What can companies seeking to employ multilingual talent learn from the experience of a leading global translation company?

Our world is getting smaller. Each year, we find the distances that separate us shrinking because of technology. As the world becomes smaller, the global economy is also becoming more interconnected.

Businesses have an easier time finding new markets abroad. These companies also recruit employees from other countries. But how can a company recruit talent from a multilingual pool? We are going to take a look at the experience of Tomedes, a translation company that has built a network of 20,000+ translators from all over the world.

The Need for Recruiting from a Multilingual Pool

With the advances in the internet and computer technology, it has now become much easier for businesses to find the right talent for their business needs from across international borders.

It is estimated that 56% of global companies allow remote work, and about 16% of them are fully remote. Your company could be one of them seeking to employ from the global talent pool. Most international workers opt to say in their home countries since they can work remotely due to the Internet and how advanced technology has become.

Businesses are no longer limited to what the local workforce can offer. Finally, having an international pool allows you to expand more effectively into new markets.

A Translation Company’s Experience of Recruiting Internationally

A company that has always relied on local recruitment methods might be at a loss on how to hire workers internationally. It helps to learn from those who are used to working with people from different countries.

The translation company Tomedes has a lot of experience in dealing with multilingual workers from other countries. Operating in the language industry, it’s a given that the company will be dealing with multilingual individuals, and to date, the company has managed to build an international pool of 20,000+ translators.

How did Tomedes build such a large pool of translators? How does it manage such a vast team that’s spread all over the world?

Website Bidding

Early on, the company’s founder Ofer Tirosh realized that the usual way of hiring translators was not going to be enough as the company expanded. “I saw that we needed a system that is easily scalable, something that can quickly adjust to the number of projects that we are getting. So, I sat down with my team, and we came up with an idea for a system that would optimize the management on our end,” Ofer explained.

What they came up with was a bidding system. Translators would sign up on the company’s vendor platform, then when there are projects available, they can view the projects that they are qualified for and start bidding for them.

The setup is a win-win situation for both the company and the translators. The translation company gets a qualified language expert to work on the project, and the translator gets the price that he or she wants.

Since the platform is online, translators from all over the world can become part of the translator pool and bid on projects. But this does not mean that just about anyone can sign up.

Translators need to undergo a strict vetting process before they are signed onto the network. Aspiring translators have to show their qualifications in handling the languages they indicate they will be working in.

Social Media Recruitment

Aside from the website, another effective platform by which the company attracts translators looking for work is social media. The translation company maintains accounts on different social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and even Tiktok. These are channels through which many translators have made first contact with the company.

“As a social media manager of Tomedes, I can say that social media is a highly effective tool for reaching the right language professionals for the job. We all use social media. So getting the word out that we are hiring is a lot quicker, especially since social media accounts, such as LinkedIn and Twitter, allow us to connect with other professionals in our field,” explains the company’s social media manager Paula Armada. “

By also engaging with cultural and language-centric communities, we can easily find and connect with language professionals who are looking for work and have values that coincide with ours.”

Aside from connecting with those who want to become part of the translator pool, social media accounts of Tomedes have another purpose. “Our social media accounts serve as a bridge for translators, creating a community, and we become a tool for discussing challenges, trends, and updates on language and translation industries,” Paul says.

Onboarding and Providing Answers

Once the translators have signed up on the company’s vendor platform, they have to be given the necessary onboarding support for their work. Everyone will have questions about the projects, the system, the payment, and other things. The company works to make sure that all questions are answered quickly.

This means that the company has had to manage its limits. “Of course, we always want to have more talented people working with us,” says Jerica Fernes, the company’s head of HR. “But we need to make sure that we, and that we are able to provide them with what they need.”

When working with global remote workers, it’s vital to know the working culture to keep them engaged and motivated. For example, allowing them to take time off during holidays.

Multilingual Recruitment: Lessons For Companies

So, how can companies learn from this translation company’s experience?

A company that’s seeking to recruit multilingual talent can try to do what Tomedes did. First, they can build an online platform that allows talent to send in their applications. It makes the whole process convenient and fast. It doesn’t have to be a website, it can be a social media account.

Depending on the country your employee is from, there might be laws and policies that could affect where they can work and their work output. What’s important is that there’s a system in place so that you can plan ahead with the paperwork and financial parts involved.

Once the foreign talent has been recruited, there should be proper onboarding to help set the expectations. Ensures that they know how the system works and who they can reach out to when they have problems regarding work.

Admittedly, the setup of a translation company is different from other companies that may seek multilingual talent from other countries. Most companies may seek full-time employees as opposed to the setup of translators who only work on a per-project basis.

Still, the lessons offered by a translation company can be enlightening, especially when it comes to managing a workforce made up of thousands of individuals spread out all over the world.

HR Future Staff Writer