Organizations implement translation management or update their existing system for a variety of reasons. One of the key benefits of taking such action is the potential to reach a larger audience. By efficiently translating your content into multiple languages, you can tap into new markets, appeal to international customers, and enhance your global footprint.
Effective translation management also ensures consistency in communication across different languages, streamlines the translation process to save time, effort, and costs, and ensures compliance with local regulations. This is especially crucial in sectors with stringent compliance requirements.
This article provides a step-by-step guide for implementing translation management in your enterprise. If you have any questions about the individual steps, we would be happy to advise you.
1. Carrying out a needs analysis
The initial step should be an analysis of the translation needs of your organization. What kinds of content typically require translation? This might include websites, product launch announcements, advertising, product descriptions, manuals, e-books, and a variety of other content. You then need to identify the languages that should be considered first. Begin by giving priority to the languages spoken in the countries where your international presence is strongest (or where you aim to strengthen your presence).
2. Defining goals and targets
Clearly formulate your goals for translation management and set a realistic timeframe for achieving them. Having clear goals and targets, whether they involve expanding into new markets, ensuring brand consistency across languages, or enhancing operational efficiency, will guide you in selecting the appropriate tools and strategies. Communicate these targets to all teams to ensure that everyone involved is aware of the importance of translation for achieving the enterprise goals.
3. Selecting a translation management system (TMS)
Translation management cannot be efficient without a TMS. You therefore need to research and evaluate various translation management systems and choose the one that aligns with the specific needs of your organization. Take into account factors such as the ability to integrate with your current systems (such as PIM systems or CMS), scalability, user-friendliness, support for machine translation, quality management features, and other relevant considerations. Talk to providers, request demos, and obtain references to ensure a well-informed decision.
4. Training and onboarding
Once you have chosen a TMS, it is important to offer comprehensive training to the team that will be working with the TMS. In this way you can ensure that the team will understand the functions and features of the tool. Most TMS providers offer virtual or on-site customized training programs that are perfectly tailored to the unique needs of the users.
You should also set up a communication channel for employees to ask questions and raise concerns during the implementation process. If you engage with your employees at an early stage, they will be more receptive to the newly implemented system.
5. Creating style guides and glossaries
Create detailed style guides and glossaries so that the translated content remains consistent. Clearly describe the tone of your brand, define the preferred terminology, and consider any cultural nuances that may affect translations. Regularly update the style guide to incorporate any changes in your brand strategy or industry trends.
It’s important to store terminology directly in the translation management system rather than in Excel lists. This ensures that everyone has access to the most current terminology and offers additional benefits such as strengthening the corporate language, lowering translation costs, and laying the groundwork for using machine translation. For more in-depth information on this topic, please refer to our articles “What is terminology work?” and “Save costs by defining terminology in the organization”.
6. Setting up workflows
Develop clear and efficient workflows within the TMS. Define the roles and responsibilities of each team member involved in the translation process. These can range from content creation to proofreading before a text is published in the target language. Establish communication channels to foster collaboration between team members and translators. Define the steps for content submission, translation, review, and final approval, ensuring transparency and traceability at each stage. Regularly assess and optimize these workflows based on feedback from team members and translators. This will allow you to further increase efficiency and streamline the entire translation process within the enterprise.
7. Integration with existing systems
Ensure that the TMS you select seamlessly integrates with your current systems, including content management systems (CMS), product information management systems (PIM systems), and other pertinent tools. These types of integrations are crucial for minimizing manual data entry, reducing the number of errors, and enhancing the overall efficiency of the translation process.
Another important integration to consider is the incorporation of a machine translation engine. If you want to use machine translation, you should be able to integrate the chosen provider’s engine with the translation management system through an API connection. To learn about the use of machine translation and the best practices for doing so, please refer to our articles “Machine translation for companies” and “Post-editing – more quality for machine translation.”
8. Pilot projects
Initiate small pilot programs to assess the effectiveness of the selected TMS and workflows. Monitor the entire translation process, from content creation to final publication, and gather feedback from the team members involved. Use this feedback to identify any challenges and make the necessary adjustments before you roll out the system across the entire organization.
9. Monitoring and measuring results
Implement robust control mechanisms to track key performance metrics associated with translations. For example, you can measure translation quality, cost savings, and customer satisfaction to assess the impact on the business.
Regularly review these metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the processes in place and identify opportunities for improvement. Seek feedback from both internal teams and external stakeholders to gain insight into the quality of translated content and the overall impact on customer engagement, particularly if machine translation is being used. Modify your workflows according to these assessments in order to continuously enhance the performance of your TMS and ensure that it aligns with the evolving goals of your enterprise.
10. Scaling
After the pilot phase proves successful, begin to gradually implement the TMS across all relevant departments and for all content types. Share success stories and positive results with the entire organization to build an understanding of the translation management system and its benefits. Make sure that the employees who will be using the system on a regular basis receive proper training and are well-informed about the extended implementation.
11. Assessing and making adjustments
Make a habit of regularly assessing the efficiency of your translation management system. Evaluate whether it still meets the evolving requirements of your business and make appropriate changes. This could involve reconsidering your original objectives, revising policies, or exploring additional features of the TMS in order to continue translating efficiently. Communicate regularly with your team to gather feedback and insights to drive ongoing improvements.
Contact us if you have any questions about translation management or rolling out a translation management system in your organization – we would be happy to advise you!
