Choosing your language partner: how to choose wisely

Welcome to the first of our three-part series on navigating the complexities of the language services industry. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing my observations on how to choose a language service provider (LSP) that adds real value to your organisation.

As a localisation professional with over 20 years in the industry, I’ve seen almost every sales tactic in the book. Lately, I’ve noticed an increase in claims from providers that seem a little too good to be true. You might have seen them in your inbox: promises of 40,000 interpreters or connection times of just 10 seconds.

When a provider leads with these vanity metrics, it’s important to take a closer look. In my experience, these figures often exist more in the sales manager’s imagination than in reality.

Let’s do a quick reality check on the claim of 40,000 linguists. If we look at public service interpreting in the UK, the numbers tell a different story:

• The National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) is the UK’s independent voluntary regulator. It lists approximately 1,700 qualified interpreters as members.
• The Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) is the UK-based royal charter professional body for linguists worldwide. It cites roughly 5,000 members.

If the membership of these leading professional organisations combined is only in the low thousands, how can a single provider claim a linguist pool twenty times that size?

One strong possibility is that these larger networks are often not properly vetted. An LSP might have 40,000 names in a database, but that doesn't mean all those people are active, qualified, or under contract. A smaller pool of proactively managed linguists is almost always a better sign.

By comparison, another LSP’s network consists of about 3,400 linguists. But every single one has signed specific terms and conditions, holds professional certification, has undergone a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and has their work regularly evaluated for continuous improvement.

When you need to connect a telephone interpreter, speed is important, but linguistic accuracy is even more vital. Claims of a 10-second connection time to an interpreter often don’t hold up on closer inspection. A professional LSP needs time to match your specific requirements with the right expert linguist, especially when a certain dialect or knowledge about a specific sector like the public sector or mental health is required.

The 10-second claim becomes even more questionable when we look at services like British Sign Language (BSL). The demand for qualified BSL interpreters often outstrips supply because training is so rigorous and professional standards are so high. Suggesting an instant connection for BSL ignores the professional reality of the service.

To make sure a qualified professional is available, BSL assignments require advanced planning. An instant service may obscure the need for a three-hour booking minimum or the need for two interpreters to rotate during longer sessions to maintain quality. In some cases, you may even need a specialist Deaf Relay interpreter to work alongside a BSL-English interpreter to ensure regional or non-standard signing is fully understood.

Promising a 10-second connection across hundreds of languages suggests a ‘first to answer’ model rather than a ‘best to help’ model. I advise looking for a realistic average. A decent, professional interpretation provided should be able to maintain a 40-second average connection time to an interpreter (excluding very rare languages). It’s fast enough to be efficient, but long enough to ensure quality.

When you are vetting a potential language services partner, I recommend looking past the headline figures. Here are a few things that can make a big difference to the service you receive:

• DBS checks: Are the linguists background-checked to ensure they are safe to work with your clients or data? When you are working with vulnerable service users or handling sensitive personal data, a criminal record check is non-negotiable.
  
  
• International quality standards: Do they operate under a rigorous quality framework? Look for providers holding an ISO 18841 certification for interpreting and ISO 9001 for quality management to make sure you receive consistent, professional results.
  
  
• Professional accreditation: Do their linguists hold memberships with bodies like the NRPSI or CIOL? These organisations certify the linguists are regulated by and accountable to the industry’s highest professional standards.
  
  
• Education and experience: What are the minimum requirements for a linguist to join their network? A reliable partner prioritises linguists with specific educational backgrounds, sector experience and deep cultural understanding over a long list of names.
  
  
• Data security: Do they hold ISO 27001 certification for information security management? This international standard verifies that the provider has rigorous systems in place to manage and protect your sensitive data.
  
  
• Human support: Is there a human team available when you need help? While 24/7 portals are useful, you should check that they also have a dedicated team for complex bookings and emergency assistance.

While these requirements take time to verify, they are a reliable way to build a partnership based on trust rather than clever marketing.

In my two decades in the localisation industry, I’ve learned that a bigger number doesn’t always mean a better number. A provider that takes their role seriously will prioritise vetting and professional standards over a massive, unmanaged database.

Don't let the numbers game distract you from what really matters: reliable, professional multilingual communication that supports your clients when they need it most.

What’s next? In our next post, we will be looking at pricing pitfalls and why the cheapest quote can often be an expensive mistake.