posted 23 November 2000 13:21            

And a comment re: tests. Finding clients is not an easy business. As an agency, I know we are impressed when people try to follow up on their test, ask how they got on, or even put questions and notes in the test.
The agencies are chasing clients, too - although we always try to thank people too.

posted 24 November 2000 11:55            

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My doubt is whether to handle the management of these big projects in-house and delegate out the important but small projects, or to name external project leaders to handle the projects and do the small stuff internally. Thoughts?

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Whichever way you look at it, in-house staff are only expensive if they're sitting around doing nothing. If you have enough work to keep someone busy full-time (or even part-time), why not consider employing new staff? It's easier to maintain control of jobs if they're managed in-house, and at the end of the day your company is accountable to its clients whether you use in-house staff or freelance project managers.

As regards whether to use freelance project managers for large or small jobs, it all depends on what you mean by large and small! If you feel comfortable handing over control of a multi-million-dollar assignment to someone who doesn't work in-house that's up to you, but I don't think I would do that... And if by "small jobs" you mean the 200-word minimum charge stuff, it may be difficult to make this profitable.

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And a comment re: tests. Finding clients is not an easy business. As an agency, I know we are impressed when people try to follow up on their test, ask how they got on, or even put questions and notes in the test.

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The "to test or not to test" issue is a bit of a minefield, but your attitude is very refreshing! So many agencies issue tests but often translators don't even get back a thank-you for the e-mail. Of course, there will always be a need for tests, otherwise you won't know how good the translator is until you try them out on "real" job - and if they're not up to it, it could cost you a client. But on the other hand, unpaid test translations take away freelancers' time from paid work. So the debate continues....

Hope this helps.

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Apollo

posted 24 November 2000 13:19            

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We are an agency encountering rapid growth, especially in large projects like websites or corporate presentations. My doubt is whether to handle the management of these big projects in-house and delegate out the important but small projects, or to name external project leaders to handle the projects and do the small stuff internally. Thoughts?

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That is not an easy question…

Sudden growth is exciting...and scary!

First of all, you would need to prioritise. Do you have freelance translators that can handle the smaller projects whilst you manage to sleep at night?

In financial terms, whatever you can do in-house will be more cost-effective. However, is your in-house staff specialised in those areas? Would they be able to do the project management of, say, a two-million word website, with exchange of glossaries created in CAT tools, budgeting, co-ordinating translators, proofreaders and all it implies to the highest standards?

Re the “small but important projects” are they more important than the large ones? Do they imply one translator –or several, plus proofreaders and exchange of glossaries?

Do you have enough excess work coming in to employ an extra person, part or full-time? or on a short contract, if the stream of large projects is not steady enough yet to justify an extra member of staff?

On the other hand, what is the cost in Spain of employing people on short contracts (i.e. freelance project managers)? In the UK and the US, it is very expensive. It is a good way to assure you get the job done without the burden getting another employee...

The bottom line is only you know what would be more cost-effective and assure you provide the highest quality both in the small and larger projects. Either way, it seems additional investment is a must.

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And a comment re: tests. Finding clients is not an easy business. As an agency, I know we are impressed when people try to follow up on their test, ask how they got on, or even put questions and notes in the test.
The agencies are chasing clients, too - although we always try to thank people too.

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We all know finding clients is not easy –nor is finding good translators. Translators also have to find clients and we all agree an agency has to know the standard of the work of the translators they are employing. However, a busy translator doesn’t have the time or the desire to fill in tests –especially since most agencies don’t even have the courtesy to give feedback.

I think you will find most experienced translators will be happy to provide you with a sample of work they have done in the area(s) you need, but most of the very successful ones will not do tests –unless they are paid for their time.

The test issue will go on and on…and nobody will ever agree on the ideal way.
I am off the soap box now

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Take care

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