Transformation of forms of interaction, or adaptation to the new workflow ecosystem

The coronavirus pandemic was, in many ways, a transformational period for the global economy and triggered significant changes in business practices that hardly anyone had anticipated before: contactless services, remote project support, digitalization and automation of every possible process… It may be said that, for the first time in recent history, business engagement was forced to be flexible and adapt to “contactless” methods of doing business.

The translation industry ecosystem has proven to be very adaptable to the new realities, which is logical given its historical experience with remote operation.

Nevertheless, the additional elements of client interaction and project workflow automation have helped to reinforce the effect of a “normal” or standard operating rhythm, even in times of global uncertainty and chaos.

Platforms for interaction between the client and the language service provider

As mentioned earlier, the adaptation to the new realities of business interaction was involuntary, which has very negative connotations at first glance, as a result, however, today we see a comprehensive set of tools capable of supporting the operational conduct of business in situations accompanied by rapid change, uncertainty and constraints.

The translation industry is no exception; long before the pandemic, the industry was using a fair number of professional translation automation tools, due directly to the fact that the translation process itself is followed by a multi-stage process of processing, layout of documents and other complex manipulations of files.

But today we are discussing not so much the technical implementation of the translation process, which is an important topic for a separate webinar, but rather the automation of the interaction between the client and the translation provider during project implementation.

While in the past, client-supplier interaction was mostly a formality, although this aspect was never totally neglected, and its automation had a rather conventional priority for both translation service providers and clients themselves, the year 2020 has brought a new vision, and we are brought back to the idea of “forced adaptation.”

What are the pros and cons of working through client portals?

The obvious advantage of working through client portals is that, during project implementation, there is no need for traditional email correspondence, which often turns out very confusing and difficult to navigate. At the end of a project, it is often necessary to go back to some piece of information or to find source or other files or reference materials, and this is sometimes a complex task which takes up a lot of precious time that could be used more efficiently. Interaction via client portals certainly speeds up all stages of a project, from launch to delivery of the final files to the customer.

Another advantage of working through client portals is the maximal transparency of the interaction between the customer and the language service provider. This is especially important when tracking the status of orders. A portal enables the client not only to view the current status of each individual order online, but also to have 24/7 access to all relevant information concerning it.

One major advantage of using portals is the ability to instantly upload advanced analytical data. Previously, this could be done by filling in an excel file manually, taking time to describe the task and reconcile the data, but now, the customer just needs to select the required parameters, set the time period and get a ready-made report which is very easy to work with.

As for the disadvantages of working via client portals, there are almost none, if not none at all. For some people, the minimization of “live” communication may seem like a disadvantage, but in this case it can be easily argued that it has not been abolished, just made more efficient — it is much more pleasant to discuss, for example, possible expansion of cooperation rather than routine questions that can be answered through the portal. Some still distrust the latest technological solutions and automation in general, though this again is not a disadvantage of the portal, as it guarantees the confidentiality of all information stored within it and is guaranteed to work flawlessly. Another common misconception is that working with the portal itself is a complex task, which is not true: the portal interface is generally intuitive and using it does not require special or additional training.

We can spend a long time comparing the past with the present, weighing up pros and cons, but in the world of today, we have little choice but to accelerate, adapt and develop technology. I love technology and am not afraid of new things, so using such tools seems natural to me. I think that, in the near future, routine tasks will be automated everywhere, while more complex requiring a creative approach will remain under manual control.