When you partner with a Language Service Provider (LSP), your primary concern is likely the outcome of the localization process. How will they produce accurate, high-quality results? Your onboarding experience is often an afterthought—but it shouldn’t be. Onboarding is more than simply a training procedure to use linguistic tools and connectors. It’s a complex, multi-step process that indicates the quality of service you will be given throughout the partnership. Connecting with Lionbridge means an exemplary first impression. We leverage the power of our vast network and depth of experience to deliver our clients an efficient and effective onboarding experience.

5 elements to consider:

#1 Do They Have a Structured but Adaptable Plan?

A great LSP has a pre-structured and pre-designed plan for onboarding clients that is still customizable to the customers’ needs. A highly organized process is critical to facilitate onboarding. Your LSP’s ultimate goal should be to simplify your global expansion. Cumbersome onboarding should not stand in the way.

#2 How Will They Account for Your Translation Preferences?

A great LSP knows that when crafting a localization strategy, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Right away, your LSP should be asking the right questions to determine how to provide a product that fits your vision. What is the scope of the project? What languages do you want to translate into? How do you want to communicate your global brand voice? Is there specific terminology you want to include? From there, your LSP can implement the right tools and strategies.

The tools:

Advanced linguistic technologies

In an increasingly digitized world, there are a multitude of technological tools to optimize the translation process. It is critical for an LSP to stay up to date with the current advancements in linguistic technology. Lionbridge employs all of the most pertinent linguistic tools from translation memories (TMs) to machine translation (MT) to artificial intelligence (AI).

Style guides

A style guide is a reference document that reflects the tone, language and brand of the company. Our style guides take into account stylistic preferences such as the level of formality, sentence structure, tone of voice, type of content, abbreviations and more. Details about the company are also included for the industry-specific linguist to learn about the products or services.

Glossaries

Within a TM, glossaries are indexed files of translations paired with in-context examples from the source language into the target language. They allow the linguists to directly access the client’s preferences at a deeply linguistically precise level: word by word, and phrase by phrase.

#3 How Will They Manage Finances and Reporting?

Clarity between an LSP and their client surrounding financial processes is an essential part of onboarding. Your LSP should dedicate time to working with you to understand and define your needs in terms of quoting, approvals, POs and invoicing.

#4 Is There a Designated Point Person to Guide you Through the Process?

Onboarding a project often involves multiple departments within an LSP. The initial team might hand the project off to a project manager, who then hands off to the linguistic onboarding team who then hands off to the technical onboarding team, and so on. Navigating these transitions on your own is challenging. With a designated manager to guide you through the process, you avoid a potentially frustrating and time-consuming back-and-forth among groups.

#5 What is Their Standard for Customer Care?

Our onboarding teams are versed in the most advanced linguistic tools and resources and are dedicated to providing top-quality customer care. Questions from customers can arise at any point throughout the onboarding process. As the project develops, both the client and LSP need to be prepared for any speed bumps or challenges that may surface. What happens when things don’t go according to plan? How will they mitigate risks? In time-sensitive situations, you need to know that your questions and concerns can be addressed quickly and in your preferred language. A multilingual customer service team is readily available and trained to find the answers to any question you have is an invaluable advantage.

The Lionbridge Onboarding Experience

First impressions are critical. Our onboarding team is specially trained to deliver an experience that sets a positive tone for the partnership. This means:

A rigorous and detailed onboarding plan

Language experts trained with the most advanced linguistic tools

Customized reporting to allow clients to measure and evaluate our service and results

A designated manager to ensure seamless transitions for every step of onboarding

Excellent customer service available 24/5 in a wide range of languages

A Smooth Transition to a Next-Level LSP

Shifting your localization operation to a new LSP can be daunting. Efficient onboarding can make all the difference at the start of a new partnership. Lionbridge offers specialized support to clients to smoothly and meticulously join our clients with our community. Our onboarding teams can advise you on what to request from an outgoing LSP and how best to manage legacy assets such as TMs, glossaries, style guides and review guidelines. Lionbridge is a powerful partner. When it comes to trusting us with your localization endeavors, change is a good thing.