Facing the challenges: be proactive!

The industry has been abuzz over recent months with rumours of tricky times ahead and an industry on a difficult footing. These concerns include, but are not limited to: continued improvement in *Machine Translation (MT), sharing of intellectual property (translation memories) via online Translation Environments Tools or TenTs (including Lingotek, Across, Heartsome, ForeignDesk, Fusion, Idiom WorldServer, MemoQ, Wordfast Anywhere, Wordfisher etc.), the global economic downturn and downward pressure on rates from agencies and business-naive translators. In respect of MT, many translators seem to fear a future where our role will switch from translation to post-editing of raw MT content. Industry experts, however, will tell you that it is not the threat people think it is, at least not yet, and so that isn’t my major focus in this article. Nor do I think we should be too intimidated by non-professionals who charge nothing for their services: translation agencies (or at least those that want to remain viable) are not in the business of taking risks, and anyone who charges an unsustainable fee for their services clearly isn’t (IMHO) serious about their business. However, I do think our industry has a reactive rather than proactive culture and this has to change if we are to stay ahead of technological advances and create a sustainable industry for the future. [*TenTs and MT merit a separate article, which I'll post in due course]

My perception is that many translators have, to some degree, allowed this situation to develop: by accepting unreasonable deadlines; by accepting rates below “quality cut-off; by allowing (some) agencies to drive down prices through a lack of effective negotiating skills, and by settling for payment terms and conditions that would be unacceptable in any other industry (60-90 days – come on!) Consequently, the industry has become increasingly powerful, and translators appear to be reacting to the changes rather than shaping them. I believe that by acting proactively we can change this situation and ensure our survival.

SWOT-analysis

I thought a SWOT analysis would be a good way of looking at the current state of play in the industry, and where we’re headed. For those unfamiliar with the term, a SWOT analysis is:

a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieving that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies. (Wikipedia)

If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to list some of  the internal strengths and weaknesses that I think can be broadly applied to the industry:

Internal Strengths

• Proactive response to business threats and opportunities
• Resilience
• Intelligence
• Ability to adopt new technology quickly
• Communication skills
• Flexibility of lifestyle
• Ability to expand role
• Transferable skills
• Multi-tasking
• IT competence
• Industry know-how
• Strength through professional organisations
• Ability to foster relationships with clients
• Marketing know-how
• Selling to our strengths

Internal Weaknesses

• Reactive, rather than proactive, culture
• Relative isolation of freelance community
• Lack of access to CPD
• Lack of cohesion amongst T and I community
• Lack of control over outside influences
• Power imbalance – Agencies vs. Freelancers
• Lack of control over industry developments, rates, IT etc.
• Relative naivety about potential threats (e.g. online CAT tools and VLTMs – providing the material to improve the quality of MT)

Now let’s take a look at some potential external threats and opportunities:

External Threats

• Unregulated industry (anyone can claim to be a translator and charge below the market mean for their services)
• CAT tool providers with an eye on the bottom line, not the sustainability of your industry in the long term
• Global economic downturn
• Machine Translation
• Downward pressure on rates from agencies
• CAT matrices – strong position of agencies vs. freelance translators due to relative unfamiliarity of many translators with the matrix system
• Increased use of English as second language – impact on some minority languages (e.g. encroachment of English into other languages)
• Constant need to update software, e.g. operating systems, CAT tools, OCR software etc.
• Lack of affordable CPD online
• Variations in technological advancement depending on geographic location

External Opportunities (I know this makes the acronym SWTO, but I like to end on an up-note)

• Increasing demand for translation services
• Increased access to potential clients across geographic boundaries
• Technological advancements
• Access to CPD through professional organisations
• Social and professional networking opportunities
• Ready access to industry-related tools (CAT tools, dictionaries, books etc.) irrespective of geographic location
• Expedient communication
• Marketing opportunities
• Ability to create a global presence

Changing from reactive to proactive

In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, Stephen R. Covey suggests that one way we can become more self-aware about our own degree of proactivity is by looking at where we focus our time and energy. These concerns can be grouped within what Covey calls a Circle of Concern, in other words, those things that we react to. Covey also describes a group of things we can do something about – these he describes collectively as the Circle of Influence, i.e. things about which we can be proactive. According to Covey, people acting proactively focus their efforts in the circle of influence, i.e. on the things they can do something about. People behaving reactively, on the other hand, focus on the Circle of Concern, i.e. on issues affecting them, but over which they have no control. Focus on this area, and the negative energy thus created, causes their Circle of Influence to shrink. So, by focusing on things we can change (including recognizing those things we cannot – areas of No control), this positive energy, and the decisions made, can expand our Circle of Influence and shrink our Circle of Concern. If, for example, the economic downturn causes us to lose some key clients with subsequent loss of income, this becomes an item for our Circle of Concern. If, however, we continue to market consistently and gain new clients we can not only counterbalance the natural attrition of our client group, but actually increase our client stable. This will not only prevent sine wave work-flow during stable periods, but will also act as a buffer during economically lean times.  By acting proactively we increase our area of influence.

Meeting others’ needs

In his book, Unlimited Power, Anthony Robbins suggests that success in our business or personal lives involves:

…the skill or the ability to specifically define exactly what others want, and then to fill others’ needs quickly and elegantly.

This makes real sense. If you’ll allow me, I’ll use a charity bike ride I participated in recently to illustrate the point. Woefully ill-prepared, I agreed to take part in a 200 km ride in my part of Western Australia. I’ve just bought a new racing bike, but it hadn’t arrived on the day in question so I rode my old hybrid bike, assured that there would be other people on equally slow machines. Anyway, after about 50 km my handlebars loosened, my legs were numb, and I was wiggling my head round like an idiot to get the sweat from my eyes. Frankly, I’d hit the wall and was looking for any excuse to stop pedalling and get on the bus! Fortunately, the support crew involved a bus loaded with candy, iced water, dried fruit and other treats, plus a friendly driver who was happy to load your bike on the trailer and chat with you while you rested until you felt ready to continue. For the backmarker, and consider that the bus would be about 10 feet from your rear wheel,  the decision to stop hurting and hop on board was not a difficult one. I should point out that once I’d rested for a while I continued cycling and did 120 km in total, which was a good starting point for me. My point is that the proximity of the bus to the cycling group, the friendly and accessible driver, the pleasant chat on board, the excess of chilled drinks and chocolate bars, all made the decision to stop cycling an easy one: too easy really. If, on the other hand, the bus had travelled further behind the cycling group, if the driver had been unfriendly, and if there had been no snacks or drinks on board, then I probably would have soldiered on until the next official stop. My message then is this: by being the friendly, professional and accessible translation service provider (the bus) we can encourage the potential purchaser of language services (the cyclist) to stop pedalling (i.e. looking for another TSP) and come on board our bus! By “adding value” and by being proactive in our business decisions, we can increase our client stable and work-flow and also make it easy for clients to work with us, and keep working with us.

In summary, I’d like to list some of the ways we can be proactive rather than reactive in our business dealings, and how we can add value to the service we provide to customers.

Proactive measures

• Network with colleagues, keep abreast of industry trends and developments
• Undertake regular CPD, go to conferences, make new friends and meet clients
• Expand your skill base: take courses, e.g. proofreading and copy-editing, subtitling, transcription, medical writing etc. If you can’t attend an on-campus course consider a distance option
• Join one or more professional associations, subscribe to monthly or bimonthly journals
• Join professional e-groups
• Educate clients: give all new or prospective clients (not agencies) a copy of Getting it Right (from the ATA or ITI websites)
• Become a niche translator. Look at specialty fields you might enter, e.g. automotive, technical, medical, legal, pharmaceutical etc.
• Don’t settle for unreasonable deadlines, payment intervals or rates below the quality cut-off. These are only successful strategies because some people accept them. If professional translators continue to demand acceptable rates and payment conditions then change will take place. If you are approached by an agency and you want to check their payment practice, try www.paymentpractices.com or ProZ Blue Board before signing the dotted line
• Improve your negotiating skills. Many clients are willing to negotiate over rates or a CAT tool matrix. Before saying “no” and sending an angry email response to an unreasonable offer, see if there’s room for compromise
• Market consistently and effectively
• If you don’t have a website, create one now or pay someone to create one for you. There’s no point having excellent skills and services if no one knows you’re there
• Don’t neglect family and colleagues. As Anthony Robbins says, “if you get to the top of success mountain on your own, chances are you’re going to want to jump off.” Nurture yourself and those who provide you with support
• Say “sorry” if you stuff up – it costs nothing and clients appreciate it
• Thanks clients for payments received
• Write for pleasure and to enhance/maintain your writing skills, particularly if your write often in your source language(s)

Adding value

• Go the extra mile
• Try and resolve all issues before returning a project to a client
• Use a problem-solving approach with project managers
• Pay a professional associate for proofreading or editing where the job merits it
• Be easy to work with. Remain friendly, accessible and try and respond to emails expediently. If you go on vacation set your email to auto-respond
• Invest in a CAT tool and decent OCR software. Familiarise yourself with more than one translation environment. Use your local TM, as opposed to a server-based TM
• Maintain and update your IT skills
• Perform language maintenance
• Remember that you are only as good as your last job
• Communicate effectively and listen to the client

By way of balance, I should also add that where I mention agencies I am referring almost exclusively to those agencies that urge inexperienced translators (or those unskilled in negotiating terms) to accept unreasonable rates, deadlines and payment intervals. The majority of my own client group are translation agencies, most are repeat clients and I normally send all of them a Christmas card! I also consider many of the project managers friends and rarely get asked to perform superhuman feats or accept unreasonable terms.

This article (written in the middle of a book translation so please forgive any errors) is not intended to be the beginning and end of this topic, but I hope some of the information proves useful. Comments, as always, are welcome.

Additional reading

• Parallel Thinking: from Socratic to de Bono Thinking. Edward de Bono, Viking, 1994. This book on Amazon

MT: separating myth from fact

• “Is Machine Translation useful for Translators” by Josep Bonet (EU Directorate General for Translation)
• Dream machine: The clear future of machine translation: from Yndigo (translation: insights and incites)
• ATA Language Technology Division: Translation Environment Tools
• Google translate: An analysis (from Translating Patents)
• Machine translation and the future of the translation industry: Yves Champollion
• Where do translators fit into Machine Translation: by Alexander Gross
• Training Human Translators as Opposed to Programming Machine Translation Systems: A Performative Model: by Arvi Tavast