Time is Money. And Communication too!

In the localization industry, as in many other industries, time is money. You are losing money every day the release of your product is delayed.

But at Jensen Localization we also say that the success of your Project is based on a very simple premise: Communication.

A lack of communication between client and vendor is one important reason for  delays in the release of a localized product, so communication is money too.

Recently, one of our clients sent us a job to translate. They sent both an Excel sheet and some links to their website. It is very common to send the text to translate in a separate file and then send the link to the source website so that translators can see the text in context, but still we asked the client if the website was sent for reference or if they wanted us to extract text from the website.

His reply was: You can see the text it refers to in the link to the website.

So, we assumed that the link was sent only as a reference and just translated the Excel sheet. Unfortunately, when we made the delivery, the client told us that there was missing text, i.e., the text from the website. We had to quickly send the missing text to translation, so the delivery of the full translation was not delayed too much.

Quite often, clients just want to know two things: costs and time. And it is difficult for them to understand why translators have questions, why we need to have the files in a given format or why we need them to provide us with reference material. At Jensen Localization we try to make sure our clients know from the very beginning what our procedures are and how we can adapt them to meet their needs.

But nothing will work if there is not an effective communication between both sides. What can we do to achieve effective communication? See some tips below:

• Do not take things for granted. Make sure you understand and you are being understood.
• In email communication, read your emails twice before sending them. Put yourself on the shoes of your reader and see if you would understand what the email says.
• If you see a long thread of emails is being created due to this lack of communication, make a phone call. This will probably put an end to any confusion and you can always send an email to have a written confirmation of what was discussed on the phone. Despite all the technologies, it is always nicer to talk to people instead of writing them, don’t you think?
• If you are not sure you understand what is being said, ask a second person to read it. As when editing a translation, four eyes can see more than two.
• Written communication can also create conflicts if text is misunderstood. Before you have a nervous breakdown and want to ask the other person to **** off, relax. Read it again, try to see it from the distance, do not take it personally and take your time to reply.

What about you? Have communication issues affected your work? We would love to hear your tips to achieve effective communication, feel free to comment!