Why open communication and collaboration lead to better translation outcomes

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” – Aristotle’s famous quote is as relevant and pertinent in the localisation industry as it is in any other field.

When strategists, marketers and sales teams work together with their translation providers in a collaborative way, they tend to achieve better localisation results. Why?

Because when knowledge is shared across the entire supply chain, everyone can work towards a well-defined shared goal. Even though your translation providers might be external partners, you should treat them just like any other team in your organisation.

Don’t leave your translation provider in the dark about what you are trying to achieve with localisation (strategic goals), who you are trying to reach (buyer personas) and how you want to come across (style guide). Be open, share your knowledge and your goals. Be brave and let content creators interact with translators.

Encourage people to get together, to discuss, to debate and to ideate – that’s when the magic starts to happen.

If you’d like to read more about this topic, you might be interested in our article about the importance of a team culture within the supply and why it matters to translation buyers.