Technology helps us make even more human connections. Thanks to the Internet and certain tools that have been developed, we can communicate with people across the world, which is helpful in locating and working with highly qualified translators and interpreters in any number of specialized domains (such as medical, educational, legal, or IT), within any timeframe, or any sizes of projects.

Technology also makes it easy for translation clients, project managers, translators, and interpreters to work together as a team. This type of expanding cooperation is a huge help for people in all sorts of limited English proficiency (LEP) communities. It is necessary to build a just and fair society, and we are happy to be able to use technology to further this goal.

In our day-to-day activities, technology plays a major role. Most of our translation and interpretation requests come in electronically, which ensures that everyone is on the same page. We are also better able to fill last-minute requests; most translators and interpreters have access to their apps, text messages and email at all times, and so we can reach them to discuss last-minute projects and especially emergencies. In all of these scenarios, technology helps us expand our reach and make more human connections than would otherwise be possible.

We are greatly appreciative of all of the benefits that technology allows us in our work. However, there are some aspects of the job and the industry that technology cannot replace. Technology has limitations.  Our main focus is helping people and the last thing we want to do is use technology as a substitute for human interaction. This is why we try to make it clear that although we are using many different technologies in our work, there is always a person behind the screen working hard to connect with people and serve our clients. In hospital settings and in most cases, having live interpreters serving clients face to face is even more valuable and worthwhile than over video or phone.

People are still at the heart of the translation and interpretation industry. After all, these services wouldn’t exist if there were no people to read or listen to the translated product! So while certain aspects of this work don’t take place face to face, the importance of people and human input is as high as ever. At Monterey Language Services, we use technology to facilitate communication with our team members and with our clients, who are always our main focus.

Energy from Colleagues

In a language services company, every day is quite busy, and we must balance between different translation and interpretations projects and our constant development work. No matter what the day looks like, we collaborate and communicate with our colleagues to figure out the work to be done. Our colleagues are clear minded, organized in their thinking and their actions, and handle things efficiently and effectively. This pace and rhythm gives us more energy.

Energy from Projects

When it comes to translation and interpretation projects, we have strategies to help us keep our energy up. If there is any confusion, we clear it up right away. By not letting things sit and wait, we keep our momentum and our energy going. This also frees up more time and energy to focus on important new requests that come in every day.

We also take our time to capture important details of new projects. This helps us decide how to proceed, and let us create a comprehensive plan, and foresee any potential issues before they occur.

Thinking energetically gives us a clear outline, which in turn gives us the energy we need to move things forward. This energy helps us deliver high quality translations and interpretations.

Energy from Clients

Our clients also energize us. We respond to all of our client requests with enthusiasm, whether we receive the request a several weeks or a single day in advance. We often receive last-minute requests from clients. When we do, we work quickly to figure out what needs to be done and who can do it. For example, when we received a request for an interpreter at 11am for an event happing that same afternoon, we immediately began reaching out to a very large pool of interpreters and selected one who is most suitable for the job. It makes us happy to be able to help our clients who are in a bit of a pinch, and the desire to help people in turn helps us stay energized and excited about completing rush projects. When a client is understanding and a pleasure to work with, that gives us even more energy.

Ultimately, passion is the driving factor behind our energy. All of our team members have a deep personal interest and passion for languages and communication; we all speak at least one additional language and understand the power that language can transmit. We love to help people communicate with others in all situations, so we feel a great sense of satisfaction every time we complete a project. When you work with your passion like we do, it is refreshing and easy to stay energized!

Creating a good flow or melody every day at work can really enhance our work experience and help us remain motivated. We’ve all worked on projects where we were “in the groove.” It feels great, almost like the stars aligned to make that project perfect. Imagine if all of your projects were like that!

A good flow means that you have a sense of moving forward and making progress. Being able to understand the essence of your task and differentiate what is the key to complete the task is essential. For example, when scheduling interpreters, we make sure that the information on the date, time, and location for each assignment is precisely passed to the interpreter assigned. More importantly, when assigning an interpreter, we make sure to match subject expertise, qualifications, and whether it is for simultaneous interpretation or consecutive interpretation.

Paying attention to little things is a necessary part of maintaining an unbroken flow at work. For example, if you need to scan many documents for a translation project, be sure to check that you’ve scanned everything you need to. Adding this check as part of your natural workflow will greatly reduce the possibility of making a mistake, and lead to successful completion of translation under a deadline.

Be sure to keep our mind clear and with intention when we work, so that we can do everything right the first time. Mistakes and errors can usually be fixed, but the time spent on fixing them will cause the flow to be broken and the melody interrupted.

Every day at work will be a different rhythm. Some days, there will be urgent projects that need to be addressed immediately. For instance, perhaps there will be late-minute additions to projects you’ve been working on. Be sure to conclude it on the same day, so to keep up a productive flow. Putting things off surely decreases work momentum or makes you feel like doing the same thing over and over. So let’s avoid that.

Responding quickly to clients and bringing them along with you in your flow can really create a good rapport and that can help you feeling great! Also ask yourself: how you deal with issues, how you approach problems, how you contribute to work environment, how you move things forward and support your co-workers, or how you manage balance and variety at work. These answers and activities compose your music every day! Every day should a great time at work!