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mandy.thatcher@melcrum.comDecember 13, 2007
Dear Source Reader
Communicating successfully with employees around the globe sometimes means translating the more important messages. But if you're going to invest time and money in making sure meaning is not lost, proceed with caution.
Research from Melcrum's latest report on How to communicate with global and hard-to reach-audiences highlights 6 tips for those organizing and managing the translation of messages.
1. Make sure translators understand what they're working on
At Nordea, a Swedish financial services organization covered in the report, translators are measured on their knowledge of the business and the corporate strategy. They specialize in certain business areas, and are buddied up with another team member with a similar specialism who can double-check their work. If the company uses external translators, it insists on the same individual each time, so they can build up their understanding of the business.
2. Have translators available when you need them
Nordea has a policy of translating fast, often into 5 languages simultaneously. When the company’s interim reports are published, 2 translators from each country come together for 2 days in the corporate headquarters and work together to translate the frequent changes in content, right up to the final deadline.
3. Talk to authors frequently to make sure meaning isn't being lost
Ask people involved in the project and the organization to review and refine the translation to get the right meaning across.
4. Beware of direct translation
In the report, Sally Harris, director of communications and engagement at Molten, points out that one cultural style may be totally inappropriate for another culture. She gives the example of a communication being translated from German (a very direct language) into English. The communication was full of phrases such as "you must", which wouldn't have been popular with a UK audience.
5. Don't cut corners or miss out parts of a communication
Harris cautions that some employees will be bilingual and will spot instantly when something is missing or different between versions.
6. Make sure material is checked by someone else before it goes out
How often have you stayed in hotels and seen notices in bizarre terminology that would have been spotted instantly if a native speaker had read them?
Enjoy the rest of this issue and see you next week.
P.S. We've just finalised the programme for the Change Communication
Conference in March 2008 - I hope I'll see you there!
It's official: employees don't like to party!
The Internal Comms Hub, December 11, 2007
HR expert Croner, is telling bosses to stop worrying about the dangers of the Christmas work party because almost two-thirds of workers (63%) would prefer not to be there anyway...
Giving context to benchmarking
Angela Sinickas, Melcrum's Measurement Newsletter, December 5, 2007
In the latest Measurement Newsletter, Angela Sinickas outlines the many factors you need to take into account if you want to compare numbers from other organizations meaningfully with your own.
BT - A great example of "Enterprise 2.0"
Alex Manchester, Melcrum Blog, December 3, 2007
Alex Manchester says BT's work with social media behind the firewall - specifically, the company's Wiki project "BTpedia" is one of the most comprehensive examples he's seen to date.
Communicating a new brand at Marks & Spencer
Interview with Robert Nuttall, Melcrum Podcast, December 5, 2007
Robert Nuttall, head of internal communication at food and clothing retailer Marks and Spencer talks about communicating the new brand in a retail environment.
Making corporate podcasts easily obtainable
Alex Manchester, Melcrum's Social Media Newsletter, December 2007
In the new Melcrum report, Podcasting: How to get started in your organization, author Lee Hopkins gives several examples of where these “mini radio shows” might be useful. But, once you've got a podcast ready to go, how can you make sure the right people get to listen to it?
The Source
for Communicators is a free resource for corporate communicators
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