About Advocating Global
A blog designed to support globally minded communication professionals with insight into the global communication strategies that lead to desired behavior and positive end-user outcomes. We write and invite experts to write in about global communication topics in healthcare, corporate communications and marketing, as well as best practices in localization and process management.
Our topics may vary, but our focus is always on the advocacy for the communications professional; to empower them with the tools and best practices to be a global leader and make a difference in the outcomes of the end-user.
Understanding Localization Maturity
Localization Maturity is about matching your organization’s expectations on global communication outcomes with the right people, processes and technologies. As organizations grow and their localization (translation) needs grow, that organization will have to move through stages of maturity. Our Global Communication Maturity Model™ 2.0 shows an enhanced view of the stages through which organizations will progress when implementing a global communications strategy. Each stage represents a point in time when an organization faces unique challenges that must be met and built upon in order to move forward on their global business path.
Making Translation a Priority: Benefits and Challenges
Making translation a priority may pose certain challenges if you are not a language services provider (LSP). But if you’re reading this, it’s probably because you know that the benefits are equally compelling. The good news is that a partnership with the right LSP can...
Top 5 Localization Tools
Our top 5 localization tools aren’t just for language services professionals (LSPs)! In fact, while we are an LSP, we bring more of a project management than a translation perspective to organization and efficiencies. Whether you’re just beginning to work with...
Use a translation provider or ask your associates?
This may be a question you are considering when you are watching your budget and not sure of the benefits of using an external translation provider for the translation of your content. Perhaps you have hired a marketing firm to help you with your strategy. Many...
Eliminating Pain Points in Translation by Starting at the Source
In this post we're going to interpret the adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” as "starting at the source can help eliminate pain points in translation." Preparing content for translation can prevent delays, additional costs and version dilution,...
The ABCs of Localization
The ABCs of Localization Is it too on the nose to talk about the ABCs of localization? Maybe, but it's good shorthand for building up the basics - and ties it in to language, which is the matter at hand. Often, when talking to people from outside of the industry, I am...
Five Thoughts on Agile Translation
Agile is becoming an ubiquitous term in business. Here are a few thoughs around the Agile mindset as it relates to the Translation or Localization industry.
Questioning the Role of Translation
This blog is a first attempt to dig into the greater question: what’s the Role of Translation? The Translation Industry is a rather obscure service industry that has gained a lot of attention in the media due to technological innovation and sometimes also through...
Added Value with the Translation Preparation Process
The translation process can be negatively affected by a poorly formatted document. The translation workflow is often oversimplified by our own industry through the expectation that translation is a simple “word” business. However, when you look at the details of the translation workflow from start to end, there are a lot of process principles that are relevant to translation quality.
When does Global Competence Stick?
We talk a lot about building up Global Competence in the organization, but what does it mean? Does it mean that everyone in the organization needs to know the ins and outs of Global Commerce? Does it mean that everyone is Culturally Sensitive? When does Global...
How John Deere got me thinking about Translation Productivity
In a John Deere commercial we see how a customer receives an eye opening statement from the salesman: “It’s not how fast you mow, it’s how well you mow fast”. It got me thinking how this slogan could relate to translation productivity (why not?).