2/23/2011
Why should you choose a translation company and not a freelance translator

• Most businesses in need of translation face the dilemma of going for a freelancer or a full fledged translation company. There are several reasons as to why a customer should opt for a translation company over a freelance translator. Let us elaborate on some of them.

Translation companies provide a comprehensive translation service that includes translation as well as proofreading. They cover a variety of languages under the ambit of their services which is generally not so in case of freelancers. Freelancers usually specialize in one or two languages of their expertise and if a business is in a frequent need of translation in various languages, a translation company is its best bet. Translation companies entirely coordinate and supervise the translation work themselves and hence the client doesn’t have to invest time and resources for the same. In case of freelancers, a client has to undertake the supervision and coordination work himself. A translation company also handles various file formats as compared to freelancers who generally are limited to MS Office file formats and cannot handle other formats easily.

A major factor in favor of translation companies is that they provide proofreading with their translation services which renders the translation error free. A freelancer cannot be expected to proof read his own translation and even if he does, an element of biasness or complacency is bound to creep into his work. Translation companies allot the translation work and proofreading to different individuals which lends transparency to the proofreading work and hence you can expect error free translation.

Another issue with freelance translators is their inability to handle bigger projects or large volume of work. Even if they do undertake such projects, there is bound to be a time delay in the completion of the work. Translation companies specialize in such works as they have a team of translators who are assigned the different smaller parts of the project so that it may be completed on time.

A key issue with hiring freelancers is deciding upon their quality. There are no benchmarks set for judging the translation ability of a freelancer and they usually get hired by word of mouth or by referrals. But the problem is that what may be good for someone may not be good for others. Thus if a freelance translator has done an immaculate translation for a particular customer, he may not be so immaculate while dealing with your work as it may have different requirements that he might not be comfortable with. In case of translation companies, their credit and quality of service can easily be deduced by their accreditation or approval by the renowned credit rating agencies. Translation companies provide tailor made services to their clients according to their specifications and requirements and specialize in variety of translation services. Translation companies also employ a dedicated individual, usually the project manager or coordinator who looks into all the aspects of the project and makes sure that the translation work proceeds and is carried out exactly as required and suggested by the client. He acts as a major link between the company and the client to ensure proper and timely communication of all the details. All this goes a long way in providing a quality translation service which cannot be matched by any freelancer.