Translation – there’s more to it than words
In today’s multicultural environment, in which cross-border exchanges take place every minute, translation is an activity that touches almost any business area one can think of. And the more efficient the translation process, the better. But how can an organization providing translation services know whether it is performing well or not, if it is not looking into its outcomes?
In the case of translation activities, performance can be assessed through three main factors: Time, Quality and Cost. These indicators shape the so-called Quality-Time-Cost triangle, and they should be approached in an effective manner for the business to be successful and perform at a high level.
In translation, just like in any other domain, when deciding to measure performance, the challenge lies in selecting those Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which are relevant (what to measure?), in order to reflect the effectiveness of the translation process. Moreover, it is equally important to align the KPIs for translation services to the overall strategy of the organization.
One of the most relevant examples in terms of translation performance management planning is the Directorate-General for Translation (DGT), within the European Commission, one of the largest translation services providers in the world. The DGT developed a plan whose aim is to make sure that high-quality translations are provided, the final goal being to support the multilingual, open, accountable and democratic character of the European Union.
In order to monitor the performance towards achieving its number one objective, deliver high-quality translation services, the DGT established a set of top five KPIs:
- % Customer satisfaction rate (DGT’s overall quality of service as perceived by requesting DGs);
- % Deadline compliance rate (Proportion of pages produced within the deadline);
- % QC level 1 rate (Overall quality control rate for QC level 1 documents);
- % Freelance quality (Proportion of freelance translations marked as ‘good’ or ‘very good’);
- # Use of machine translation (Average number of pages translated with MT@EC per working day).
Moreover, for each of these indicators, a target was established. For example, the deadline compliance rate was set at 95% for 2014, while the target for the average number of pages translated using machine translation services, was of 50,000 pages.
Another example of translation KPIs is provided by Corporate Translation, a language service provider, which designed its own set of indicators to monitor its capabilities. KPIs considered relevant for its activity include:
- # Overall Customer Satisfaction;
- % Translation Error Rate;
- % On-time Delivery;
- % Translator On-time Delivery;
- % Right First Time Quality.
As previously mentioned, the translation strategy should be consistent with the overall strategic plan of the organization. Therefore, in its management plan for 2014, the DGT also focuses on other translation-related activities, concerned with strategic planning and an efficient communication with stakeholders (Policy strategy and coordination, Administrative support). For each of these activities as well, the DG Translation established objectives (e.g. Implement the ‘Customer Relations Service’), and KPIs to measure progress.
Translation companies might find it challenging to define a set of relevant KPIs. Nonetheless, it is a necessary step that should be taken, so as to know the value and quality of their translation activities.
References:
- Directorate-General for Translation (2014), DG Translation – Management Plan 2014 (Policy area 31 ‘Language Services’)
- Corporate Translations, Performance Metrics
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Tags: KPI, Translation KPIs, Translation Services
