How to prepare a business translation strategy

Companies translate their documents for all manner of reasons. For some, using a professional translation service is a one-off experience in response to a particular business need. For others, though, translation is an important and regularly occurring part of their operations. In such instances, a business translation strategy is an important means of ensuring that the translation is as effective as possible. 

What is a business translation strategy?

Quite simply, a business translation strategy is a document that defines why a company is using professional translation services and what the anticipated outcomes of doing so are. The strategy needs to consider how translation activity contributes to the overarching company goals, in order to ensure that it is relevant to the company’s aims and values. 

As well as showing how translation fits with company objectives, the strategy should also take care of practical details relating to business translation activity. That means detailing which personnel need to be involved in the translation process, the size of the translation budget and the timescales for particular activities. The latter point should consider both one-off tasks and ongoing/regular translation requirements. 

What makes a good business translation strategy?

Any strategy should be a living document that is useful to all those involved. It needs to be relevant not just to the overall company goals, but also to the day-to-day jobs of those involved in turning the strategy into reality. In the case of a business translation strategy, this means creating a document that is clear and concise, with measurable targets and outcomes. 

It also means building a review process into the strategy. After all, it’s important to ensure that the translation process is achieving what it is supposed to. The review process should be undertaken regularly, with plans in place to tweak the strategy and related processes if required. 

Keeping a business translation strategy up to date also involves keeping up with changing market conditions, as well as any tangible shifts in the company’s goals. 

A word about localization

Any business translation strategy worth its salt should also give thought to localization services. Localization services complement translation by looking at more than just the language of a document. They also consider cultural and historic references, political implications and religious factors, in order that the document in hand can be presented to new audiences without offending them. 

If your business needs support with translation, it’s time to speak to Tomedes. Our professional translation team is available to support your company to achieve its translation and localization goals, no matter which language pairings or subject specialisms you need. Please contact us for further details.