Project Manager meets the real world
A friend and one-time project manager, Alyssa, once described the role of the translation project manager as a nexus of abuse — abuse coming from both client and translator — often with no authority to vent the frustration in either direction (some translators may beg do differ with me on this one).
Of course the image of working in a translation agency is altogether different, and often lures the unsuspecting Russian or French major as the perfect place to use, and further, the foreign language skills they acquired in college. Unfortunately, this idealism is soon replaced by concerns over slim margins, mountains of paperwork, frustratingly long hours, clients with seemingly little interest in the finer points of language, etc., etc.
Added to this frustration is the often adversarial relationship project managers have with translators, caused, in my opinion, by the fact that project managers have rarely been translators themselves. For proof of the frequently clumsy efforts PMs make when reaching out to translators — especially those they’ve never worked with — just read the many translator blogs on the web that deal with the issue.
The truth is, somewhere in the race to beat out the competition in a highly competitive industry, the notion that freelance translators are the lifeblood of our success gets lost, so it is not impressed upon project managers how crucial these relationships are. More training is needed. At best, translators are seen as an afterthought, at worst, they’re greedy, lazy, incompetent or — as freelancers working outside the company’s control — potential hijackers of hard-won business or traitors to its reputation. The first company I worked for seemed to hold the latter view.
With the right training and attitude, project managers can have a much more rewarding experience in their dealings with translators. Corinne McKay, in her always insightful blog, Thoughts on Translation, gives us important tips on the
Care and feeding of a translator.
Transpanish, in its blog, gives an excellent summary of what constitutes good project management, stressing the importance of communication to keep both client and translator satisfied.
Finally, Cecilia Rico Pérez, Ph.D., shows in her exhaustive paper on the topic that, instead of simply serving as middlemen moving documents back and forth between client and translator, the role of the project manager in this rapidly evolving industry is extremely complex and can have a huge impact on quality and client satisfaction.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Corinne McKay // May 18, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Thanks for this post, Glenn, it’s really interesting to hear your viewpoints from both sides of the industry, since I’ve never worked inside a translation company. I think it’s so true that PMs are often overlooked as the tie that binds translators and clients together, and that especially at large agencies, PMs work long, hard, often thankless hours for a lot less money than a translator makes. When I think of most of my best and favorite clients, they are either very small agencies with 1-3 very competent people managing everything, or agencies where PM quality is obviously a priority. Thanks again, your blog is always enlightening to read!
2 Ryan Ginstrom // May 19, 2008 at 8:37 am
I’m a freelance translator, but I very much appreciate the job that agencies do, and I don’t begrudge them their markup.
I see agencies as my outsourced sales, marketing, and schedule management service. Working with agencies gives me a lot more freedom in my lifestyle and work schedule.
I also know that PMs work very hard. I’ll often get emails from PMs (or “translation coordinators” as they’re called in Japan) at all hours of the night.
3 Glenn // May 19, 2008 at 8:52 am
Ryan,
Thanks for your comment. You are enlightened, and have seen the value of PMs. Another point in my post is that I hope PMs are being educated on the value of translators. My interaction with translators has generally been good but I’ve seen a lack of awareness on both sides turn things sour. With the increasing focus on management in the industry, I hope agencies continue to see that freelance translators are not fungible.
4 Chris // May 21, 2008 at 10:06 pm
There is that disconnect - there are some translators out there who view their work as art and don’t understand the business side of it, and likewise there are some clients who don’t understand that translation isn’t a simple mathematic algorithm. I don’t envy PM’s one bit for having to bridge that gap.
5 Glenn // May 22, 2008 at 7:34 am
Chris,
Thanks for your comment. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. A good PM acts as educator to bridge the divide. And a good agency makes sure PMs have the training and support to be able to educate.
6 Masked Translator // May 27, 2008 at 3:28 pm
This is a great post (and great collection of links on the topic, too). I hope that translation agencies print this material out and put it into their training manuals so it’s required reading for new and seasoned PMs alike.
Assuming agencies even HAVE manuals…
-MT
7 Martin Cross // Jun 2, 2008 at 2:29 am
You know, I once went out for drinks with the owners of a few fairly large agencies (my own is tiny). When the drinks arrived, one of the owners proposed as a toast, “Here’s to making money off the backs of our stupid translator slaves!” He was trying to be funny, but he wasn’t joking.
Good PMs are grown in good agencies, run by people who respect both their translators and their clients. In other types of agencies, you are more likely to get the other type of PM.
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