| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you outsource work to fellow translators? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you outsource work to fellow translators?".
This poll was originally submitted by Katja Schoone. View the poll results »
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To my wife. She works in my reverse language pair, but refuses to do any of her own marketing.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 12:43
Spanish to English
+ ...
I may sometimes pass work on, but usually only when I can't handle it all myself, or if I don't fancy the job for some reason. Or if a colleagues has asked me to do so.
However, if the query refers to taking on work from all sides then outsourcing it to other translators and taking a cut, I leave that up to the agencies.
[Edited at 2015-01-19 09:37 GMT]
| | | | Tim Drayton 
Cyprus
Local time: 13:43
Turkish to English
+ ...
My motto could be summed up as: "Neither an employee nor an employer be ." I simply market the fruits of my own labour.
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Rolf Kern
Switzerland
Local time: 12:43
English to German
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In memoriam
But it can happen that in a technical text there is a difficult legal part, that I will give to a translator colleague who is a lawyer. This is generally free of charge, if the volume is not a lot of paragraphs. Vice versa for him to send me technical parts in a legal document.
| | | | Rita Utt
France
Local time: 12:43
English to German
+ ...
No I rather build a team, or just ask people to contact my collegues.
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I got in big trouble doing that about 15 years ago - lost my best client. I'd been working with a financial counselor who urged me to build my business. I listened to him instead of my conscience.
I agreed with my colleague that I would review her work and charge 2 cents a word, which meant that she collected 2 cents less than I did. In fact, the work was sloppy and I ended up losing time and money. Still, she complained to the end client that I had cheated her.
I lear... See more I got in big trouble doing that about 15 years ago - lost my best client. I'd been working with a financial counselor who urged me to build my business. I listened to him instead of my conscience.
I agreed with my colleague that I would review her work and charge 2 cents a word, which meant that she collected 2 cents less than I did. In fact, the work was sloppy and I ended up losing time and money. Still, she complained to the end client that I had cheated her.
I learned my lesson: never again! I don't want to be responsible for anybody's work but my own. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | This poll might have been better | Jan 19, 2015 |
if there had been the option "Used to".
It was profitable but I have always found it incredibly difficult to accept other people's way of writing/translating even if it isn't flawed as such.
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If the job is outside my turf - i.e. other languages, technical areas/subjects I don't serve - I refer the client to some colleague I know as thoroughly reliable to do it, wish them all good luck, and step out of the picture. No finder's fee, ever!
If I am overloaded already, and the client needs it faster than I could possibly deliver, I follow the same procedure.
A relatively frequent case is when I'm asked to translate and subtitle one same video into several languag... See more If the job is outside my turf - i.e. other languages, technical areas/subjects I don't serve - I refer the client to some colleague I know as thoroughly reliable to do it, wish them all good luck, and step out of the picture. No finder's fee, ever!
If I am overloaded already, and the client needs it faster than I could possibly deliver, I follow the same procedure.
A relatively frequent case is when I'm asked to translate and subtitle one same video into several languages. I have a few carefully selected colleagues who do it reliably for the most commonly requested languages that I don't serve. Depending on each one's availability, we decide on who will do the time-spotting. I usually end up doing the subtitle burning for all languages, so the output will be uniform.
On the other hand, I am a member of the "emergency team" of several colleagues who now and then bite more than they can chew, and split jobs among fellow translators they know they can count on. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Nigel Greenwood (X)
Spain
Local time: 12:43
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Only when really necessary | Jan 19, 2015 |
neilmac wrote:
I may sometimes pass work on, but usually only when I can't handle it all myself, or if I don't fancy the job for some reason. Or if a colleagues has asked me to do so.
However, if the query refers to taking on work from all sides then outsourcing it to other translators and taking a cut, I leave that up to the agencies.
[Edited at 2015-01-19 09:37 GMT]
Sometimes I find myself obliged to request the help of a colleague. Usually the same one, who I have had the opportunity of working with and never had a bad experience.
Regards to all,
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Not for translation (my clients have their own lists of translators), but for proofreading once in a while, when a client asks for an external proofreader. That has always worked out fine.
| | | | Erzsébet Czopyk
Hungary
Local time: 12:43
Member (2006)
Russian to Hungarian
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SITE LOCALIZER | there was no such option | Jan 19, 2015 |
Yetta J Bogarde wrote:
Not for translation (my clients have their own lists of translators), but for proofreading once in a while, when a client asks for an external proofreader. That has always worked out fine.
I work both a s a freelancer and ÍI run a small translation office. On one hand, of course I do my work in my main pairs by myself. But after a sadexperince I never do anything related to accountancy (balances), this is - even in Hungarian - seems to me "written in Chinese" (dear colleagues, this a Hungarian saying so please do not find it offensive!)
On the other hand, sometimes I share my work with experienced colleagues and mother tongue proofreaders. And, of course as an office, I regularly offer jobs to my fellow colleagues-freelancers.
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| Not outsourcing | Jan 19, 2015 |
I have a trusted colleague I work with, but I don't outsource anything.
I guess the feeling is pretty much unanimous: most of you have described exactly what I think of outsourcing — even though I've never had any bad experiences before (having never tried it myself).
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Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:
I don't want to be responsible for anybody's work but my own.
100% agree
| | | | Steffen Walter
Germany
Local time: 12:43
Member (2002)
English to German
+ ...
| Yes, but ... | Jan 19, 2015 |
... only to a very limited extent (i.e. occasionally) to one of only a few trusted colleagues (depending on the field/specialty), for instance in projects that involve more than just a single language combination.
Another example are interpreting assignments where the conference organiser is my (direct) client. In that case, I outsource to my trusted boothmate whilst invoicing the full amount to the client.
Kind regards,
Steffen
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