ProZ.com translation teams - feedback needed
Thread poster: Monika Rozwarzewska
Monika Rozwarzewska
Monika Rozwarzewska  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:37
Member (2006)
English to Polish
+ ...
Sep 7, 2011

Have you tried this ProZ option? Can you share your thoughts and experiences?

 
David Wright
David Wright  Identity Verified
Austria
Local time: 06:37
German to English
+ ...
While I've heard about it Sep 7, 2011

I have no idea what it is or how to go about finding out what it is, and even less how to actually set it up etc. Perhaps igorance is bliss, but the idea of a translation team does sound vaguely attractive.

Tell us more!


 
Attila Piróth
Attila Piróth  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 06:37
Member
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Positive experience Sep 7, 2011

Hi Monika,

I used ProZ's team option to set up the Solidarités team, probably the largest team on the site, with over 100 members. Similarly to Translators Without Borders, our team provides pro bono lingusitic aid (EnFr) to a humanitarian organization. But an equally important second aim of the team is to provide a networking opportunity for translators – which goes well beyond just
... See more
Hi Monika,

I used ProZ's team option to set up the Solidarités team, probably the largest team on the site, with over 100 members. Similarly to Translators Without Borders, our team provides pro bono lingusitic aid (EnFr) to a humanitarian organization. But an equally important second aim of the team is to provide a networking opportunity for translators – which goes well beyond just working on similar projects. Translators discuss all relevant issues with the revisors and the other translators involved in the project, a strong emphasis is laid on terminology discussions, etc.

The infrastructure made available by ProZ is quite useful: you can create a private forum for the team and post private KudoZ questions (visible only to team members, and of course ProZ staff). The competitive part of KudoZ is completely missing (and hence there is much less friction). Likewise, I particularly like the friendly and collaborative atmosphere that a private forum with 100 users can have.

Much more info on our team is available in a video recorded for ProZ's virtual conference last year: Pro bono work – dos and don'ts. (AFAIK, the video is free of charge for those who registered for the virtual conference.)

Best,
Attila
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Lucia Leszinsky
Lucia Leszinsky
SITE STAFF
ProZ.com teams represent a great opportunity to network and expand your business Sep 7, 2011

Hello all,

As Attila points out, building a strong translation team at ProZ.com is an excellent way to network with colleagues, exchange ideas and receive support from other professional translators, not to mention that it is an effective way to expand the list of services you are able to offer to clients.

If you create a ProZ.com team with colleagues, or you join an already existing team, you will be able to act as a single entity with other team members, quoting on jo
... See more
Hello all,

As Attila points out, building a strong translation team at ProZ.com is an excellent way to network with colleagues, exchange ideas and receive support from other professional translators, not to mention that it is an effective way to expand the list of services you are able to offer to clients.

If you create a ProZ.com team with colleagues, or you join an already existing team, you will be able to act as a single entity with other team members, quoting on jobs, setting rates and collaborating on projects. ProZ.com members who create a team are given special access to a workspace in which they can communicate with other team members through a private forum, share files and ask and answer KudoZ questions to team members privately.

If you are interested in creating a team, just visit http://www.proz.com/?sp=team/home&sp_mode=createteam . Remember that only ProZ.com members can create teams at ProZ.com.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Lucia
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Monika Rozwarzewska
Monika Rozwarzewska  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:37
Member (2006)
English to Polish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
my team Sep 7, 2011

I did create a team with my colleague (we have different fields of expertise so we thought together we could do more) and we wonder how to make best use of it. Do you send quotes as a team? How is it perceived by clients? What's the best way to do it?

 
Raúl Casanova
Raúl Casanova  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 02:37
English to Spanish
In memoriam
A very rewarding experience Sep 8, 2011

Being myself a member of Southwards (http://www.proz.com/teams/1319) I can comment from my own experience that it is a very rewarding one. Our small team covers a wide range of ages, backgrounds, views and areas of expertise, which complement each other for general benefit.
For those of us working in the same language pair, it has the obvious advantage of increased capacity to take on larger project
... See more
Being myself a member of Southwards (http://www.proz.com/teams/1319) I can comment from my own experience that it is a very rewarding one. Our small team covers a wide range of ages, backgrounds, views and areas of expertise, which complement each other for general benefit.
For those of us working in the same language pair, it has the obvious advantage of increased capacity to take on larger projects. Even with different specialties, we can complement each other's capabilities and because of synergy, we get a combined capacity which is greater than the sum of the individual ones.
But the benefits are not limited to an increase in capacity, they also include a big quality improvement. A highly technical subject like a patent application, can benefit from both the technical mind of a translator and the legal mind of a lawyer acting as the editor. Examples could be countless. Cooperation is enhanced by asking/answering queries in the private Forum, and it can be also a good place for brainstorming when facing confuse or poorly written source texts. And as time goes by, we have developed an invaluable sense of friendship and mutual trust.
While this post reflects strictly my personal opinion, I am pretty sure other team members will share myfeelings.
Best,
Raúl
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Lucia Leszinsky
Lucia Leszinsky
SITE STAFF
"This quote is on behalf of" option Sep 8, 2011

Hi Monika,

Monika Rozwarzewska wrote:

I did create a team with my colleague (we have different fields of expertise so we thought together we could do more) and we wonder how to make best use of it. Do you send quotes as a team? How is it perceived by clients? What's the best way to do it?


Glad to know that you are also taking advantage of working as part of a team!

When submitting a quote for a job, click on "Use the old form" at the top of the job quoting form. This will take you to the old version of the quoting form containing the option "This quote is on behalf of" > "Myself" or "My team".

Eventually, this option may also be added to the new version of the job quoting form.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Lucia


 
Parrot
Parrot  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 06:37
Spanish to English
+ ...
A calling card/troubleshooting resource for a specific language Sep 8, 2011

I have a second mother language (actually, an A'') which I usually, but not always, refer to colleagues. To facilitate referrals, I set up "Tagalog on Target" (ToT), which came to cover all the working hours of a 24-hour cycle. Meaning, that if the client was in a hurry, he could latch on to his most convenient choice among my teammates. It also has the added advantage of being able to cover many minority combinations in that target without having to pass through a pivot language (such as Englis... See more
I have a second mother language (actually, an A'') which I usually, but not always, refer to colleagues. To facilitate referrals, I set up "Tagalog on Target" (ToT), which came to cover all the working hours of a 24-hour cycle. Meaning, that if the client was in a hurry, he could latch on to his most convenient choice among my teammates. It also has the added advantage of being able to cover many minority combinations in that target without having to pass through a pivot language (such as English, which is a common practice that causes a certain amount of distortion), and since one of us is actually an agency specialising in Philippine languages and dialects, we also provide service for the microcosmos of that particular universe.

In short, it's really hard to define what teams have to offer. I believe they should sort of write their own job descriptions and bring into the job what each member/team uniquely has.
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ProZ.com translation teams - feedback needed







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