5 critical stages of a traditional translation workflow (2023)

The world is rapidly shrinking. AI is making waves in our day-to-day lives. If you’re sitting in 2023 and want to translate a casual text for personal use, it’s easy with ChatGPT, Google Bard, and various other tools. Just copy that text and paste it into your preferred free translation tool. Choose your desired language, and here you go. 

But wait a minute? Can you do the same for your mission-critical content in the context of your global operations? Accuracy plays a vital role in business settings and you can’t trust the highly capable but not-so-perfect AI tools for that. 

What you need is a more systematic and sophisticated translation workflow if quality translation is what you want for your business. It’s a proven approach many successful companies follow for the translation of their bulk content.

What exactly is a translation workflow

I always prefer starting with the most basic things first. So, let’s just have a quick look at what translation workflow actually is. 

Translation workflow is a multi-step process that covers how translation tasks are managed from beginning to end. It includes different phases that range from content preparation, translation, and all the way to final delivery. 

The length of the translation workflow varies based on the comprehensiveness of your translation project as well as on the number of professionals taking part in the process. Since things can get complex and challenging, most businesses use a   translation workflow management system to make their life easy.

Important phases of a translation workflow  

The translation workflow can involve as few as only steps: translation and publication. It may also include six or more steps, all depending on the specific project requirements and the service provider working on your project.

Our focus in this blog is to describe the 5 most important stages a traditional translation workflow encompasses. So, let’s begin.

Stage 1: Pre-translation

In this stage, you prepare your content for the actual translation work. For this, you’ll have to define your project scope and identify the target language (TL). Be clear about what you need to translate, whether they are blog posts, product descriptions, or your complete website. And what market you need to translate them for.

Similarly, ask yourself whether you’ve prepared a style guide that will inform your translation provider about your brand’s unique tone. Or will let the translation teams know of the best text formatting practices they need to follow. 

Are there any sections that should never be translated? Have you highlighted them in your content? Have you created a priority list for different documents like which ones need to be translated first? You see a lot of hassle is involved even before sending the documents for actual translation. To keep your language service provider (LSP) on the same page and deliver them the right information, it’s best you task assistance from different tools such as Trello cards. It would be even better if you could invest in localization management software to manage things with your partner at a deeper level. 

Stage 2: Sending documents for translation

The next phase is sending your documents to the linguistic agency for the purpose of translation. They would review the document to ensure it’s within their area of expertise. Moreover, the translation company of your partner will verify they have received all the necessary details from your end such as the style guide, formatting type, glossary list, etc. You will also get to know the expected timelines and associated costs for your translation project.

Stage 3: Performing the translation work

The next step is where the actual translation work begins. From here on you focus on your business activities as usual until the translation company sends you the translated document.

Talking about the translation, it tends to be quite complex especially if there are multiple languages involved. It’s the responsibility of your LSP to engage everyone from project managers and translators to proofreaders, editors, account managers, and others involved. They might be using an enterprise translation management system to keep tabs on all tasks and make collaboration seamless. 

Stage 4: Receiving the translated content

In this stage, your files return back to you after translation. Your translated files will be edited, proofread, and have the same formatting you instructed. Just be clear about who will be returning your translation, at what time, and through which medium. Track this for every language you send your documents for the translation job.

Stage 5: Post-translation

In this phase, you can put your translated content to use. You should be already clear about the fact that how your content will be published or distributed. However, be sure to not edit or change the translated files. Because if you do so, it can alter the meaning of your message. 

Concluding remarks

In this post, we discussed what a translation workflow is and the different phases it involves. Although this workflow can vary based on different project needs, most translation projects will follow the same. Next time you’re planning to get your documents translated, be aware of the whole procedure your documents will go through. The careful navigation of each step will help ensure you get quality translation toward the end