This time, the spotlight is on Anna-Leena Hilli, one of our Language Technology Specialists. A true STP stalwart, Anna-Leena started at the company as a Project Coordinator five years ago.

Which languages do you speak, Anna-Leena?

I can confidently say that I speak Finnish, English, Swedish and Dutch. I also speak basic French and understand some Norwegian, Danish and German. I did actually study German, but anything I understand now is because of similarities to Dutch!

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

The very first thing I can remember wanting to be is a cashier at a supermarket. At 17, I realised it was possible to work as a translator, so after that, I wanted to be a translator.

How did you end up working in the translation industry?

Well, I studied translation once I realised such a thing existed! I applied for an internship at STP towards the end of my studies at university. I got the internship and stayed on as a project coordinator after that. Luckily I was able to finish my dissertation, and therefore my degree, while working full time.

How did you first hear about STP?

I think it was during my fourth year at university that Raisa and Anu came to the University of Helsinki and did a workshop with us. They talked about the translation industry in general and mentioned STP, of course. That鈥檚 when I first heard about the company. I know they鈥檝e been back to do courses at the university many times since then.

What does it mean to be Language Technology Specialist?

I really do need to figure out a good way to summarise it! I would say that a big part of the work is regular technology support. Basically, if something 鈥� a CAT tool for instance 鈥� doesn鈥檛 work, we need to make it work again.

We also help the project management team with project preparation. I would say those two things take up most of my time.

Apart from that, we provide training, write instructions, look into new tools 鈥� in short, anything to do with translation tools. But the work鈥檚 not just about the technology; a lot of it is about working with people and helping them do their job.

What鈥檚 the most important quality for a good Language Technology Specialist?

The ability to get stuck into new things without fear. An 鈥淚 have no idea what this is, but I鈥檒l figure it out鈥� attitude. You need to teach yourself new things, and then you can help others.

Perhaps the obvious answer would be that you need to be a quick learner 鈥� I think a willingness to learn and to make an effort is the most important thing.

What is your favourite part of your role?

滨迟鈥檚 a little bit difficult to explain! My favourite part is essentially figuring out how to make my own role unnecessary in the long run. I prefer getting to the bottom of an issue rather than putting out fires that could have been prevented, so to speak.

For example, if something has a complicated workflow and people struggle with it, I really like figuring out how to simplify the workflow, how to streamline it so that people find it easier from the word go. Making complicated things simple, in short.

What do you wish you鈥檇 known at the start of your career?

I knew there would be a lot to learn, but it took me a while to really understand that there are always going to be new things, that you鈥檒l never know everything, that you鈥檙e never 鈥渄one鈥�.

When I was starting out, I didn鈥檛 know how technical the day-to-day work was and how many different CAT tools were out there. Learning a new one is always easier once you鈥檝e mastered others. So if you鈥檙e interested in technology, there are a lot of interesting things to learn.

If you could have a professional superpower, what would it be?

It would be knowing exactly what any indecipherable error message in any tool means. Imagine knowing instantly what every 鈥渙bject reference not set to an instance of an object鈥� error was referring to. That would save so much time!

Machine translation 鈥� friend or foe?

Friend, absolutely. But it鈥檚 one of those friends that if you set too much store by what other people say, you might end up being prejudiced. If you鈥檙e willing to give it shot and learn new things, it鈥檚 definitely worth it.

Any advice for people starting out in the industry?

I鈥檇 say it鈥檚 OK to not know exactly what you want to end up doing in the industry. For example, the role that I鈥檓 in and the team I鈥檓 in didn鈥檛 really exist at STP when I first started. 滨迟鈥檚 something that came later on.

For me, the transition from the project management team to the technology team was a natural progression. I had to learn to use the technology as a project manager and I found that side of things really interesting. When the technology team was created and started growing, it was very clear to me that I wanted to make that leap.

If you could do any other job for a week, what would it be?

I would want to be a neuropsychologist. I find anything related to the brain and how it works really fascinating. I鈥檓 not academic enough to pursue a career in any of those fields. It would be cool to try for a week, though!

If you could wake up and be fluent in a new language, what would it be?

It would either be Korean or one of the Slavic languages, most likely Russian. They would be something completely different to the ones I know now, both in terms of culture and language.

Do you have any language-related pet peeves?

Not really! I definitely think that some situations require nit-picking and attention to detail, but in general I鈥檓 not a fan of hard and fast rules in language. Languages change, that鈥檚 just a fact. I suppose you could call me a fan of descriptive grammar.

What鈥檚 your favourite word?

This might be really random, but I like the word 鈥減lausible鈥�. 滨迟鈥檚 fun to say and the meaning somehow appeals to me as well!

Which three words best describe your personality?

I guess I would say 鈥済ets thing done鈥�.

Do you have any hidden talents?

I used to play the guitar, and I even have a certificate from a music school. But to be honest, I actually enjoyed the theory lessons much more than the playing. I got pretty good, but I wasn鈥檛 very motivated to practise. Being the person I am, I didn鈥檛 want to give up. Once I got the certificate after five years, I basically stopped.

滨迟鈥檚 time. Tea or coffee?

Coffee! Hopefully with a cinnamon bun, if someone will bake some for me!

Who do you most admire, and why?

People who can remain really calm and level-headed even in busy and in stressful situations. Especially if they manage to remain friendly as well!

How do you unwind at the end of a long day?

You鈥檒l usually find me on the sofa reading a book or listening to music. I read a lot of non-fiction books, especially about history. To unwind I prefer a good fiction book, but they鈥檙e hard to come by!

Where is your favourite place?

Home, however boring that might seem!

Your dream travel destination?

I don鈥檛 really have a bucket list of countries or places to visit. But it would be really cool to travel to the area near the border between Russia and Mongolia. I鈥檇 be a bit apprehensive about going without knowing any of the local languages, but it would be fascinating to visit!

Describe STP in three words.

Resourceful, trail-blazing, adaptable.

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To the outside world, Raisa McNab has been STP鈥檚 Learning and Development Manager and an active ATC Council member. To her colleagues at STP, she is an enthusiastic, effective and driven leader whose get-up-and-go is inspirational.

Knowing Raisa鈥檚 talent and work, we are delighted that, from the start of October 2018, she is the Chief Executive of the Association of Translation Companies, leading the ATC together with the association鈥檚 Council, Chair and Secretariat.

The appointment is a well-deserved recognition of Raisa鈥檚 input as an active member of the ATC Council and her contribution to establishing the association鈥檚 ISO certification service, in particular. Raisa will continue to work at STP in a part-time role.

Although we are proud to be sharing Raisa鈥檚 talents with the ATC for the greater good of the UK translation industry, we also value her immensely as a member of our leadership team and look forward to working with her and benefitting from her drive and passion for many years to come.

If you鈥檇 like to read Raisa鈥檚 thoughts on her appointment, you can read our interview with her here.

Salty liquorice, name day chocolates and yoga make for happy offices

We often read about the ways that start-ups and tech giants create home-like environments to make their employees devote their every waking hour to their companies. At STP, one of the main principles is that we work smarter, not longer 鈥� so that employees can have dinner (and play video games if they so wish) at home.

However, we think that a team works well together when they know each other 鈥� a company should be a community. To this end, we have regular socials and meetings that bring both our office-based and remote workers together.

This year, the offices in Whiteley and in Varna have created initiatives to bring teams closer together and to integrate new members into the community.

In Varna, the whole team now has health insurance and they have received Multisport cards, which give them access to a range of gyms and sports facilities. The card has been a big hit with the team: our HR Advisor, Radostina Hristova, and project management team members Maria Daskalova, Silviya Ivanova and Yoana Nedelcheva even found a yoga class to attend together twice a week.

Apart from keeping fit, the Varna team also make an occasion of birthdays and name days by collectively chipping in for chocolates and small gifts. 鈥淎lmost every week someone cooks or bakes something and brings it to the office or we have a celebration,鈥� Radostina says.

In our Whiteley office, employees follow the Nordic tradition of bringing in cake or sweets on their birthday or on Mondays for fika. You can also often find a bowl full of sweets one of the Nordic linguists has brought from back home 鈥� the rest of the team has already learned to be wary of salty liquorice when it inevitably appears on the lunchroom table.

Apart from sweet treats and other benefits, a new initiative with the aim of integrating new starters to the area and to STP has been trialled with great success this year. The initiative is known as the buddy system: volunteers are assigned a new starter and given a budget to help get them settled.

Ida Berntzen, who is an Account Linguist based in STP鈥檚 Whiteley office, has taken part in creating the system: 鈥淭he new buddy initiative is great way to make newcomers feel safe and taken care of. When I came a little over a year ago, I don鈥檛 know what I would have done without friends I already knew over here who knew how everything worked.鈥�

Project Assistant Alexandra Waller is one of the new starters who took part in the initiative this year. 鈥淜nowing there鈥檚 a familiar face who鈥檚 not only looking forward to meeting you but is there to support you in your new role is priceless. I received a happy little email welcoming me to the team, but also my buddy鈥檚 number just in case anything happened to me en route to the office. They thought of everything! The buddies arranged some social events for us newbies to get to know each other and our local area. I鈥檓 starting to feel at home here and the buddies have definitely made the process fun and easy,鈥� Alexandra says.

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Translation management systems are the primary means by which language service providers (LSPs) streamline and automate their project management processes, and many of these systems include an online interface.

There are online systems built by LSPs for their clients where multilingual content is managed and language resources are maintained. There are online vendor management portals where new jobs are offered to a pool of translators. There are translation project management portals for scheduling and tracking projects. And there are financial portals where bookkeeping for orders and invoices is managed.

As an LSP working with 400 other translation companies, we have seen a few of these. In fact, STP uses portals for over 170 clients. Some of these are great, but we have also worked with many that are unwieldy and convoluted.

This is why it took us a few years to develop our own supplier portal, STP Passport, which has just been launched. Our guiding light in the development of Passport was the vision of creating a supplier portal that is as intuitive and easy to use as possible.

Passport doesn鈥檛 have game-changing functionality, but what it does do, it does well. It allows our suppliers to update their profile and availability, accept and view translation projects they are offered, and invoice their work quickly and with minimal fuss. Crucially, it makes it easier for us to turn projects around quickly.

So we鈥檙e on the portal bandwagon now as well. 滨迟鈥檚 not difficult to see the attraction of automating workflows and using online systems from the buyer鈥檚 or the LSP鈥檚 point of view. Ease of buying language services is one of the key benefits that Multi-Language Vendors (MLVs) use as a differentiator when talking to their clients.

It is at the production end where the shiny portals and much-lauded automation start causing problems. We know how time-consuming it can be to process projects in multiple portals: the viewing, accepting, downloading, uploading, delivering and invoicing can be a complicated process. Automation often benefits the buyer and the first tier, but falls flat at the production end.

A solution that is meant to make a process simpler and faster cannot be called lean until it is lean throughout the entire production chain.

Portals are also touted as a way of cutting down on translation costs. Some MLVs build and promote translation marketplaces where everything below them in the supply chain is left for the quickest and cheapest to grab. Where should the development of portals and marketplaces end?

I don鈥檛 think we should stop when the buyer is satisfied, or at project management level. Let鈥檚 develop online systems that minimise the production steps at all levels. Let鈥檚 develop systems that can be connected to others via APIs. Systems that are simple and intuitive to use for the buyers, the LSPs and the translators.

But let鈥檚 stop short of the cheapest and quickest. Let鈥檚 use our online systems and portals to create lean translation management workflows, not to compromise on the quality of the translations we produce or the calibre of the people producing them.

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A company鈥檚 brand is everything that constitutes their reputation and visibility. A brand is the sum of all the points of contact with clients, partners and stakeholders, both current and potential. Yes, these touch points include the visible brand identity, such as the logo and marketing material, but also the business premises, communication style, company culture and community engagement. Our website is a selfie of a modern professional services company; it is a snapshot of our story, of who we are and what we stand for.聽STP鈥檚 brand identity did not require a major overhaul, but a subtle change was needed to the elements communicating our story, vision and values. That is why we decided to redesign our website.

A brand out of step with the story

STP鈥檚 brand has always stood for Nordic translation services. This concept has been so strong that it has overshadowed the fact that we also have a large team providing excellent translation services into English. We wanted to address this imbalance on our new website. Not to discard anything, but to emphasise that we translate into English as well as into Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish.

A brand associated with the wrong images

It was also time to move away from the Nordic landscape imagery of forests, fjords and pretty log cabins. As serene as they are, they are not a true reflection of contemporary Scandinavian society, let alone the region鈥檚 sophisticated business and versatile foreign trade. Nor do they reflect STP as a business. On our new website, I want to talk less about the capabilities of STP and more about how they benefit our current and potential clients. And I want to showcase the industry we are part of and the community engagement that fuels our passion.

A brand not trained to listen

In fact, a well-designed website can and must be more than a selfie. It must be an engine that drives two-way communication. Our new website helps us to understand how our audience engages with us and to gauge whether our message gets across. It is a platform through which we not only speak and share, but also listen and learn.

A brand-new brand identity

The branding of many language service companies is too similar to that of their competitors. I wanted STP鈥檚 rebranding to reinforce our individuality. I didn鈥檛 need to reinvent who we are, just find a visual language for expressing it. I chose all the images on the website with this criteria in mind. I want them to be textured, exciting and vibrant, creative rather than polemic, cool and streetwise rather than corporate and polished. That is how I see our people, our service and our space in our industry.

We tried to assign a committee to manage the rebranding effort, but it didn鈥檛 work. The project required one leader 鈥� focused, inspired and able to lead. I took on the role, and it occupied my days and occasionally my nights during this sunny, scorching summer of 2018. Some companies outsource branding activities to creative agencies, but we didn鈥檛. Of course, we had a partner for the basic template design, development and hosting, but every image in our new brand identity has been hand-picked by us and every word on our website written by us. I am pleased that the website showcases the transcreation and copywriting skills of STP鈥檚 in-house staff. They demonstrated great teamwork while contributing to the content creation, and while translating the website.

Right now, I am pacing the floor of my well-organised office, too restless to sit on my comfortable chair or to concentrate on what is on my desk. I am eagerly waiting to hear what people think of STP鈥檚 new brand identity. For better or for worse, mea culpa.

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