Monterey Language Services has had a strong partnership with Central Coast Community Energy for 5 years. During that time, we have helped to translate materials so that their customers can have a greater understanding of promotions, bills, and other notifications. Our great service and quality is why year after year, Central Coast Community Energy chooses to work with Monterey Language Services for its language needs.

“Dear Mei-Ling, Happy Holidays to you. We are grateful for our partnership and the important work we do together.” – Peter

“Happy Holidays Mei-Ling! Have a wonderful season” – Lena

“Dear Mei-Ling, Happy Holidays to you and your team! Thanks for all you do.” -Luke

According to the article, Professor Jeremy Siegel is claiming that the Federal Reserve doesn’t see that inflation rates are easing, therefore, the Federal Reserve plans to increase interest rates to combat what they see as high inflation rates, and Siegal believes that this will push the economy into the red.

In other words, Siegel is saying that by raising interest rates and making things more expensive, the Federal Reserve is trying to slow down consumer spending to prevent the economy from crashing if it grows too fast.

Think of it like putting more pressure on the brakes to slow down a car so you don’t hit the vehicle in front of you. Regular people tend to like being able to spend money freely, but in doing so, the economy—think of it again like the car—goes faster, causing inflation rates to go up as demand for products goes up. If consumer spending isn’t slowed by higher interest rates put forth by the Federal Reserve, the economy will crash—just like the car.

So now one of the major questions for us is: How can we combat a recession? In other words, how can we weather the storm, or even try to limit its effects, when we are just ordinary people?

1. Try to refrain from spending too much but at the same time not to be too afraid of spending. In a recession, customers and businesses may be too scared to spend money, but also remember, less spending contributes to a deeper recession, and how long it occurs for.
2. Spend money on right things and in right directions, such as paying off debt, or investing in improvements or good safety nets for yourself or your business.
3. Show your value at work. Without showing value, it would be hard for anyone to be safe at any workplace at a recession. During a recession, even Google or Facebook would lay off employees too. Therefore, it’s important to do your best and secure your current position.

Language Service Providers aren’t just responsible for their business, but also for their employees and their families. Weathering a recession is incredibly important for our business, so what can LSPs do?

1. Remember that language services as a need aren’t going to disappear, so don’t panic. With our increasingly globalized world, language service requests can come from virtually anywhere, even outside of the United States.
2. Cut costs where you can, but treat your employees—and your vendors—well. Employees are the backbone of every company, and one that is treated well will want to give back in every way that they can. Besides, letting go of good employees only to be looking to hire later and train someone new costs time and energy as well.
3. As a business, we often think a recession presents opportunities as well. We should all be more careful and thoughtful in planning and looking ahead to contribute to the health of our company.

Usually, language buyers will characterize their needs and the LSP will have to do their best to capture their attention and show that they can satisfy the needs to be considered as a potential partner. In this case, the needs could be anything from time constraints, to specific languages, to translations or interpretations in specific fields, or to convey the meaning clearly. The language buyers will then look into the LSP and see if they believe that LSPs can deliver the type of service that they are looking for. If everything seems ok, they may typically take them on as a language supplier, but they will observe them over time to see if they crack or show that they are suited for their needs. The LSP will in turn do their best to try and foster a trusting relationship with the language buyer and try to make sure to meet their expectations to become a trusted supplier for frequent use and a closer partnership.

For the buyers, it starts with the fact that they have to look at themselves and figure out what exactly they are looking for and then find a LSP that can meet the most amount of requirements. They then have to continue to monitor the LSP to make sure that they are keeping up with the set expectations while also assessing whether they are the best option for the price that they are paying. They might need to understand that quality work is valuable and priceless because quality work usually requires huge efforts from the providers.

For LSPs, the efforts could be quite a few different people need to spend the weekends to go through a document before it gets to the client. Another is find issues and address problems quickly. Another is to figure out what is important and what is critical for clients in a translation or interpretation project.

We will continue to talk about the recommendations for both language buyers and LSPs, but the main point here is that a good relationship between buyers and LSPs is precious. When that happens, it’s ideal to better meet the needs of each other, to be more efficient in taking care of requests and questions from both sides, and both sides can thrive and grow together positively and effectively.