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• translation agency management
• project management
• vendor management

One of the hardest parts of a translation project manager’s job is supervising translators’ work and building relationships with them. All project managers know, the more competent and predictable the translators in their team, the more projects their team can complete, and, therefore, the more they can earn. As long as the project management and sales at a translation agency are well organized, the main obstacle to growth in the company is going to be shortage of staff. How do you minimize the risks associated with this and attract the best linguists to your team?

• translation agency management
• translation management system (TMS)
• translation technology

There is a little-spoken but all-pervasive claim that says a business can only be successful if it is built on the most up-to-date technologies. In particular, managers of translation companies are always hearing that to do translations you need CAT tools, to organize your working processes you need a management system, to attract customers you need CRM systems, and so on. This is all so self-explanatory it doesn’t even get talked about — it is automatically assumed to be true.

• translation agency management

Did you know that most companies (and translation agencies are no exception) are not actually run by anyone? Like airliners, they cruise on autopilot, and all their employees, the managers included, are their idle passengers. Don’t you believe that?

• translation agency management
• translation management system (TMS)
• translation technology

This article is based on the experience of a someone who runs two translation companies that have become leaders in their own countries. In both cases, the translation management system was one of the most crucial factors in their growth.

• translation agency management

From time immemorial, people have kept secrets in order to gain or maintain advantage over others. The secret of manufacturing silk in ancient China, the construction of the atom bomb, and the recipe for Coca Cola are just some examples. Translation agencies also have their secrets: the very first users of Trados when it had only just appeared on the market hid the very fact that they were using it, so as not to give away their competitive advantage. Have things now changed?

• translation management system (TMS)
• translation technology

Successful translation agencies tend to develop their own software, especially their own TMS, or translation management system. Why do they do it? And is it worth following their example?

• translation agency management

Every business has its own challenges, and they are as unique as every organization itself. However, these demands can often be divided into external and internal ones.
External challenges include everything happening outside of your office: new technologies, competitors, market fluctuations, political instability, differing levels of taxation, a hurricane that leaves you without electricity, and hundreds of other possible scenarios.

• translation agency management

It happens in all companies at one time or another: a manager comes along who is always short of time. He and the people working under him are chronically stressed, working under time pressures and breaking deadlines. His colleagues sympathize with him: “Their projects are so hard!” and the manager cuts off all other requests with the phrase “I don’t have time!”

• translation management system (TMS)
• translation technology

Modern translation agencies use numerous process automation tools: software for translation memories management, quality assurance, project coordination, payment control, communication with clients and vendors. Each of these programs allows you to manage a particular process i.e. it performs a separate function within the overall translation management process.
Most of these programs fall under the category of “translation management systems” (TMS). However, none of them can cover all of a given company’s processes. The term TMS has become so generalized that it can be used to refer to completely different systems. We will try to identify these different categories of TMS system.

• translation agency management

When companies are enjoying stable periods of success, that’s not the time for directors to forget about further growth, content to rest on their laurels instead. It is equally important, however, not to derail the company in an attempt to improve on those aspects that are working just fine as they are. The desire to keep up with the latest trends in management and to use innovations in order to get out of a routine can sometimes lead to results that are the complete opposite of what was expected.