The global context and Overseas Translations’ current situation
With the first quarter of 2023 behind and a detailed analysis of our figures from 2022, we would like to highlight the key contributors to yet another year of Overseas Translations’ continuous growth. The following factors have allowed us to surpass our objectives: quality translations, punctual deliveries and our excellent network of translators and collaborators. Another key contributor has been our in-house staff with its marketing and sales expertise and an extensive experience in managing translation projects.
After the pandemic years and the beginning of war in Ukraine, it seems that the growth path for many Spanish companies entails internationalisation, technological innovation and a search for potential clients, collaborators and job offers in other European countries, Asia or the Americas. For this process it’s essential to use professional translation and interpreting services that heed not only the language itself, but also the cultural norms.
Overseas Translations marked record growth in 2022
With last year’s backdrop in mind, Overseas Translations is proud to have achieved a 26% growth in 2022 as we helped our clients to expand their businesses beyond the Spanish market and secure new deals the world over. We entered 2023 with the same figure, which has now reached an even more impressive 36%.
This additional 12% reflects the growth of our existing clients, who have decided to harness our collaboration to translate their websites, offers, catalogues and manuals into other languages and conquer overseas markets. They sought business expansion opportunities through tenders or by carrying out projects abroad, for which they required translations of tender documents, CVs of the staff involved or the track record of experience in similar projects, in addition to the full technical bid, just to name a few.
Another fact worth highlighting is the 14% growth which represents our new clients, many of whom we are helping with international expansion and digital marketing from the ground up, offering our expertise and turnkey projects. We adapt all their documentation to the target markets, localise their websites, enhance their presence in social networks, offer interpretation services in meetings with partners and potential clients, not to mention handling their sworn and legal translations needed to establish subsidiaries overseas or rendering their annual accounts, balance sheets and financial statements before they sign partnership agreements.
With diverse client profiles and needs, we are immensely grateful for the trust placed in our services. What further verifies our know-how is the result of our recent quality survey with a participation rate of 58.5%, in which our clients rated our services a highly satisfactory 3.9 on a scale of 0 to 4. They evaluated aspects such as commercial attention, project coordination and monitoring, as well as our interpretation services, the overall quality of translations, value for money and punctuality in deliveries.
Quality at Overseas Translations
Yet another indicator of high quality is the percentage of complaints and incidents in our projects, which stands at 0.01% for the year 2022 and has been so for years. Ultimately, our thorough revision process, where each project is reviewed in detail and with the care it deserves, is the hallmark and essence of Overseas Translations.
To increase the visibility of the painstaking in-house translation project management and all supporting processes, at Overseas Translations we undergo annual certification by Bureau Veritas and hold ISO 17100:2015 (Requirements for translation services) and ISO 9001:2015 (Quality management system) certifications. The scope of these standards covers “Translation, interpretation and proofreading services in all languages” and both certify the quality of our services in compliance with the requirements of these two standards.
What we consider interesting data is the sharp spike we have observed in the demand for interpretation services, which rose by 83% with respect to the year 2021. After the pandemic hiatus, social life (both on a personal and professional level) is back in person, and we are increasingly returning to face-to-face events such as trade fairs, business meetings, congresses, training sessions, press conferences, book launches and many more. These events require professional interpreters and although there had been instances of remote interpretation, its demand was much lower than in 2021.
The year 2022 was also marked by the launch of our revamped website in September, with a fresh design and content in addition to an all-new and growing blog and newsletter. The website involved a year of hard work, content creation, design of the visual elements and many other steps to give our brand a new image which we identify with and which represents us fully.
The future of translations and Overseas Translations
Looking ahead, we are endeavouring to improve R&D in the application of technology in translation, research and monitoring pertaining to machine translation and development of our own software; to develop and implement digital marketing tools; and to grow our regional, national and international footprint. We are also committed to uphold the following corporate values:
- Excellence: the pursuit of excellence lies at the core of our work. We pay the utmost attention to every detail and always strive for the highest quality, the proof of which are the ISO 9001 and 17100 certifications.
- Client focus: a comprehensive, client-centric approach that comprises tailored advice, adaptability, flexibility and punctuality.
- Teamwork: we emphasise the human factor. Every member of our team stands behind each project’s success. ⠀
- Commitment: full dedication to every project, meeting the deadlines and conditions agreed with the client. ⠀
- Transparency: in a competitive environment we accommodate the needs of each client, with a fully transparent and honest commercial policy. ⠀
- Social responsibility: we are founded on ethical conduct and respect for stakeholders, the principle of legality and human rights. Minimising environmental impact and giving back by supporting social causes are also part of our corporate social responsibility.
Thank you for a record year at Overseas Translations
At Overseas Translations, we would like to say a word of thanks to all our current and future clients:
It is a real privilege to be able to accompany you on your international expansion and we are immensely proud of the track record of each and every one of you and even more so to be your partner for translation and interpreting services.
Success is rarely a one-person show; it usually boils down to team effort and more often than not to day-to-day actions and making the right decisions at the right time. It requires knowing how to harness the opportunities that we find along the way and how to master adaptability in unpredictable times, especially the recent years. The ability to reinvent ourselves is also fundamental. And with a dash of luck, success is guaranteed. Just like everything else, success tastes sweeter when shared, which is why we owe our milestone year to all our clients, most of whom have been by our side since the very beginning.
We continue to work and grow together, which is the most beautiful part of all relationships, both personal and professional.
“Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success.”
Henry Ford
