7 reasons why you should outsource your translation projects

Choosing to translate through an outside company versus doing the task in-house can be a difficult decision, especially if you are new to the field or have been a recent part of the organization. Although outsourcing may seem cheaper and more convenient, it also presents its own set of challenges, from cost management to project management.

On the other hand, translating with internal staff can help you control costs and maintain consistency.

The choice between these two methods is often very contextual and depends on your goals and the resources you have available as an organization.

To help you decide whether to outsource or manage translation projects in-house, here are 7 variables that will make you decide between outsourcing and managing translations in-house.

Some organizations employ both in-house and outsourced translation services. It usually depends on the specific requirements of each project.

There is no right or wrong decision. The key is to know your business goals and choose the solution that best fits them.

1. Cost

Choosing an external language service provider usually pays off if the translation activity is occasional or involves a small volume of text.

As we explained in the article How much does a translation cost?, translation is an expensive business, so instinctively you might think it is cheaper to have it done in-house.

However, to calculate the convenience of setting up an in-house translation team, you need to consider the following factors:

• How much content is generated per year?
• In how many languages should they be translated?
• If you don't already have an in-house team, how much does it cost to select the necessary translators?
• How much does it cost to train translators if they are not subject matter specialists?
• Who will be in charge of translation management? A project manager? A translator?
• What is the annual cost of licensing the necessary programs (CAT tool, quality control tools, etc.)?

You could start with a single project or two and then measure the cost to see if it makes sense to continue managing the project internally.

On the other hand, if your organization already has a full-time translation department already trained, it probably makes more sense to translate your documents in-house.

2. Language

Another key factor is the language or languages needed. For a company that routinely translates only one language, it may be convenient to hire one or two linguists with whom to cover translation needs.

However, if the languages to be covered are varied and do not proceed in parallel, that is, if not all content needs to be translated into all languages, hiring multiple people may be too great a burden on the organization. There is a risk that some translators are busy all the time and others are only occasionally busy. Not to mention that someone then has to coordinate the various translators. If you contract with an agency, however, the cost of project management is included in the fee.

3. Specialization

Even if your organization has a translation department, you should always consider whether internal resources have sufficient skills to translate all the types of texts you need.

For example, if your organization is a pharmaceutical company and needs a large amount of medical translation, it makes sense to use in-house resources for these projects, but if there is a contract or important legal text to be translated, consider first whether in-house translators are up to the task.

4. Quality control

Regarding quality, most language service providers have predetermined standards and quality parameters that ensure consistent quality. If, on the other hand, the translations are done in-house, you may not have standardized procedures in place to assess the quality of the translations and make adjustments if there are deviations.

Creating a process for quality control has a cost and requires certain skills. If you don't want to complicate your life by writing new proceedings, hire an outside agency.

5. Technical skills

As much as a small company may have bilingual staff or staff with sufficient language skills to handle the translations it needs, consider that not all files to be translated are equal in format.

If your company produces marketing materials, the files to be translated might be InDesign files, presentations in PowerPoint, not to mention the translation of the website developed in WordPress, Joomla or other CMS. To translate this content, language skills alone are not enough: someone must be able to separate and extract textual content from images or code. In addition, differences in length between one language and another will force a revision of the layout of all files intended for print or online viewing, such as a brochure made with InDesign or a presentation in PowerPoint.

Your internal resources may not necessarily know how to do this. Instead, if you hire an agency, they will have the technical knowledge and tools to translate and typeset any type of file.

6. Scalability

Another argument in favor of outsourcing translation services is scalability: in evaluating between outsourcing or tackling translations in-house, one must consider whether translation needs are constant over time or whether they are subject to fluctuations.

Having a dedicated in-house person, to be paid a fixed salary, makes sense if the volume of translations is constant throughout the year or if the person can alternate translations with other tasks (administrative or customer service, for example). But what happens if one month there are no documents to translate? Or if instead there are too many and the internal translator can't keep up?

The moment you rely on an agency, you pass these fluctuations on to them, paying only for what you request, with no fixed costs.

You can increase or decrease resources according to your organizational needs by hiring experienced freelance translators or contracting a translation agency when you need to translate large volumes of documents. This approach gives you the flexibility to deal with unstable business conditions without having to hire long-term employees.

7. Consistency of translations

One of the biggest challenges in outsourcing your translation projects is managing translation consistency. When you manage translation projects in-house, you have full control over text consistency. This can be a key advantage if consistency is an important part of your brand identity.

You can achieve the same level of consistency if you always rely on the same agency and if that agency uses client-specific glossaries and databases. If, on the other hand, you move from one agency to another without continuity, expect to live with the inevitable inconsistencies at the translation level.

Conclusion

Deciding between outsourcing translation projects or managing them in-house is not always an easy choice. Although outsourcing can help you scale when you need to translate large volumes of documents, it also presents a number of challenges, from cost management to project management. On the other hand, internal management of translation projects can help you control costs and maintain consistency. The choice between these two methods is often very contextual and depends on your goals and the resources available to you as an organization.