Once a year we meet with the key figures of our Translation department at various venues in Berlin: our international team of translators. The kothes translators’ meeting in Berlin has become a permanent feature of our schedule and took place this year at the Wild Wedding Loft. Discussions during these meetings focus on technological innovations, organisational information and changes to processes.
This year the event consisted of three parts. During the first part, our translators were able to learn more about handling the most important tool of their trade: translation software, also known as a CAT tool. A live presentation demonstrated functions using practical examples. This training allowed all our translators to build upon their CAT tool skills, learn about advanced functions, ask questions and provide feedback to our translation managers.
Next, we presented our LQA process, which is used to assure the quality of translations in all target languages. LQA (Language Quality Assurance) is used at kothes to assess translations and is based on specific, pre-defined test criteria. With the aid of this model we measure and evaluate translation quality on a continuous basis. Objectivity is particularly important to us: Any identified errors must be comprehensible to translators, revisors and translation managers. The LQA process is part of our overall assessment of our translators; we presented this assessment as well.
The third part was all about networking: We have been working with most of our translators for many years, and this working relationship has in some cases grown into friendship. That is why we all came together over treats from a buffet, greeted old acquaintances and met new members – which this year included people from Italy, France, and the US.
We can now look back on an event full of lively exchanges with our translators. That is because key questions relating to CAT tools or our assessment of translation quality originate in the working lives of our translators. Their experience helps us make our concepts practical, optimise our processes, and thereby supply technical translations to our customers in the same high quality every day. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
