Language services companies handle thousands of calls a day. Each call is vital in its own way.
Hiring qualified interpreters and training them to deliver accurate interpretation sessions is imperative for success. But it is only the beginning. The quality of an interpreter must be supported through performance management.
How can you make sure that your interpretation provider is prioritizing quality assurance and monitoring?
The questions below will help you understand your language service provider’s (LSP) commitment to ongoing interpreter development and excellence. These questions and others are explored in our eBook, 5 Critical Criteria for Selecting Your On-Demand Interpreting Provider.
Do You Monitor Calls for Quality Interpretation?
A resounding “yes” to this question, followed by supporting information, demonstrates the LSP’s commitment to quality assurance.
What Qualifications are Required to Be a Quality Assurance Monitor?
This question gives the LSP a chance to demonstrate its commitment to qualified and competent quality assurance monitors who are responsible for evaluating interpreter performance against a set of standards and maintaining a high-quality, professional interpreter workforce.
What Remediation Processes are in Place to Ensure Quality Interpretation?
Best-in-class LSPs have remediation processes in place for quality interpretation that include additional training, coaching, and monitoring up to dismissal, depending on the type and frequency of occurrence.
How do You Monitor the Production and Sound Quality of Your Video Sessions?
High-quality service providers ensure that each video session is a professional interpreting experience. The LSP should be able to verify that quality assurance through live and remote observations of the interpreter during video interpreting sessions is ongoing and that appropriate actions are in place to ensure interpreter compliance. The interpreter should:
- Be centered in the screen
- Maintain correct posture/position
- Have correct lighting and background
- Be wearing appropriate attire
Do You Have a Client Feedback Loop for Interpreter Quality and Video Interpreting Production and Sound Quality?
Good LSPs strive to meet the needs of their clients. Well-defined and managed feedback loops that are easy to access ensure that providers are listening to — and satisfying the demands of — their clients.
Do you Supply Reference Materials to Your Interpreters?
Best-in-class providers work diligently to supply support materials for their interpreter workforce. Typically, these materials will include regularly updated dictionaries of commonly used new words, expressions, and processes that are being used within specific industries.
How do You Alert Your Interpreters of Important Industry or Interpreter Skill Changes?
This question helps to determine how committed the LSP is to relevancy within the industry as every business process, regardless of industry, is continually changing.
What is Your Annual Investment to Maintain a Quality Interpreter Workforce?
Maintaining a quality interpreter workforce requires an annual financial commitment for recruiting, training, and quality assurance.
Do You Have Liability Insurance that Covers Wrongful Acts?
Given the often sensitive and critical nature of the information that is being interpreted, LSPs should carry insurance that covers wrongful acts to mitigate risks related to interpreting. Coverage should include contingent bodily injury, property damage, and wrongful acts, e.g., the disclosure of confidential information.
Are Your Employees and Contractors Held to the Same High Standards?
It is not uncommon for LSPs to staff a mix of employees and contractors. For larger LSPs, contractors are commonly used for rare languages. All interpreters should be tested, trained, monitored, and held to the same quality standards.
For a more in-depth look at how to evaluate LSPs, we invite you to download 5 Critical Criteria for Selecting an On-Demand Interpreting Partner today.
LanguageLine® Can Help
For more than four decades, LanguageLine has helped organizations of all sizes address their language access needs. LanguageLine can provide one-touch, on-demand access to professional interpreters in more than 240 languages. Users can interact with our interpreters in video or audio-only formats.
Please contact us for a free consultation. We would enjoy learning more about the linguistic and cultural challenges you may be contemplating.
