credibility of translation agencies

How to check the credibility of translation companies?


Before collaborating for the first time with a translation agency, freelance translators may need to check its reputation in terms of payment. They need to check the credibility of translation companies as a first step in any translation project. Unfortunately, many translators report the failure of some companies to pay them. To avoid similar situations, a freelance translator would contact his/her colleagues who had worked for the same company to make sure they got paid. For this reason, some websites invite freelance translators to share their feedback about their work experience, be it positive or negative.

In a globalized world, it is not necessary to know personally translators who worked for a translation company. There are websites that enable translators worldwide to share their experiences and post their comments about companies they worked with. Freelance translators only have to type the name of the company to work for in order to get other translators’ opinion and evaluation.

Here is a list of some websites that can be used to check the credibility of translation companies based on other translators’ experience:

Proz BlueBoard:

It is a searchable database that records the feedback of translators on translation companies they worked with. To do so, translators can enter a number between 1 and 5 referring to their likelihood of working again (LWA) with that company. They can add a comment to explain or justify their rating. When a translator is not ready to work again with the company, his/her LWA feedback rating is 1 or 2. The numbers 3, 4, and 5 show the translator’s satisfaction and readiness to work again with the same translation company.

Proz business members (translation companies and agencies) care about the feedback of translators. The low rating given by translators on Proz can adversely affect the reputation of translation companies. Proz can prevent a company from using its services if two non-payment complaints about the same company were posted. In this regard, Proz bans this company from posting jobs and displays a banning message on its page. You only have to type the name of the company to get ratings of other translators.

Proz forums:

In these forums, translators can ask about companies that do not appear on the BlueBoard. In these forums, translators express their opinions based on their own experience.
Hall of Fame and Shame in TranslatorsCafé: Translators can look for other translators’ feedback about companies with which they had worked. They only have to search for the name of the company in its forums to read others’ opinions if available.

Glassdoor:

After signing up for this website, translators can read in ‘Company Reviews’ others’ comments following their experience with particular companies. I find this website very useful since translators describe their positive or negative work experience. These reviews help translators to make a decision about their willingness to work with such companies.

Indeed:

By clicking ‘Company Reviews’, translators can evaluate their experience with the different translation companies. They share their viewpoint on the basis of their own experience.

TRADUguide:

This website also provides a review platform to evaluate translation companies. Translators have to enter the name of the country where the company is located to find the company they are looking for. In case a translator did not find the name of the company he is looking for, the website invites him to provide his own rating about the company he had worked for.

Translation agencies – good, bad, and cheap LinkedIn group:

Discussions on the credibility of particular translation companies can also be held in translation industry forums and Facebook groups that bring together translators. An example is Translation agencies – good, bad, and cheap LinkedIn group. Translators post their questions on these forums to get an idea about a company. In some cases, translators would not think about rating the companies they worked with until a question is posted about them in a forum. Therefore, forums are as important as other platforms dedicated to rating companies.

Hence, all these websites, among others, enable translators to share their positive and negative work experiences with translation companies. Rather than taking the risk of dealing with a company for the first time, these websites save the time of translators by collecting the reviews and feedback of freelance translators worldwide.

If you know other websites that have the same objective, you can add them to this list in the comment box below.


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