99 % of our clients are satisfied with our services!

As part of M21 Global’ continuous improvement process, we started sending an automatic satisfaction survey to all our clients. Our e-mail, sent after the requested work had been delivered, had four questions:

1. What is your level of satisfaction with our services in general?

2. How likely are you to recommend our services to a colleague or friend?

3. What is your level of satisfaction regarding the service received?

4. What is your level of satisfaction regarding the translation service rendered?

Between 1 March and 2 May 2019, we sent approximately 300 surveys and, of those, received 58 replies. This number amounts to a sample close to 20 % of all the clients we worked with during this 3-month period, which leads us to believe that the result obtained may be extrapolated to the total number of clients in our portfolio.

If we also bear in mind that less satisfied clients are more likely to give their opinion than satisfied ones, then these numbers take on a fantastic dimension, which leaves us very satisfied.

The clients that answered our survey fall into the following categories:

• Foreign and/or Multinational Companies 45 %
• Portuguese PLC 22 %
• Portuguese LLC 14 %
• Public Entities 7 %
• Private Clients 7 %
• Law Firms 5 %

The answers received to the 4 questions were the following:

Management and Translation: Do not put off difficult conversations

Constantly putting off dealing with a situation that must be solved, by avoiding or delaying a difficult conversation, can undermine your workplace environment. Unwanted behaviours may perpetuate over time, solidifying attitudes, infecting other co-workers and turning a conversation that could be easy at first into an increasingly more difficult one.

Go straight to the point.
After greeting and establishing a rapport with the other person, approach the matter outright at the beginning of the conversation, in order for the conversation to proceed with a good atmosphere.

Do not beat around the bush and do not be hasty. Lay out the facts or the situation you want to clarify. Do not be judgemental.
This communication style is more open and less threatening.

Treat the other person like they wish to be treated.
There is an old adage that says we should treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. But people are not all the same, and not all communication styles suit all people. What is important to you may not be important to the other person, and similarly, details you do not consider important may be crucial to the other person. Keep in mind who is in front of you, and try to figure out what communication style is most effective with them. Treat them like they would wish to be treated.

Emotion prevails during a difficult conversation.
The other party may be, or think that they are, right and should, therefore, be able to state their point of view. Do not assume you are 100% right in your beliefs or that the other person is 100% wrong. Even if you disagree with what is being said, instead of immediately denying it, ask questions so to force the other party to reflect and give you time to formulate suitable answers.

When in disagreement, you should be prepared to listen, ask clarifying questions and, only after, should you worry about speaking.
You do not need to talk too much, it is even more important to listen so you are able to understand and deconstruct the other party’s point of view. Show you are paying attention to what is being said and encourage the other party to develop their thoughts. Ask open-ended questions that cannot be answered with “yes” or “no”. Check if both of you are understanding each other by rephrasing what was said so each party can validate it.

Above all, do not avoid difficult conversations just because you anticipate they may be unpleasant. Expect the best possible scenario, but prepare for the worst.

(See also https://hbr.org/2017/05/how-to-have-difficult-conversations-when-you-dont-like-conflict)

Translation: What is a legally certified translation?

Translators in some countries do not hold the position of “certified translator”. Legally certified translations are signed by a translator, and their signature is certified by a lawyer or notary public.

A legally certified translation consists of the following three parts:

1) The document or text in the original language.

2) The text translated in the target language.

3) A statement signed by the translator and certified by a lawyer or notary public, in which the translator declares on oath that the translation was prepared by them, and that it is true to the original version of the document.

A translation legally certified to be used in a foreign country can also need an Apostille. The Apostille is a formality in which the Attorney General’s Office certifies the authenticity of public acts (in this case, the certification of a translation issued by a lawyer or notary public). The countries that accept the Apostille are only those that have ratified or acceded to the Hague Convention. The Hague Convention website contains the updated list of all signatory and acceding countries: https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=29.

It is important to bear in mind that the legally certified translation includes all the documents listed above, and that none of these documents may be removed or unattached, as the legally certified translation will lose its validity. This means that if you wish to request the translation of an original document that you might need to use in the future for other purposes, you should not submit it for translation, but rather obtain a certified copy of it. A Birth Certificate, a Course Diploma, medical statements and others are examples of these documents. In short, all those documents that are difficult or impossible to obtain again, or when the cost for obtaining them is unfeasible.

Please contact us if you have any further questions regarding legally certified translations: info@m21global.com.

Don’t waste your time when requesting a translation

1 – You’re wasting time if you don’t identify yourself – An unidentified request raises questions and implies one more phone call or e-mail to which you must respond, which slows down the whole process. It’s best to identify yourself right from the start, so that we can offer you a budget that fits your needs. Send us your name or the name of the entity for whom you work, address, direct telephone number and Taxpayer No., so that we can register your quote. Don’t waste time, IDENTIFY YOURSELF.

2 – You’re wasting time if you don’t refer the target language – It may be just a simple mistake, forgetfulness, or because you always want to translate into the same language, but those who receive your request don’t know it. Remember that we work with dozens of language combinations simultaneously. Don’t waste your time, TELL US THE TARGET LANGUAGE.

3 – You’re wasting time if you don’t tell us your real deadline – You need your translation for yesterday and, for this reason, you state that the same is very urgent? Please tell us the delivery date for when you really need the work. Asking for unnecessary short deadlines does not help, it only complicates and increases the translation cost. Indicating the time limit available allows us to deliver you the most effective service. Don’t waste time, TELL US YOUR REAL DELIVERY DEADLINE.

4 – You’re wasting time if you don’t send the contents for translation – A quote request that refers only to the number of pages, lines or words for translation is not quotable. We need to analyse the text to be translated. On a quote request, there are several factors which influence the final price, such as the size of the text, the complexity of the theme, the level of technical specificity, or even the format in which it is delivered. If you have the document in its original format, for example, in Word or InDesign, don’t send us a PDF. Save time and money, SEND US THE FILE IN THE ORIGINAL EDITABLE FORMAT.

5 – You’re wasting time if you don’t clarify our doubts – When submitting your request, try to be informed about the translation process. The work goes through various stages, it’s not simply changing the text into another language. Don’t consider the translation company’s requests eccentric, such as the need of the award of service to be done in writing, the delivery of a glossary of terms used by your company or the contact of the person who can clear up any doubts. They help make our work easier and faster, and contribute to a translation with the best possible quality. Don’t waste time, ANSWER OUR REQUESTS.

9 habits to eliminate from your life so 2017 can still be a successful year

How about letting go of old habits and ending the year on a high note?

At the beginning of each new year, most people make a list of things they wish to accomplish. However, few will have been accomplished by the time December comes around. One by one, most resolutions are abandoned throughout the year – or, in many cases, even before the end of January.

Entrepreneurs, translators and other professionals will be happier if they let go of some bad habits that harm them, lower their productivity and prevent them from achieving success and personal satisfaction.

1. Spending too much time on social networks, especially during working hours
Social networks are the main cause of procrastination in the workplace. Losing oneself in Facebook posts may even be fun, but it is incapacitating and distracting. Only use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social networks during leisure time. Also turn off notifications on your phone. If someone has an urgent need to contact you they will phone you and not send you a message.

2. Do not multitask
A study conducted at the University of Utah, in the United States, shows a rather surprising result: only 2% of people can in fact perform more than one task at the same time. According to this research, the brain of so-called “supertaskers” is different from that of the remaining 98% of the population. Thus, the odds of being part of the group of people who can truly multitask is small, and it is therefore not worth trying to multitask. When you want to focus on a particular task, close all application and browser windows on your computer, except for those that are actually needed to accomplish the task at hand.

3. Stop comparing yourself to others
You cannot win at the game of comparison. There will always be someone more intelligent, beautiful, rich, and [apparently] happy than you. A professional must be able to focus on themselves, on their goals, health and state of mind.

4. Stop complaining
In fact, it’s not worth constantly complaining about everything, for no good reason whatsoever or over all the evils of the world. Pay attention to what you say. This not only affects you but also the people around you. The more positive things are said, the more positive things happen. A professional must be an optimist.

Some scepticism is always good but the pessimist does not change the world, does not motivate others and does not have innovative ideas. Pessimism only brings those around the pessimist down.

5. Don’t waste time with negative people
If certain people do not love or support you there should be no room for them in your life. However, the idea is not to seek confrontation, but to stop making yourself available. These people will not notice your reduced availability, because they are very focused on themselves.

6. Get rid of long and unnecessary meetings
Less meetings means more productivity. Schedule the meeting, share your ideas, deal with the points on the agenda and go off to do what you need to. Meetings need to be productive. Create an agenda for each meeting with the topics that need to be addressed. While checking the subjects, ask your colleagues to share what task they are working on and what work they have already completed. It works better and will reduce the time spent in meetings in half.

7. Let go of the habit of self-sabotage
Many professionals live life listening to that voice in their head that constantly says “I’m not good enough” or “I can’t do it”. You need to let go of this habit and stimulate some other, which keeps you productive. Working, exercising and contributing positively to society are some of the habits that can make you happier, whole and successful.

8. Do not boast about goals that have not yet been achieved
At a TEDGlobal Conference in 2010, entrepreneur Derek Sivers explained this idea: when we announce to the world what we want to achieve, the brain is lead to believe these goals have already been achieved. This implies that the effort and focus which are required to achieve them will be diminished.

9. Only concern yourself with what is under your control
If you’re an entrepreneur, remember that there are a number of variables that are outside of your control. There is no point spending nights awake in worry about what cannot be solved. It is a waste of time, energy and resources. We can only control what we eat, what we think and what we do.

Instead of focusing on the new habits we are going to build or the new goals that we are going to pursue, it may be more productive to focus on those habits that are holding us back and preventing us from being better, and to slowly try to change and eliminate them from our lives. There are still 5 months to go until the end of the year. If we can avoid carrying on with any of these negative habits, we will have a successful year, and one that is more in line our expectations.

[Please also check: https://www.inc.com/chris-dessi/17-bad-habits-you-need-to-kill-in-2017-to-be-more-successful.html]