Drum roll. “And the ATC Awards for Best Project Manager and Best New Company go to…”
I’ve never won anything in my entire life – nothing, nada, niente! Apart from a tin of pineapple at a school fete too many moons ago. So, you can imagine my delight when Dialogue scooped two of the ATC (Association of Translation Companies) Awards at their Annual Awards event on 21st September. As I proudly cradled the trophy on the way home, I mused over what ATC recognition actually means; not just to Dialogue but to our clients as well.
Fantastically organised by the ATC’s CEO Raisa McNab and team, the awards evening brought together some of the leading and most respected translation companies in the UK, recognising some of them for key achievements and merits.
They certainly put us through a rigorous qualification process, scrutinising our quality management system, client approach/feedback, recruitment and ethics amongst other things – and the awards we received recognised all of this.
Talking shop with other ATC members in the hall it struck me that the association really does represent the crème-de-la-crème of the industry; leading innovators and tech-savvy, client-orientated providers. Both our Translation Manager (Best PM), Dan Thomas, and I felt privileged to be amongst them. Check out what the ATC had to say about us here.
Whatever business you’re in, I’m sure you’ll appreciate the value of your work and ethics being recognised by your own professional standards body. With the ATC it’s not just a box-ticking exercise. Almost 50 years old and with over 200 members, the ATC has established itself today as a significant stamp of translation quality.
Why is the ATC seal important for translation buyers?
Quality is King! One mistranslation can cost you clients and reputation.
Parkers Pens lost its appeal in Spain when assuring new customers that their product wouldn’t get them pregnant! An unfortunate (and ironic) mistranslation of ‘embarrass’ into Spanish from the original slogan “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you”.
So, if you suddenly find yourself in need of a translation partner, it’s worth taking the time to find the right one. Don’t be tempted to opt for the cheapest – it’s often likely to end up costing you more.
If you’re struggling to choose one of the 1,200 UK-based translation companies, looking out for the ATC-stamp should whittle it down to a reliable 16%. You can be assured of:
1) Quality:
The ATC assesses applicants’ full quality management system, ISO-certification, QA processes, linguistic competence and feedback process. If quality is key to you this is a big tick. It now even offers its own ISO-certification programme to boot, certifying companies on specific specialisms from post-editing machine translation through to legal translations.
2) Code of conduct – ethics:
All ATC members need to adhere to a strict code of professional practice. If it matters that you will be treated fairly and the wool won’t be pulled over your eyes – let this reassure you.
3) Customer service:
They also check over T&Cs, contracts and NDAs in place as well as scrutinise feedback from key clients to ensure members exhibit a reliable, legally watertight and customer-focused approach.
4) Partnership-approach:
Although this isn’t a given, certainly many of the companies I met, us included, strive not to take a conveyor-belt approach to translation service provision. Instead, we take the time to understand your business and challenges and establish an approach that works for you individually.
If you care about getting it right and you’re looking for an ATC-translation company that will take time to understand your needs, why not call us on + 44 1865 596980 or email us at [email protected]?