In-house linguists – locatheart’s beating heart

In our industry, working with freelancers is both a necessity and a reality. However, it is even more important to create a permanent base of in-house linguists – at locatheart, we recognise that they are a beating heart of our agency, as they guarantee a smooth running of all processes while pumping valuable knowledge and essential information to the rest of the system. What is it exactly that our specialists do? Which factors are considered when selecting candidates? How do we train a new member? Our article provides answers to all these questions – and more.

The responsibilities of linguists working at locatheart’s headquarters can be divided into five categories, and each of them requires a specific set of features and skills. Let us take a closer look at each field of activity.

Members of our team must not only fluently speak both languages and have great writing skills, but also possess a broad knowledge of relevant cultural circles. Moreover – as the number of translating, editing, proofreading and copywriting projects can be quite staggering – they have to be flexible and organise their work efficiently. It is worth pointing out that even if the initial stages of working with particular materials are the responsibility of our external co-workers, every single text is reviewed by our in-house team prior to sending it back to the client.

As Polish texts are often translated into as many as a dozen or so foreign languages, internal experts are responsible for preparing the so-called templates – extremely faithful and, at the same time, natural translations into English which will serve as the new source text to linguists from other countries who are not familiar with Polish. Such files – since they have a direct impact on the quality of all other versions and thus are of key importance for the client – have to contain suitable comments and tips which will help dispel any interpretative and grammatical doubts. Because of this, our team is required to identify potential issues, come up with universal solutions, thoroughly understand the nature of a given text and possess a linguistic intuition that encompasses a much broader field than the languages in which they are specialized. To get to know the full range of tasks we carry out and take a closer look at examples illustrating our work, read our article on how to translate content using an English master version.

Our experts must possess a profound knowledge of guidelines provided by clients, including any terminological, punctuation and even stylistic nuances; moreover, they have to be thorough, diligent and inquisitive (which often means having to discuss and confirm even the tiniest details with the client).

Our specialists are responsible for the final product delivered to the client; therefore, they have to immediately react to all changes, monitor the flow of information on an ongoing basis and regularly make sure that all linguists taking part in the project have adequate instructions and tips. It is helpful to create clear and user-friendly online sheets, thanks to which all significant information can be shared in real time.

Since our experts are the only ones who possess knowledge regarding all projects and are familiar with instructions provided by each client, they are responsible for creating schooling materials that will facilitate future onboardings and improve freelancers’ work. What is more, if such are required, our experts conduct special training workshops (online and stationary), thanks to which even a large number of linguists can work on a given project. In this case, interpersonal skills, organisational abilities, thoroughness, as well as strategic and analytical thinking are of particular significance.

At locatheart, we make sure that our clients always receive content of the highest quality; therefore, we apply strict selection criteria during recruitment processes. After the interview, which serves as a way of getting to know the declared competences, skills, motivations and personality traits of a given person, the selected candidate takes a number of tests that allow us to see how they use relevant abilities in practice – the challenges they face include:

• editing a Polish text full of non-obvious mistakes,
• translating various specialist texts to English,
• carrying out a thorough technical check of subtitling files.

When a new linguist joins our team, we apply every instructional mechanism there is. We can divide them into three main categories.

From the very beginning, a new person can familiarise themselves with a whole lot of accessible, up-to-date and substantively rich reference materials which are then further discussed during internal trainings.

A new linguist is supervised from day one by senior colleagues who thoroughly check and analyse every single file and then go over any issue that requires attention, sharing their expertise and broadening the context.

It is worth mentioning that such help does not simply stop after the initial period – our linguists support each other all the time, take part in various workshops and courses, as well as work together to further develop their professional competences.

As you can see, the work of our in-house linguistic team cannot be overestimated. Thanks to our specialists, all processes run smoothly, seamlessly and in an incredibly friendly atmosphere; because of their continuous progress and mutual support, the client always receives materials of the highest quality. They are the heart of locatheart – the heart without which no project would be possible.