: Single Language Company - Trying
to pretend that you have a single language company when you
don't, is a 'head in the sand' approach. This can lead to some
of the following issues: 1) Alienation of staff and divisions.
2) Staff turnover - In addition to (1) the career track of an
employee will be linked to their ability to speak the core
language rather then whether they are the best person for the
job. 3) Poorly communicated objectives. If the objective is not
fully understandable by all involved, then how can you expect a
100% fulfillment of the objective? 4) Lack of a common business
culture.
Internal Translation - Internal translation is certainly better
then no translation at all. But this has its own potential
issues: 1) Is the translator capable? 2) Are all the documents
translated? And are they translated in time? If the
translation of internal reports and
communications is a secondary task, does the translation
always get carried out on time? / at all?! 3) Confidentiality -
Jungle drums (informal communications) always beat strongly
inside a company. I have seen that some tasks are more
confidential when carried out externally. 4) Is the internal
translation carried out at the expense of time spent on another
core activity or objective?
When you consider the cost of quality you should consider the
costs of not having quality. I believe that the cost of
translating of internal reports and
communications should be considered similarly. For some
organization the issue of translating internal reports will be
less important then for others.
But when it is necessary, perhaps the cost is lower then first
thought. The
translation of internal reports and
communications is a regular task and therefore discussion of
this with the translation agency should allow improved service
agreements to be agreed. Providing pricing that is below what is
attainable for one off translation projects.
The author has worked internationally for many years and is now
co-owner of the translation and interpreting agency
'Axis
Translations' where you can find assistance with a wide
range of language matters. Including the translation of internal
reports and communications.
Copyright 2006 Nigel Massey
ahref="http://www.axistranslations.com"> 'Axis Translations'
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Article Source: http://www.friendsofvista.org/articles/article28935.html |
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