Ten pointers for ensuring that translation isn’t an afterthought

This post draws closely on a topic that I addressed in my presentation to the ASTTIASTTI is the Swiss professional association for translators, terminologist and interpreters. I knew of the association before I attended its Financial Translation Summer Conference in Spiez in July 2024, but that event was my first experience of its events. More Financial Translation Summer Conference in Spiez in July 2026.

From my experience, “translation as an afterthought” is often due to historic workflows. Previously, external translators were only involved when an entire publication had already been finalised to reduce perceived costs (e.g. by reducing the need to retranslate chapters or articles). Where multiple language versions are required, translation is a central part of the publication process. As a freelancer, one customer used my English translation as a “pivot” for subsequent translations. It was due to having separate marketing divisions in various country entities and a lack of DE>XX translators.

For one sales-related document, I even had to produce two versions: one that was the translation of the German and then a marked-up version to highlight areas that might potentially change in certain local markets (e.g. one market only sold two out of the three product groups (it didn’t sell a legacy product group due to all systems using the other product groups).

I have translated a lot of publications in-house. In some cases, I translated a finished publication. The translation need/requirement had only been identified after publication of the German version. In many cases, however, I have ensured that I have been involved from early on in the production process. The reasons aren’t just about reducing the lag between the publication in German and the English translation. However, it is still not an automatic process to involve translators from the outset. Involving a translator at a kick-off meeting can really help smooth the production process. I’ve tried to compile a list of points for translators to address at such meetings.

Points for translators to raise at kick-off meetings

There are two possibilities for the translation output: either the translation is intended to more or less exactly reproduce the original, or it will be more of a transcreation for a specific target market. Identifying the need at the outset can massively steer the whole translation / transcreation process (and may also impact the timeline considerably). And if you are the representative of all the translators being used, make sure all others receive this information – and they in turn are ready and in place, rather than a downstream afterthought once the “lead” translation has been (nearly) completed.

Who does what and where…

1. Define your role exactly. Set out your stall and state who you will need access to. Some translators offer to deliver in specific formats, but you shouldn’t be expected to also handle layout issues unless you offer this. In the era of hybridisation, layout as a value-added skill is a genuine consideration. But doing this needs you to be at the top of your game with the software used. A gradual learning on the job option is not really an option (it might result in substantial outlay for training in addition to software licence costs). Ensure that you have a named contact for the publication, who handles timings and deadlines.
2. Determine whether it is a new publication or a new edition of an existing publication: where a translation of the previous version exists, request an opportunity to review it with the authors (or at least the parts being retained in the new version). This is particularly important if the original authors are no longer involved.
3. Define where the publication is centrally stored: most translators have tales of woe about the e-mail of the “final final final version” of an attachment that they missed, or the mail that didn’t get passed on as the colleague was on holiday or ill. Having files stored centrally, with mail alerts that new versions have been added can eliminate “Outlook risk” (other mail programmes also exist…) If you are working with external translators in specific language combinations, make sure that they are also able to access centrally stored files and resources.

Timing and terminology for translation

4. Define the timelines, and ensure that translation is a central part of them: determine when texts will be stable enough for translation. In addition set hard deadlines after which no changes will be accepted. Also check what level of involvement you are expected to have at editorial meetings (try to ensure your involvement where needed, but not attending for longer than is necessary). Ensure that you are also involved in the design timeline (especially for graphically-intensive publications. Using versioning of chapters can prove very useful – e.g. translation only starts after stable version 2, rather than with the first version of a chapter. Make sure that you educate the publication team about available translation capacity, about the risks associated with shortcuts (e.g. a chapter being submitted late with an attached Machine Translation for revision). Impress upon them the need to ensure document coherency.
5. Agree on the terminology to be used (and avoided): historic publications may contain the wrong terminology – especially if there have been changes made in the primary and secondary legislative texts. Terminology should not just be a translation issue, but also apply to the original version. When agreeing on terminology to use in translation, use a block list approach (i.e. terms that are not to be used) to avoid using incorrect terminology. Many terminology tools allow the CAT tool to perform QAQuality assurance (QA) tools in Trados can be used for example to check that the terminology used corresponds to that in a Termbase. More routines to flag incorrect terminology.
6. Clarify what available resources can be used: bilingual authoritative texts of EU Directives and Regulations may be used for terminology work, or alignments of specific parts that are due to appear verbatim from them. If the initial version has been written by translating the original authoritative English version of a source text, ensure that the English is available. All sources quoted in footnotes and possibly paraphrased should be stored centrally in their original form – especially resources available online that my not be online permanently (e.g. texts from ministry websites that are prone to archive older content).

Handling headings, graphics and footnotes

7. Agree on how to handle figures, charts, tables, boxes and footnotes. They can often take up more time than expected – especially if inserted in non-editable formats. In a number of iterative publications (i.e. annual reports where some parts remain widely similar from one year to another), by the second time round, I ensure that figures are translated when the German version is produced. I work directly with the analyst drawing up the data.
8. Establish rules for lengths of headings, sections, character counts of individual parts. This can be particularly important when the publication is going to be laid out (e.g. in InDesign). I often do a final check of the proofs, and may amend text lengths to remove unfortunately run-ons and orphan lines. In the event that there is a difference in “language length” i.e. German is typically longer than English, make sure you have agreements for covering length issues.
9. Handling non-roman alphabet languages and right-to-left languages. If you have to deal with non-roman alphabet languages or right-to-left languages, you may have additional challenges regarding layout work, and graphical elements. Ensure that you have additional time set aside for layout work in these languages, and that your layouter(s) are familiar with special requirements (see point 4).

And when all is said and done, and the project completed…

10. Have a brief debrief – possibly in the form of a SMART retroA SMART retro is a reflection performed at the end of a project that looks at finding metrics that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. More: even if everything goes to plan, you will still always find potential ways to improve the process.

Metrics for in-house language services to consider

• Timely involvement of internal translators?
• Were NDAs already in place with any external translators used?
• Could all translations be delivered on time? (Realistic expectations?)
• Were problems identified in any language combination?
• Can new templates be created for reuse in future procedures?
• How much time was spent clarifying issues rather than translating?
• What resources (e.g. specific legislation, terminology etc.) should be proactively prepared for future use?

If you work with freelancers, make sure you get their feedback too, invite their comments on:

• Was the project scope clear from the start? (Files complete, terminology provided, expectations aligned, no hidden tasks.)
• How much time was spent on translation vs. clarifications vs. admin? (A strong indicator of profitability and whether the client provides usable input.)
• Were deadlines realistic and met without overtime? (Helps assess planning accuracy and client reliability.)
• Were there terminology or subject-matter challenges that slowed the process? (Useful for identifying training needs or deciding whether to specialize further.)
• Did communication with the client support or hinder progress? (Response times, clarity, availability for questions.)
• What reusable assets can be created or improved? (Glossaries, TMsA database of translation units (TUs) in a computer-assisted translation (CAT) tool. More, templates, style guides i.e. future time-savers.)
• Were administrative elements smooth? (Contracts/NDAs ready, invoicing straightforward, payment on time.)

These last points can be particularly useful for escaping a “we’ve always done it this way” approach. I’m very aware that you can become operationally blinkered if it is a case of “the same procedure as every year!“The same procedure as every year!” is taken from the film “Dinner for One” – a perennial New Year’s Eve staple of linear programming in the German speaking world. For a transcript, check out: https://www.ndr.de/kultur/dinner_for_one/Dinner-for-One-Der-Original-Text-zum-Sketch-auf-Englisch,dinner14.html More” A retro for the freelancers you work with can be particularly useful if you are looking to build up steady working relationships with them. I have deliberately couched the questions for freelancers in a way to identify shortcomings in the internal process that we might have overlooked.