Good news: Agencies and translation tendering (EU) Thread poster: septima
|
|---|
Amid all the gloom and doom, I’d like to report a piece of what, I believe, could be good news for the embattled freelance translator. I can only hope it will become a general trend.
Like others here, I’ve been asked many a time by agencies to “take part” in tenders. I’m pretty well qualified and I only work into my native tongue, so I’m good fodder for “their teams” when they bid on something. I usually go along with this charade if they’re reliable long-term clie... See more Amid all the gloom and doom, I’d like to report a piece of what, I believe, could be good news for the embattled freelance translator. I can only hope it will become a general trend.
Like others here, I’ve been asked many a time by agencies to “take part” in tenders. I’m pretty well qualified and I only work into my native tongue, so I’m good fodder for “their teams” when they bid on something. I usually go along with this charade if they’re reliable long-term clients, and send off my CV, certificates, declaration etc., knowing full well from past experience that even if they win the tender they’ll mostly farm it out to their cheap and cheerful galley slaves. Not a big deal, though, because I do pick up the odd job from the tenders here and there, and I reconcile myself to the fact that:
a) at least I helped win the tender for a reputable agency I work with, not some MT-peddler I’d never go near, and
b) keeping those galley slaves at the oars only increases my leverage with the agency when projects that need me do arise.
Now here comes the good news. Not long ago I helped an agency win an important tender for an EU institution. And good money too, I believe. As usual I expected to see precious little of it.
But what do I see coming along with a translation last week? – A personalized PDF declaration that I, septima, was the creator of the translation etc. To be signed and dated and handed over with my work.
Finally, a contracting authority had gotten wise to what the freelance translator has known for so long.
So I did the (difficult) job with gladness in my heart, and not without a little pride, knowing that it would actually be known this time who’d done it – well, for what little that’s worth in this monstrous translation mill.
It’s a small step for the big institutions and companies behind these tenders, but, for my two cents, a giant leap for the freelance translator. It simultaneously gives the contracting entity assurance they’re getting what they’ve been promised, gives the “team members” their due, and makes the translators themselves more accountable in what otherwise can be a huge, anonymous project. And it's such a simple move - took me 10 minutes in extra admin.
I think they may have got the idea from a sandwich company here, who boosted their quality and sales by putting the factory sandwich-maker’s name on the front of the pack 
So, anyone feel like there could be a downside? I always sense there must be one waiting in the wings somewhere, but at the moment this approach seems like win-win-win to me, and I’m hoping more tenders will come with the same, individualized, conditions attached.
s ▲ Collapse
| | | | Shai Navé 
Israel
Local time: 06:37
English to Hebrew
+ ...
| Not to rain on your parade | Feb 19, 2013 |
But what is so reputable in an agency that wins a tender by using one person's credentials and then send the actual work to another?
About a downside, every process/procedure could be abused, some more easily than others. Eventually, it all comes down to people and their ethics, professionalism and moral, i.e. if someone really wants to abuse a process they will very likely be able to do so.
In this case, what is preventing one from forging the "qualified" translator's approva... See more But what is so reputable in an agency that wins a tender by using one person's credentials and then send the actual work to another?
About a downside, every process/procedure could be abused, some more easily than others. Eventually, it all comes down to people and their ethics, professionalism and moral, i.e. if someone really wants to abuse a process they will very likely be able to do so.
In this case, what is preventing one from forging the "qualified" translator's approval? After-all, from a morality perspective it is not any different from using one's credentials to win a project and then send it to someone else, albeit legally more hazardous.
Secondly, they could send one a certain part of the won project with the declaration to be signed, while assigning the other, or future, parts of the project to someone else.
[Edited at 2013-02-19 08:02 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | septima
Local time: 05:37
TOPIC STARTER | Upside v Downside | Feb 19, 2013 |
Shai Nave wrote:
But what is so reputable in an agency that wins a tender by using one person's credentials and then send the actual work to another?
Yes, true, I guess I have a pretty low opinion of agencies overall, because for me the reputable ones are simply those who (I think) wouldn't stoop to outright forgery and fraud, as you mention. Also the ones who (I think) don't try to pass off edited MT as intelligent translation, that kind of thing.
To be fair, though, agencies are obviously going to present their best "assets" in their tenders. It shows what they can potentially do. But then if the contracting entity places too much emphasis on price, and the price gets squeezed down, and those "best assets" won't work at that rate, inevitably the agency will start scanning the ranks of fresh slaves. There's a larger, systemic problem here that agencies perpetuate, but didn't create. Not long ago I saw a tender from a major government agency dealing with complex international legal issues - and the sole criterion was: Price. I mean, imagine, that's just a limbo pole...
Anyway, as regards that downside - dunno. I limit myself to the, let's say, quasi-reputable agencies. The fact I've been sent this certificate indicates that this one, at least, is playing by the rules to some extent. And the institution concerned isn't stupid, they have people reading this stuff at the other end, and I dare say they would notice the difference if "my" style suddenly changed, like I'd fallen on my head or something. Under the contract, they actually have the right to check too.
So, while bearing in mind your quite correctly noted downside, I still think the upside of the... hmm... de-anonymization process... keeps this news on the positive side.
But am I the only person who's received such a form to sign then??
| | | | | Tenders? No thank you! | Feb 19, 2013 |
It might be just me, but an agency completely unknown to me that approaches me out of the blue to help them with their tender almost automatically ends up on my shitlist.
| | |
|
|
|
Wolfgang Jörissen wrote:
It might be just me, but an agency completely unknown to me that approaches me out of the blue to help them with their tender almost automatically ends up on my shitlist.
Same here, although I do not have a shitlist, and instead use what we in Spain call the "vertical filing system" (the dustbin).
| | | | septima
Local time: 05:37
TOPIC STARTER
Wolfgang Jörissen wrote:
It might be just me, but an agency completely unknown to me that approaches me out of the blue to help them with their tender almost automatically ends up on my shitlist.
I completely agree. But maybe you guys didn't actually read what I wrote [?]
I usually go along with this charade if they’re reliable long-term clients...
More importantly, precisely what I'm saying is that if contracting entities forced agencies to get these signed declarations from their freelance translators after tenders, this would restrict the sort of behavior we're all against here - i.e. approaching translators out of the blue to help them with their tender...and then not actually using their services.
| | | | Tatty
Local time: 05:37
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Definately sounds good | Feb 20, 2013 |
I've only done a couple of translations that were supposedly headed towards the EU, and what I noticed was that they were difficult. And they took me longer than I would usually take. That's why I'm not particularly interested in them.
Last year I was told that it is possible to freelance directly for the EU. You have to take a test and then they put you on a list and send you work. But I don't know how much they pay. For interpreting for instance there are set rates. This way, you... See more I've only done a couple of translations that were supposedly headed towards the EU, and what I noticed was that they were difficult. And they took me longer than I would usually take. That's why I'm not particularly interested in them.
Last year I was told that it is possible to freelance directly for the EU. You have to take a test and then they put you on a list and send you work. But I don't know how much they pay. For interpreting for instance there are set rates. This way, you could dodge the agency altogether. ▲ Collapse
| | | |
Tatty wrote:
... and what I noticed was that they were difficult. And they took me longer than I would usually take.
I do both English and German into Dutch, and I can confirm they are difficult, incredibly difficult (for no good reason, I think). The first few EU documents took me about twice as long as regular translations, and only since I know how I can benefit optimally from the DGT it's a bit more acceptable.
Cheers,
Hans
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Good news: Agencies and translation tendering (EU) | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
| | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
