To keep clients happy, translation agencies attempt to deliver the highest quality work in the shortest amount of time. Clients are often under tight deadlines, so providing their work in a timely fashion is incredibly beneficial. One way to complete work faster is to assign multiple translators to a single translation assignment.
Theoretically, a translation agency is limited to the number of linguists available for a given project and could assign 20, 20, or 200 linguists if they choose. This means large assignments can be completed very quickly if needed. This practice is often utilized, especially for larger assignments, but there are certainly tradeoffs in using multiple linguists for a given project.
The biggest challenge with using many linguists is the potential to introduce inconsistencies in a document. Though using multiple linguists doesn’t guarantee that there will be inconsistencies, each additional linguist will increase the chances that inconsistencies may occur. Editors do a great deal to correct this, but even the most talented editors can leave inconsistencies in their work from time to time. As a Project Manager, I will always prefer to use the smallest number of linguists possible to avoid any negative consequences that may be caused by introducing inconsistencies.
However, when translating a large file, I seldom have the option of using a small number of linguists. Therefore, it is very important to assess client expectations on the timeline at the project’s launch. If a client needs a 100,000-word document translated in 10 days, I will have no choice but to use 6-8 translators at the minimum. If I have 10 weeks to do the assignment, I will gravitate towards using far fewer translators.
For smaller assignments, I will only use multiple translators if absolutely necessary. If I have a 2,000-word document and the client needs the assignment the next day, I will not assign 10 translators to complete the assignment in an hour. I will use one to deliver the highest possible quality translation. Essentially, the best number of translators to use is the lowest number that will still allow the assignment to be delivered on time.
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