The Impact of the Coronavirus on Translations
Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is upending all industries. Businesses across the world have seen demand for services change and are struggling to adapt. Even in this uncertainty and rapidly changing situation, translation continues. As a client, what can you expect from your translators/translation agency at this time?
Working from Home Is Hard for Everyone – Be Flexible
The first thing to remember during this time is that almost everyone is working from home. Currently, more than a third of the world’s population is under some sort of lockdown. People aren’t leaving their homes except if they are an essential worker. This has greatly impacted businesses across the world and translation agencies are no exception. Project managers, quality assurance, web engineers, and more are all working on different equipment and in a different environment than they are used to. While translation agencies will try to deliver seamless service, there may be a hiccup here or there. For example, not everyone’s home internet is as fast as it is at the office so it may take longer to send projects and communicate via web calls and email. While most translators are used to working from home, slower internet speeds may slow down some of their work.
In addition, workers may face more distractions at home than at the office. People who are caring for children who are out of school may take longer to email you back – and they may not be able to sit on a three-hour conference call. Translation agencies and their workers are coming up with inventive ways to work more flexibly. Whether they start earlier and take more breaks to tend to children or encourage a weekly Zoom meeting with clients, companies are trying their best.
All this is to say that during these unprecedented times, clients may need to be slightly more flexible and patient than they would be otherwise. Rest assured, services will be back to normal soon. In the meantime, translation agencies will continue to try to provide their services as best they can.
Translators Aren’t Immune to Covid-19
During the pandemic, you may notice that your regular contacts aren’t servicing your translation projects. This may be due to a covid-19 diagnosis. It’s important to remember that this virus doesn’t discriminate – it can infect everyone, including a translator. If you notice a lag in response or different people responding to you, be patient. The employee or translator answering you is likely worried about their coworker and trying their best to help out.
Expect Longer Timelines for Non-Essential Jobs
Translation companies like Acutrans service a range of industries, including the medical sector. Because of covid-19, demands from most medical organizations has increased to help affected patients. Just because they are sick doesn’t mean that limited English proficiency (LEP) patients don’t have the right to services in their language. Thus, because of the urgency of many medical translations, translation agencies may prioritize those translation projects over others. Clients may see longer than normal turnaround times for legal, marketing, manufacturing, and financial translations. It’s not that translation agencies don’t want to translate these projects, it is that they are trying to do their part in the pandemic by helping hospitals and medical staff.
Know that Acutrans Is Here to Help
As an industry leader, Acutrans is staying ahead of the curve. We have added capacity across all the industries we service. Not only can we translate more, we can translate faster. In addition, Acutrans is waiving all rush fees for translation related to covid-19. We are in this together, and we believe it is unethical for companies to profit unfairly off of a pandemic. Acutrans is still using its industry-leading translation, editing, and proofreading (TEP) processes to deliver the highest quality translations. Plus, we continue to provide secure, HIPAA-compliant file-sharing for all documents. Pandemic or not, we still keep your information secure and translations accurate!
As an essential business, Acutrans is working tirelessly during the pandemic to help its customers. Acutrans is providing telephonic and video interpreting along with translations to ease the burden put on medical personnel. We are doing our part to help save lives and get the United States back on track. Reach out to Acutrans today to get your free quote for translation.