Recruiting freelance translators is easy. Outsourcing work to freelance translators is easy. Paying freelance translators is easy. But what about recruiting, outsourcing and paying other translation companies?  By Christina@Wocintechchat In an ideal world, a database would be 20% freelance translators and 80% translation companies. It would make things so much easier! Project Managers could allocate entire projects to one supplier, without worrying about splitting files, coordinating deliveries, lengthy quality checks etc. Unfortunately, that is not how it usually happens in the real world. Working with translation companies can get very messy and stressful for a Project Manager. A small mistake can leave you with thousands of words untranslated the day before the deadline. It is true that this can also happen when working with freelancers, but the amount of work allocated to a freelancer is usually much smaller.  While working at Xerox, I resourced a job to a company that dealt with r

One of the key responsibilities of a Vendor Manager is to manage their database. The database is composed of thousands of profiles, one for each supplier. Each profile will contain information such as the supplier’s contact details, services, rates, competencies, performance, tasks performed and all the paperwork required.  Being the main point of reference for project managers when assigning work, the information within the database must be as up to date and accurate as possible. This way, projects can be assigned to suitable suppliers, and Vendor Managers can easily spot any supplier gaps.  The database is constantly changing, not only as suppliers evolve, but also as client’s requirements change. From my experience, the database must be flexible in order to suit any unexpected projects and new clients. This is where you can test whether your database, and by extension, your Vendor Management team, is “proactive” or “reactive”.  A reactive database can be defined as a database that o

The first six months of this pandemic have been a time of discovery and change for me in all aspects of my life. I have learned that the mind is the strongest asset we have, and being able to control it can change your life. However, the pandemic is still here, and we are still suffering its consequences, such as working from home, self-isolation, lack of personal contact etc.  While self-isolating at my friend’s house for two weeks, I overheard a training session she was attending about tips on how to cope with uncertainty, and how to support your teammates through the pandemic. It was very interesting, so I took some notes to share with all of you here. There are three powerful strategies for coping with uncertainty that we can all apply in our daily lives: reframing your thoughts, taking control of your situation and taking care of yourself. By Colton Sturgeon. Let’s start with reframing your thoughts. This refers to the different ways in which you can order your thoughts, welcoming

While browsing the Internet, I came across a list of attributes that a successful Vendor Manager should have, and I found it very interesting. Some of these skills are also important for other roles, but I find them especially important for any role within the translation vendor management field.  👋Excellent communication skills👋 Vendor Managers need to communicate with different parties: teammates, colleagues, suppliers and clients. Being the administrator of the database gives the Vendor Manager a lot of knowledge about the company’s suppliers (or what is missing), so they are the best people to answer their colleagues' questions. For example, when the sales team wants to check the number of resources the company has for certain language combinations, or when project managers can't find a suitable supplier for their job. 😀Ability to develop and maintain strong and successful working relationships😀 This is one of the main duties of the Vendor Manager. Recruiting suppliers