Translation Services For Businesses During
The Sars-Cov-2/Covid-19 Pandemic
SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 has changed the way we interact with others, think, work – in short: our entire lives. These changes hit us most painfully on a personal level, as we worry about ourselves, our friends and loved ones. However, also businesses are obviously severely affected. Companies need to find ways through the crisis, so that they can secure their employees’ jobs and fulfil their social obligations. As SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 is a global problem, global cooperation is more important than ever – and naturally translation is a key in this process. Today we will discuss what the crisis means for the translation industry and which roles language service providers fulfil at the moment.
Medical Translation Services
It will not surprise you to hear that currently there is a huge demand for life sciences translation services. Let us have a look at some of the texts that stakeholders in the medical sector currently need to translate:
– As researchers all over the world try to find possible cures and vaccinations, their findings and papers need to be translated reliably
– Many medical institutions need to find new suppliers of all sorts of medical equipment, including ventilators, masks, etc., which requires accurate translations of calls for tenders, technical specifications, etc.
– Questionnaires for healthcare workers, pharmacists and patients need to be translated to ensure that respondents fully understand them
– Health apps have the potential to mitigate risks, and are already used in many countries to combat the Corona virus (click here to find out more about app translation services)
– Besides translations of written texts, of course there is also a very high demand for medical interpretation services in person and over the phone at the moment
Needless to say, all medical translation and life science translation services need to be done by specialised medical translators. A linguist might be brilliant at legal or technical translation, but that will not qualify him or her to do medical translation jobs.
Non-Medical Translation During The Corona Crisis – High Demand In All Fields
Not only life science translators, but also linguists from other fields are in high demand during the crisis. The current translation needs of companies can be divided into three groups as below:
1. Translations With A Focus On The Current Situation
In the COVID crisis, companies make major decisions with wide-reaching implications and rely on quality translation service providers to share information about their decisions across the globe. Examples include:
– Information about adjusted operation hours, temporary closures, press releases, etc.
– Internal communication in multinational corporations with information for employees about reduced working hours, safety measures, options to claim company benefits, newsletters, etc.
– As many companies in the manufacturing industry currently face major difficulties in supply chains because suppliers are closed and logistic systems are interrupted, translations of technical specifications, purchasing and/or shipping contracts, etc. are required for alternative deals with new worldwide vendors
– News: Journalists monitor the development of the Corona crisis in other countries and therefore need translations of foreign-language articles; these might be either full text or summary style translations, depending on the journalists’ specific needs
– As B2C companies are aware of the hardship their clients are going through, many of them are offering concessions, discounts, etc., including options to delay payments, less stricter cancellation terms and conditions, extensions of voucher validity periods, free service upgrades, etc. – and of course they need to inform consumers in different languages about such policies
2. Translations Of Older Documents
Now that businesses in many sectors have only few new jobs, a lot of them currently go through piles of work, which they could not handle during busier times. Need for translation arises in the following cases, for example:
– Internal files without fixed deadlines
– Minor updates of multilingual documents, such as templates for vendor contracts, invoices, general terms and conditions, etc.
– Foreign-language files for which translations are required due to company documentation/archiving policies or for certification purposes
3. Document Translations In Preparation For The Post-Pandemic Period
It is fair to say that COVID-19 caught the world unprepared. And though many businesses have emergency plans for unforeseeable situations, nobody really expected the scenario that we are facing now. However, every business can now prepare for the time after Corona – and there is a lot to do, because once the COVID-19 crisis comes to an end, companies will need to catch up and find ways to compensate many lost business opportunities. Translations can already be ordered now, as they will certainly be required for a wide range of all sorts of business texts, including, but not limited to:
– Marketing collateral and PR texts
– Applications for official licenses, permits, etc.
– Consumer surveys
– Templates
– Website content
– Email newsletters
Translation Service Providers Still Fully Operational
In these difficult times, everybody appreciates good news – and here you go: Even during the crisis, most translation services operate normally. The reason is simple: Almost all processes in the translation industry are online-based. Whilst curfews, office closures, public transport limitations, etc. severely affect most businesses, translation agencies still work as usual: Clients can do everything online: Request quotes, confirm jobs, make payments and receive translations. Also the internal processes of translation agencies are almost entirely online based: Project management, assignments of jobs to translators, editors, proofreaders, etc. – all works perfectly well via email. And how about the linguists? As the vast majority of translators always work from home, most agree that their working routine has not changed at all.
elionetwork has created a huge pool of world-class linguists for more than 55 languages. No matter if you require medical/life science translation services or translations in other fields, please contact us to discuss your needs. elionetwork would also like to take this opportunity to wish its clients, business partners, staff and vendors all the best. We will stay at your side during and after the crisis!
