Women in Leadership - Emma Healey

There are so many inspirational women in the localisation industry – and as part of an article series in collaboration with the Association of Translation Companies, we endeavour to introduce some of them to you.

This article marks the end of our fantastic series, which has allowed us to present some great women in leadership, learn about their backgrounds, how they ended up in their current roles and what challenges they face as a leader.

In our tenth and last article of the series, we asked a few questions to Emma Healey, Principal Customer Quality and Performance Specialist at RWS Group.

How did you get involved in the localisation world and what was your career journey to the position?you are in now?

Growing up in Toronto’s French Immersion program from elementary school through high school was instrumental in my decision to continue with French in university, where I participated in a year abroad program in Provence, France. Upon graduating with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in French, I returned to France as an English language assistant in a high school and then prolonged my stay for few years working for various French corporations where my bilingualism was key. During this time, I also took on a few translation jobs as a side project. I then returned to Canada to earn a graduate degree in Translation.

Loving a language is quite different from becoming a translator, and I chose to pursue project management at Lionbridge, where I learned about various aspects of localization and CAT tools, and obtained PMP certification. I was particularly interested in quality management since it combined the troubleshooting aspect of projects with my attention to detail. In localization, quality management also brought me closer to my linguistic roots, so I joined the team that focused on linguistic quality consulting and have been following this path since, joining SDL in 2015 (later acquired by RWS), progressing to my current role in the Customer Quality and Performance team. Each of these decisions helped to define my career path, which seems clear now, though it didn’t always feel so along the way.

Please tell us a bit about your current role.

My current role at RWS is that of principal specialist within the Customer Quality and Performance team, which has a focus on linguistic quality. My responsibilities include leading quality discussions with clients and internal stakeholders, providing client onboarding support, investigating quality escalations, and managing account optimization plans. There is both an educational and strategic dimension to my role; I advise on localization best practices and recommend processes that promote quality. My days can look quite different though there are always some of these common elements.

A lot of my day can be taken up with meetings with other departments or client calls, which occurs quite frequently during client onboarding. Working with a new client is exciting and can, at times, feel a bit chaotic. There are always many moving pieces at this stage, and each department has their own set of priorities. We often have less time than we would like to understand the client’s requirements and set up the account before the first jobs start rolling in. This is when client relationship building takes place and when we discover how they have been reaching their translation goals. My responsibility at this stage is to get a good understanding of the linguistic assets available (translation memories, glossaries, style guides), how best to leverage them, and identify what’s needed to build out a robust quality framework. I also work with the project management and technical teams to advise on process strategy and how best to set up our Translation Management System to optimize production processes and build in quality at each step.

If you had to describe your work with three words, what would those be?

Guiding, collaborative, analytic.

What are the biggest challenges that come with your role?

For me, there’s a balancing act between my natural tendency towards attention to detail and keeping in mind the big picture. It can be easy for me to want to immerse myself in linguistic quality or process issues, and iron out any wrinkles. When I’m acting in a consultative role, I need to consider competing priorities from internal departments as well as those of the client. Often there may be a “best” solution from a quality standpoint that just doesn’t fit into a client’s budget or timeline, and we’ll need bridge the divide between quality and other business priorities. This sometimes means putting in place an alternate solution involving more risk, but that offers a better fit for the client’s immediate needs. Accepting certain quality trade-offs means recognizing that we may need to revisit the decision down the road, if the identified risks end up surfacing. In building a relationship with the client, we’re building trust, so a recommendation that is put aside for now may be more appropriate at different stage of the client’s localization journey.

And what are the best things about it?

Some of the most rewarding moments for me have come from consulting on a complicated or unusual project where I get to brainstorm with my colleagues to develop a completely new process or solution. Getting into the thick of an issue and finding a solution for what seemed like an impossible request is really gratifying, which is amplified when collaborating with colleagues that are experts in adjacent domains. It’s wonderful to feel part of a performing team!

In a similar vein, there is certain amount of excitement when we’re able to troubleshoot a quality issue by working with our tools in an inventive or unusual way to put in place an effective solution.

What would your advice be for others who would like to work in a similar position?

Remain curious and open to new opportunities. My path from translation to project management to quality and process management has helped me approach my current role with a more global perspective. Get involved in special projects – that is where you will find passionate people and reach colleagues beyond your regular work circles.

How would you describe your?leadership?style?

I’ve always enjoyed sharing what I know with others and breaking complex processes down into well-defined and easy-to-understand steps. I lean on my business experience and expertise to recommend a course of action, sharing my reasoning to influence others and bring them on board.

What are some of the challenges for a female?leader?in the localisation industry?

Many of the challenges for women leaders in localization are those found in business more broadly. I think there is still a tendency for women to become willing workhorses to prove themselves. For me, in the past, this has resulted in my taking on more than my share or accepting tasks not directly related to my role. Part of leading is recognizing what special qualities (and we all have them!) we bring to our position and focusing on that aspect of our professional performance rather than trying to do everything. I continue to work on setting boundaries and delegating in order to be effective at my role, above seeming helpful or nice. It can be uncomfortable trying to find the right balance, but challenging things are often uncomfortable.

Any last words?

I feel optimistic about the future of women leaders in localization because of the exceptional cohort of women featured in this series, several of whom I’ve had the good fortune to work with. It’s a rather wonderful way to end the year.

...and, we might add, featuring you, Emma, was a brilliant ending to our Women in Leadership series. Thank you for taking the time to share your story with us!

Stay tuned as 2023 will bring to you another exciting series!