Principle 2: Communication
Effective communication is what allows you and your LSP to stay on the same page. In a context of everyday collaboration, that means making sure your people and your dedicated LSP team maintain an ongoing and open dialogue so that each party’s needs and requirements are stated and understood. Here are some tips on how to encourage constructive communication and reasons why it helps you.
An organizational chart is a very useful tool
For an optimal partnership with your LSP, ask for a detailed organizational chart indicating the contact information, roles and responsibilities of the team of professionals dedicated to your organization. This way, your project managers can easily reach the right person in any situation, be it coordinating an urgent project or getting back to a translator about the exact meaning of a passage of text. An organizational chart is indispensable to maintaining productive and courteous relations and, ultimately, the quality of service you receive.
Simplicity
Quality
Speed
Leverage a follow-up plan to know who contacts whom and when
If you want to closely supervise the relationship with your LSP, ask for a simple and customized follow‑up process. This will give you a schedule for communications between your translation requesters and their LSP contacts. In addition to discussing day‑to‑day management, they can address issues affecting the quality and efficiency of the services and your partnership. Your LSP can draft a detailed summary of each meeting and provide reports according to your chosen parameters and frequency. What’s more, a client portal will facilitate the active monitoring of your current or past projects, as well as deadline and cost management.
Savings
Simplicity
Compliance
Security
Regular reminders come in handy
To ensure your procedures are followed, regularly remind your translation requesters and managers—especially new hires—of the importance of observing the partnership framework and processes. This will encourage them to immediately refer any concerns or questions to an LSP expert instead of wrestling with decisions on their own, and prevent them from making mistakes because they have forgotten or do not know how to proceed. Perceived problems can be swiftly addressed by asking your LSP for explanations, so you can get the full picture and avoid unnecessary disputes or misunderstandings. Should a real problem arise, you also have instant access to the professionals who are in the best position to promptly find a solution to ensure you are completely satisfied.
