'VM to VM', Meet Wiktoria, our VM at Sopoltrad

As many of our valued customers are fellow Vendor and Resource Managers we thought it would make sense for you to hear directly from our own superstar VM Vendor Manager at Sopoltrad .

Over the coming weeks, she will share her thoughts on the key functions and challenges of her role and how we address these in Sopoltrad .

Today we talk about the #translator recruitment process - always a hot topic and always evolving for a variety of reasons!

So, what does the recruitment process look like in Sopoltrad?

‘In Sopoltrad in Kraków (Poland) we see ourselves as a bridge between our Western European LSP clients and our highly talented, Eastern European Linguists!

Since Sopoltrad is specialized in Eastern and Central European languages, my role as a #Vendor Manager is to focus on recruiting to our linguist team only the best native-speaking translators from the beautiful regions of the East.

Being a Native Speaker in the target language is the key factor when #recruiting new #linguists. There are two main reasons for these requirements: the #ISO certificate obligations, and to make sure of the language accuracy and overall quality.

We need to be certain that the linguists are not only fluent in the target language but also understand the culture and expressions that are naturally used in specific situations. Language usage changes quickly and so our linguists need to keep abreast of the latest trends, particularly in the high-tech and marketing sectors.

Since the language industry keeps developing our contractors should also demonstrate hybrid fields of expertise. Often, one specialization is no longer enough for the #translator to receive a permanent stream of jobs. Currently, the most popular specializations in Spoltrad are:

• Automotive
• Marketing
• Life science
• Law
• Technology

Due to the ISO certificate, as a VM, I need to follow specific rules when recruiting, i.e. tests, years of experience, and specialization.

Year 2022 is our 4th consecutive year passing the audits for the three ISO certifications:

• ISO 9001:2015 standard ("Quality Management Systems")
• ISO EN 17100 ("Translation Services")?
• ISO 18587:2017 (“Post-editing of machine translation output”)

In terms of Quality Management - because Vendor Management and #Quality Management are so close to each other - I need to select linguists with appropriate experience and background to ensure the quality our client expects from us. Having either educational background or direct employment experience within the field of expertise is a great plus and this trend is becoming more and more popular. And this is the part I like the most: learning how amazing people can use their experience in translation.

As translation testing is also required by ISO, I send the linguists a short sample from their field of expertise which is then verified by our internal correction team. We pay attention to details.?

Although there are many formalities to follow within the recruitment process at the end of the day we see the linguists as our extended team and treat them as part of the company. A friendly and understanding attitude is important in our collaboration. Every day I am positively surprised by all the linguists we cooperate with and how professional in their field of expertise they are.

Being passionate is the key!?