Interpretation is a process that requires a lot of effort and includes many elements. Incomplete or incorrect interpretation can cause the speaker's message to be misunderstood and put the target audience in a difficult position. Therefore, it is crucial to choose the best interpretation service provider.

To obtain quality interpreting services, it is important to analyze certain elements carefully before making a decision. So, how do you choose the best interpretation service provider? Let's explore 10 tips you should consider when selecting an interpretation service provider!

Effective Analysis to Choose the Interpretation Service Provider Most Suitable to Your Needs

1. Before choosing an interpretation service provider, check whether the provider you prefer has a corporate structure or not. You can get a first impression by examining the website. While examining the website, pay attention to the existence of a registered address as a workplace, the availability of a customer representative that you can reach, and the blog articles containing explanatory information.

2. Make sure that interpretation services are available in line with your needs and demands. What type of interpretation do you need? Simultaneous, remote consecutive, or liaison? Considering your needs will lead you to choose the right service provider, also. At this point, you need to find out which services are offered by a certain interpretation service provider by contacting its team.

3. Pay attention to the qualifications of interpreters with whom the service provider collaborates. Can you expect a professional solution from someone who does not speak a foreign language and is far from this profession? Of course, not! For this reason, make sure that the interpretation service provider and the interpreters have the necessary professional certificates, federation and/or association membership, and quality certificates. The competence of the team to be selected is the most important factor to be evaluated. Care should be taken to work with an interpretation service provider that ensures that interpreters are experienced and competent enough in their professions.

4. Ensure that the interpretation service provider can also offer localization services. To be successful, a service provider must understand its target market and not only interpret but localize speeches. Without localization, the interpretation may not deliver the message to your target audience. For example, a Brazilian Portuguese audience will need different messages or different terms than a European Portuguese audience. Preferring a service provider that employs foreign interpreters in your target audience to ensure the speech is appropriately localized is crucial to success.

5. Verify that the interpreting services being provided also have quality assurance processes. Whether you need simultaneous or consecutive interpreting, the interpreting and interpreters must be evaluated and checked before and during the event. For this process, we provide quality assurance through the interpreter recruitment process handled by our Vendor Managers and quality and performance checks by our Interpretation Coordinators. We regularly evaluate the performance of our interpreters and add interpreter evaluations to our Project Management System so that the whole team can make sure to work with the best interpreters we have each time.

6. Analyze the technologies and equipment used for different kinds of events. Digital technology makes a great contribution to the field of interpreting, as it does in many other fields. Find out which tools and equipment are used in the interpretation services and even talk to your service provider about what you need for an uninterrupted event.

7. Ask the service provider if they offer remote interpreting services or not. If you need remote interpretation services rather than on-site interpreting, it is very important to find out if this service is offered because some service providers only offer on-site services. Thus, you can make plans and have conversations in line with your needs.

8. Evaluate whether the interpreting service provider is working in accordance with international standards for interpreting services or not. A leading interpreting service provider is one that follows high-quality standards while complying with federal and state laws. The service provider you prefer should work on international standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services and laws pertaining to customer information. You should also ask the service provider if they have signed a confidentiality agreement to keep confidential information safe.

9. Consider the references of the interpreting service provider. You will never hesitate to work with a service provider that has references from well-established companies or reliable customer reviews. Institutions and organizations the interpreting service provider has worked for in the past or is still working for, as well as national or international projects it has completed, are all crucial indicators. It also proves that all the processes are completed in a hassle-free and fast manner.

10. When making your choice, don't forget that interpreting prices shouldn’t be the only criterion. Although the pricing policies of interpreting service providers provide important clues about their quality, care should be taken that this is not the only criterion. It is always best to learn more about the services and opportunities offered.

Other tips to look for in a potential interpreting service provider include:

• Availability: You should be able to communicate with the service provider in the best and fastest manner.

• Good knowledge of cultures and languages: Does the interpreter understand the culture of your audience, considering lifestyle, socioeconomic status, customs, speaking style, and education? Do they understand the cultural nuances? Just knowing the language is not enough to achieve quality. Understanding its structure and cultural elements is much more important.

• Experience: The interpretation team must have experience and knowledge to preserve the syntax and tone of the speech in line with your event.

• Hassle-free Processes: You should have a hassle-free experience by checking past reviews of a company or professional. Everyone you do business with should be able to provide you with previous work examples or positive feedback from other customers.

• Testimonials: Do extensive research and check what people who previously got interpreting services from this interpretation service provider before said about them.

• Prices and amenities: Great service will cost you a little more. This is because reputable interpretation service providers have invested significantly in gaining experience in the industry, obtaining valuable certifications, establishing a solid company structure, and assembling a team of highly educated specialists. They are committed to going above and beyond for their clients, providing exceptional value and service that sets them apart from other providers.

You can make the right choice by paying attention to the above-mentioned points.

At HeliCo, we strive to be a pioneering and leading interpretation service provider, growing every single day by adding new values, including language professionals who love their jobs, considering the same value on clients and employees, and prioritizing satisfaction in every regard. You may easily contact us to get further information on our interpreting services and take a new step with us!