Intercultural Communication and Translation News

Press release: 28 November 2011
For immediate release

A 27 year old father of one from Chard is spreading festive cheer throughout the West Country by signing up to take part in three of CHSW’s Santas on the Run events.

Phil Reynolds will be donning his Santa suit at the 2k fun runs taking place in Bath (1 Dec), Bristol (4 Dec) and Wells (11 Dec). He will be joined by hundreds of people taking to the streets in each of these scenic cities dressed in Santa suits to raise awareness and much needed funds for Children’s Hospice South West.

Phil, Relationship Manager at Crewkerne based company, Kwintessential said: “Taking part in three of CHSW’s Santas on the Run events will certainly be a memorable start to the festive season. CHSW is one of Kwintessential’s chosen charities and I’ve also taken part in a corporate challenge and a firewalk in support of the charity this year. It’s great to be able to enjoy so many different experiences whilst raising money for such an amazing cause.”

Sophie Crossman, events fundraiser for Children’s Hospice South West said: “We are really grateful to Phil for all the support he has shown us throughout the year. He will certainly be in Santa’s good books this Christmas! If anyone else out there fancies joining an event with a festive difference there is still time to sign up.

To support Phil please donate at Kwintessential’s CHSW page.

To register for Santas on the Run please visit www.chsw.org.uk/santas or call 01275 866 600. All runners must register in advance as it will not be possible to register on the day.

Entry is just £10.00 per adult and just £5 for children and your Santa suit is included!

Notes to editors:
Santas on the Run: Santas on the Run is a national series of fun runs in Santa costume, organised by children’s hospices and Children’s Hospices UK, working in partnership. Details of all the events can be found on the website www.santasontherun.org.uk

-Ends-

Children’s Hospice South West

1. Chief Executive Eddie Farwell and his late wife Jill who had two life-limited children set up the charity, Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW), in 1991 and opened the first children’s hospice in the South West, Little Bridge House in Barnstaple, in September 1995.
2. CHSW is the only organisation in the South West providing hospice care to life-limited children and their families, in a hospice environment, from across the South West; from South Gloucester, Bristol, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
3. Little Bridge House very quickly became oversubscribed and CHSW opened their second hospice, Charlton Farm, near Bristol in April 2007.
4. Charlton Farm offers a real home from home environment, including a main living area that forms the heart and soul of the house, cosy lounges, a messy play room for carefree creativity, a multi sensory room with lights, sounds and textures to soothe and calm, a soft play area for safe, trouble-free fun and a jacuzzi for relieving stiff joins and muscle spasms. Not forgetting the beautiful gardens that surround the house including the Sunken Retreat (based on JRR Tolkien’s book The Hobbit) which opened in October 2009.
5. At Charlton Farm there are 8 child-friendly bedrooms that have minimal medical equipment and are decorated with favourite books, toys and DVDs for each child who stays. There is lovely accommodation for the rest of the family too.
6. There are around 30 staff on the care team at Charlton Farm. Half are Registered Sick Children’s Nurses, the others come from a variety of backgrounds and include teachers, nursery nurses, play specialists, social workers and physios.
7. CHSW has reached the Precious Lives Appeal target of £5 million to build a third children’s hospice in Cornwall, Little Harbour. We can now continue to fundraise to fit out and furnish the hospice and raise funds towards running costs.
8. Little Harbour will open its doors to the first families in December.

For further information please contact Zoe Mason, Press Officer for Children’s Hospice South West, on 01275 866600 or please email zoe.mason@chsw.org.uk

“Government needs the help of those that interact with SMEs on a regular basis to get the message out loud and clear that competing in the global marketplace makes business sense.” Lord Green, Minister for Trade and Investment

Above is the call Government made today in order to continue the drive to get UK PLC exporting. Well, as a company that has and is successfully working with companies exporting we have for a long time been banging this drum. But it’s time to bang it again! So I would like to outline some reasons why UK businesses need to be exporting, the benefits of doing so and some considerations around how to do it.

Why export?

Well it’s simple. You’ll make more money. A business confining itself to a country or even geographical region will hit a ceiling, eventually – it’s a basic fact. Reaching out to foreign markets allows you to expand your customer or consumer base, make more sales, develop your brand and ultimately benefit your bottom line. Exporting makes sense in every way as long as it’s a service or product with potential. Do we just talk the talk? At Kwintessential we realised this potential many years ago so started the process of identifying areas we need to be and now have offices in the USA, Argentina, South Africa and the UAE. We walk the walk.

So what are the main benefits of exporting other than money, money, money? Here are 5 which may or may not fit with your industry, i.e. a glass manufacturer and an interior design will have very different needs and experiences.

1.    Diversification: by exporting you diversity your markets. This reduces dependency on the domestic market and spreads risks.
2.    Excess Production Capacity: with more orders you can increase production to achieve an efficient level of production while at the same time reducing costs, whether that be raw materials, suppliers, fixed costs, etc.
3.    Business Stability: if your business is subject to revenue fluctuations, exporting can help stabilise your order books which in turn allows you to really tighten up on operations.
4.    Product Life Cycle Extension: when products reach the maturity stage in your domestic market, a company may look to replace or invest in new ones. However, by exporting you potentially allow the life cycle of a product to be extended.
5.    Product Improvement: competing in international markets is an excellent source of learning to gain more competitiveness in the domestic and/or international market.

One of the big benefits now if a company is looking to export is this – it has never been so easy. Now is the time to grasp the opportunity and make it work for you.

How do I start exporting?

So you have a service or product you want to export. What next? Well you have two options – 1) do it yourself or 2) contact an organisation that will help you do it. At Kwintessential we went with option 1 simply because we felt comfortable in doing so and understood the ins and outs of it all. However, it was hard work, we made mistakes and it possibly took a touch longer than we planned for. But it worked and worked well. Option 2 is to contact an organisation that does this day in day out, and that is UKTI. They have an amazing set-up which includes worldwide offices, advisors, resources and funding. They can assist with everything from market research right down to arranging meetings with stakeholders in companies abroad that are worth talking to. Simply visit them at UKTI and get in touch with your local advisor.

How can we help?

When you plan your export drive you need to take a lot into consideration, whether that is legal implications, taxes, language differences or anything else, it’s a lot to take on. You will need help.

Kwintessential designed a suite of services aimed specifically at UK businesses wanting to export. You can visit the page here at Export Support or contact us about your needs. Essentially we can help you with anything that falls under the language/culture umbrella in business but with some rather innovative services on top. So for example, we can help translate your business cards, website and product materials; we can run an analysis of your brand or product in the new market(s);  we can give you some cultural awareness training to help sharpen up your negotiation skills for China or help cement a relationship in Kuwait.  We can offer much more such as help set up Virtual Assistants in other countries who speak the local lingo, carry out some niche Business Research or even get involved with your Global Marketing strategy.

If you need help with other areas such as legal and logistics, let us know and we can point you in the direction of some good people.

So the message is clear – get out there and get exporting! “… competing in the global marketplace makes business sense.”

by +Neil Payne

It’s not every day you come into contact with the world’s greatest footballer. So we thought we’d shout about it. Well done to Kwintessential’s Paola who was lucky enough to act as Messi’s interpreter yesterday in Barcelona.

Previously, the nearest we have got to such footballing royalty was when I met Diego Maradona in Istanbul (below). I wish! He as a waiter, but you have to admit he is a good lookalike…

India as a country has 28 states, 7 union territories, 16 official languages and many different dialects. This can make it difficult to make general comments on the differences in culture and business when there are many differences in the country itself.

However, there are a few factors that are kept the same throughout India and should be kept in mind when doing business in India.
Both business and society structures are strictly hierarchical and everyone has a set position, because of this, Indian organisations are usually run by one powerful individual who makes all the big decisions and sends instructions down the hierarchical chain. Subordinates know their position within the business and will never question instructions due to the greater forces of Karma and Dharma.

Due to the strict business structure it is very important to find out who is at the top of the company’s hierarchical structure so no time is wasted with decision making, if this is not possible then aim to deal with someone else within the business that has an influence over decision making.

Meetings will vary between companies some will have a more westernised approach whilst others will have a more traditional approach. The more traditional style meetings may take some getting used to as they are usually very informal and interruptions often occur from other employees entering and discussing other matters or calls being taken.

As the Indian society find relationships very important meetings may start off with some casual banter, it is important not to rush this stage as it is a good time to help enhance credibility with the company.

Women are accepted in the Indian workforce and rank usually over rules gender, so if a woman is in a high ranking position her orders will be followed just as diligently.

Dress code in the Indian workplace is formal but light, if travelling there for business men should wear lightweight suits and women should wear appropriate dress or trouser suits, these should not show too much skin. Avoid wearing any leather as this may be considered offensive to Hindu’s who have a profound respect for cows.

Gift giving is a big part of Indian life and the gift giver should be the one to thank the receiver as it is believed that giving gifts during life helps you gain a better after life. Gifts should be wrapped but not in black or white paper as it is considered unlucky, make sure you keep in mind the receivers religion so you don’t give them anything that may offend them.

If you keep these basic tips in mind your trip should go smoothly and hopefully be rewarding!

by +Steph Lyons

So, how many LSPs out there carry out regular competition research? Small or large, it is crucial for any business to understand how its pricing structure compares against others.

At Kwintessential, we carry out such research on a regular basis (sorry competitors but I’m sure you guys have asked us for a few quotes too!)

Why? Well for 5 simple, yet critical, reasons:

1) To assess where we are in terms of our pricing model. Are we expensive? Cheap? In the middle? Are the prices against languages realistic?
2) To assess what clients are getting for their money. For example, in the research below, ALS applied translation memory to their quote report and thus a reduced rate occurred due to repetition of terms; some agencies counted symbols in the sample text we sent them, others didn’t; one agency would only price including proofreading (which meant we left them out of the results); and so on. Essentially we want to know whether others are approaching texts in different ways to ourselves.
3) To assess any “extra” charges. Surprisingly some LSPs came back to our quotes with an extra charge for project managing!
4) To assess response times and customer service levels. How long did it take for them to respond to our email? Did they follow us up on the quote?
5) To assess what we need to change to stay competitive!

So, if you aren’t already carrying out competition research, I suggest you do. Try us out and if there are any shortcomings make sure you let me know!!

Here is an example of what we did back in September 2011. One of our team was tasked with carrying out a random check of prices, turnaround times, response times, etc. including ourselves (i.e. secret shopper style). A document was chosen to send out, in this case a questionnaire with a word count of 623. It was general subject matter and we wanted it translated into six languages: Spanish, German, French, Chinese, Arabic and Urdu.

A group of agencies were chosen randomly once we had compiled a list from ITI, ATC and GALA. Eeny meeny miny mo and voila we have some competitors to rank ourselves against.

Now for the sake of brevity we will only look at the pricing metrics here. Our full report covered everything outlined above from response times to what their prices included and everything in between.

Once we gather all the raw data, we pop it into Excel and start playing with sums and charts. Essentially what you want to do is see where your company sits with any given metric. So below you can see when it came to pricing, Kwintessential are under-charging our clients! Well, we think what we charge is fair but at least it shows what the marketplace is doing.

A word of warning, this is a snap-shot of one document into several languages. Had we sent a different document with different languages then this chart may look very different. Don’t take this chart as meaning Agency A is always going to be the most expensive and Agency Z the least.

On top of this there will be some variations due to what agencies can/can’t offer. The rates above cover translating only. A few agencies came back with proofreading included, some with proofreading as an option and some without any mention of it. A few even wanted to certify the document as part of the process. Plus we also had the agency asking for extra to project manage the job. ALS and Global Lingo applied translation memory in their quote report and thus, a reduced rate occurred due to repetition( bravo to those guys). Not all agencies we approached offered all the languages we wanted, which meant they were not included in the final list. In terms of language pairs, the majority of the agencies charged more for Chinese/Arabic/Urdu and less for French/German/Spanish. However some agencies charged the exact opposite which was interesting.

So, as you can see a little bit of effort and a little bit of planning gives you immense insight into your company as well as your competitors. Try it out – let me know how it goes.

by +Neil Payne