When to Partner with a Translation Agency Instead of Managing a Translation Project Yourself

As your company begins to enter the international marketing field, you may be wondering if it is better to handle your translation projects in-house. Partnering with a translation agency may feel like an unnecessary step, especially if you need to stick to a tight budget.

Chances are good that you know someone within your organization who speaks Spanish or French, for example, and it may be tempting to ask them to handle the translation of your company’s materials.

Or, you may find someone online who claims they can handle the translation work for a fraction of the cost you were quoted elsewhere.

We understand why this may be appealing, but in most scenarios, handling your translations this way can be risky. Here are a few reasons you may want to consider partnering with a reputable translation agency as opposed to managing the project yourself.

Quality and accuracy are at risk when you do not use a professional translation team.

You put a lot of work and effort into your original English file.

Just because your colleague may speak another language, this does not mean that they are a skilled writer who can bring your text to life in another language.

Making sure your efforts and the spirit of the original text are reflected in the translation is a priority for a reputable and professional translation agency. A good agency will have established partnerships with translation teams in various languages and specialties, teams who have been properly vetted to ensure they can handle the type of translation work you are requesting.

Don’t leave the quality of your translation to chance. Even one incorrectly translated word can change the meaning of your text, turn potential customers off to your brand, or even potentially result in costly litigation fees, depending on the nature of the error.

A translation agency can be a one-stop-shop for multilingual projects.

Reputable translation agencies are capable of handling more than just the translation of your text. With just email or phone call, you can request that translation projects be handled from start to finish by a single source. The agency will do the heavy-lifting.

Are you translating content into multiple languages? No problem! An agency has likely already assembled teams in the language pairs you need. If they don’t have a qualified team in place, they also have ways of finding qualified professionals who can handle the task and vetting them properly before the project begins.

Do you need post-translation design or desktop publishing services? An agency will have teams to handle this, too.

Want to feel sure that your document has been double- (and triple-) checked for accuracy after the final product is generated? Don’t worry! Reputable translation agencies have someone in-house who can handle quality assurance in partnership with the translation team to ensure the final product is nothing short of perfect.

This peace of mind is invaluable, and it’s how you should feel each time you request a new translation from the agency you choose as a partner, without needing to worry about utilizing different vendors and individuals for each specific task.

Allowing an agency to handle each step of the project takes the stress and pressure off of you, so you can get back to work.

Even the smallest translation projects can take a lot of time and effort, and we know how valuable your time is!

You have important work to do within your company, and spending time finding and vetting qualified translators and proofreaders, in addition to managing these teams, can really take away from the time you could be spending on the work you do best.

Take the pressure off and let an agency handle all of the project management work.

Your project manager is prepared and happy to manage your project from start to finish so you don’t have to.