Translations during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world irrevocably, forcing almost every industry to rapidly adopt online technology to continue operations.

And it’s no different for the translation and interpretation market. Since early March, multinational corporations and international associations have had to turn face-to-face events into online video conferences that use digital translation tools.

Though many translators are no strangers to working from home with the aid of glossaries and style guides, it’s the interpreters who work face-to-face that have been the worst hit.  55% of language service providers report a decrease in business since the outbreak of the pandemic and show great concern about the uncertainty of how long the pandemic will last. They have less confidence in a quick return to business normalcy that they expected in May.

Smaller companies that provide on-site interpretation for larger organisations have also felt the pressure. As an increasing number of events are cancelled, more clients are citing force majeure — unforeseeable circumstances that prevent the fulfilment of a contract — as a means to avoid paying. This depletion of income is further compounded by a lack of infrastructure to allow for complete remote working.

Unfortunately, most language service providers have — until now — been operating traditionally, and have thus struggled to take operations ‘online’ during the pandemic. Moreover, these traditional processes have hampered their ability to shift to remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI) as it fundamentally changes their business model. That said, the rapid adoption of digital transformation caused by COVID-19 has proven to be a boon for many tech-savvy companies.

While LSPs register a decrease in demand for their services from sectors such as events or travel and leisure, certain verticals seem to have an upraise in demand. According to the CSA survey, 64% of LSPs report an increase in demand for interpretation in the health sector. And 59% report a higher demand from the life sciences, medical and pharmaceuticals sector.

The change in demand for interpretation services appears to vary highly between sectors. Companies that already provide remote or virtual interpretation services are thriving as businesses look for ways to maintain communication with staff, prospects, peers and the general public. Video conferencing platform Zoom is a prime example of this. To return to a semblance of normality, some LSPs are actively encouraging more of their employees to work from home, using video conferencing and online interpretation platforms such as Interprefy to do so.

In our new normal, this is the way of the future, and an inevitable progression that has been hastened by the COVID-19 pandemic. With many companies having already extended their home office policy until late 2021 and reinforcing a strict no travel policy, the majority of events are most likely to continue in virtual and hybrid scenarios in the near future. The key requirements for any LSP to succeed in our ‘new normal’ are resilience and adaptability. LSPs that can provide interpretation services via online platforms are already in a much better position than those that typically work offline. That’s not to say that ‘offline’ LSPs are fighting a losing battle — in fact, it’s likely that many of these interpreters are already upskilling and familiarising themselves with online platforms so that they too can offer their services wherever, whenever.  

Source: Interprefy