Our Corporate Communication Policy
How does your company support gender equality in the workplace?
Since the beginning of our business, gender equality has been one of our core values. At Localization Agency, we treat everyone equally and believe that a person’s identity as a translator is unrelated to gender. Principally, our interview questions and HR application form are free of any information about gender, nor do we request applicants to include headshots or their gender with their resumes. We also use their preferred manner of address while communicating with our translators, editors and proofreaders. As a long-established company, we do not discriminate based on gender against individuals, stakeholders, or employees. Localization Agency is committed to changing negative stereotypes about women and has joined groups such as “Women in Localization” to oppose gender-based discrimination. Furthermore, our enterprise has worked with several NGOs to support women’s integration into society. Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, from 2005 to 2006, we provided free translator training to foreign or multilingual mothers who could only work from home. As benefactors of the Koruncuk Foundation for ten years, we provide several forms of support and education for girls. For instance, our team has participated in several “İyilik Peşinde Koş” (Run for Goodness[1]) events, raising significant funds with our slogan: “Running at Dijital Speed”. Ultimately, as Localization Agency, we meet the standards for the “Women-Owned Business” certification given by The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) by working with more than 51% of women, demonstrating a gender-neutral approach in the workplace.
What does your company do for sustainability management?
The Localization Agency team engages in several activities that are consistent with sustainability. These are backed up with our certificates in “Sustainability Communication” from Istanbul University and have completed a three-month “Corporate Sustainability” programme from Bocconi University in Italy.
First, we calculate the annual use of paper, toner, and electricity due to efforts to minimise paper usage in the translation sector. Once we determine how many trees must be cut down to produce the quantity of paper we need to provide to our clients as printouts, we plant at least twice as many, especially in places vulnerable to erosion and landslides, as advised to us by the TEMA Foundation. By establishing memorial forests honouring our clients and translators, we have raised awareness of environmental issues by collaborating with the Aegean Forest Foundation and planting 5.000 trees. This way, we are making an effort to reduce our carbon footprint and replenish the resources we take from the environment.
Furthermore, at Localization Agency, we prioritise energy-efficient appliances in our workplace, enforce eco-friendly practices across several domains, including water and electrical device usage, and train employees on environmental topics.
We also adhere to the VQA NOS 6 translator health guidelines and place a high value on the well-being of our translators. Being a translator means spending a lot of time sitting down. As a result, we are more vulnerable to illnesses like orthopaedic and internal disorders, and our demanding jobs might lead to dietary and stress problems. For this reason, we have highlighted the importance of translator health through interviews and one-on-one consultations with physicians at the ÇAPA Training and Research Hospital in Turkey.
Moreover, Localization Agency provides a range of scholarships for students in elementary, middle, high school, and university. Our company also hosts workshops and provides career chances to recent graduates to support younger generations. We help students interested in long-term careers in translation by offering them scholarships and training.
As part of our work on sustainability, Localization Agency translates sustainability reports and collaborates with various NGOs. We receive full marks on the sustainability assessments that the businesses we partner with administer to us. With our sustainable term bank, we implement a precise and efficient localisation and translation system. Ultimately, we maintain current terminology through the trainings we attend in sustainability and participate in the Sustainability Academy Turkey’s endeavours.
How does the company reduce/reuse/recycle paper waste?
Our company implements several waste prevention strategies. At Localization Agency, we digitally translate the provided documents before printing them and ask customers whether an electronic signature will suffice. To save on postage and envelope costs, we scan and provide the translated documents digitally if printouts are required. In such instances, we assess the environmental effect of the procedure and use sustainable measures to lower our carbon footprint to mitigate the environmental harm our team inadvertently caused, such as paper, stamp, toner use, logistics, and an electronic load resulting from excessive mailing. Our strategies involve donating to NGOs, planting trees and promoting sustainability initiatives. Every year, we set aside money for this reason and use it to implement many environmental activities. At Localization Agency, our efforts are directed at reducing the usage of paper and other waste materials that are detrimental to the environment.
What translation technologies does the company use?
Founded in 2002, our company works in translation and technology fields, and the name “Localization Agency” was selected to portray the idea of a world where words and codes are combined. We securely maintain client and translation team data with our in-house TMS (Translation Management System). While memoQ is our preferred computer-assisted translation program, our team is conversant with all translation technologies used in localisation and translation. We employ various methods to improve, speed up, and maintain affordable translation quality, including neural machine translation, quality assurance systems, and Language Quality Assurance (LQA). As Localization Agency, we use termbases and software that our team has developed over more than 20 years. We minimise human mistakes and continually improve translations via step-by-step methods by shaping translations with terminology approved by expert translators, editors, and proofreaders. Our enterprise operates on an entirely technologically driven translation system with a human-centred organisational structure that continually performs quality control and keeps the human at the centre of the system’s design.
What do your certifications mean, and why do they matter?
Since 2013, our business has earned 14 certifications: TS EN ISO 17100:2015 Localization and Translation Services, ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, EN 15038:2006 Translation Services – Service Requirements, EN 15038:2006 Translation Services – Quality Management System, TSE ISO/TS 11669 Translation Projects, ISO 18587:2017 Translation Services – Post-editing of Machine Translation Output – Requirements, ISO 20539:2019 Translation, Interpreting and Related Technology – Vocabulary, ISO 12616-1:2002 Translation-oriented Terminography, ISO/TC 37 Language and Terminology, Google Adwords Google Authorized Translation Office, ISO 10002:2018 Customer Satisfaction and Complaint Management System, ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System, ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management System and OHSAS 18001 Translator Incorporation Certificate.
Nevertheless, at Localization Agency, we not only possess translation-related certifications but also translation-supporting or business process-related qualifications. In our opinion, holding certifications in fields like environmental and occupational safety is crucial for every business to have. Our company believes a specific Legal Translation certificate is necessary for translations in the legal field. At Localization Agency, we believe that holding various qualifications enhances the calibre of translations and that these credentials prove one’s proficiency in a particular field. Certificates are crucial to removing security gaps and improving the quality of translations. For instance, our dedication to document security and secrecy is reaffirmed by our information security and confidentiality certifications. Certifications and training are vital to us. We strive for constant excellence and continual progress, with one of our departments solely devoted to training.
What steps does your business take to uphold Turkish language standards?
There are two categories for Turkish language and translation standards: VQA NOS[2] 6 criteria and standards for translators. The former was released in 2013, and we arranged all of our procedures by it the same week it was released, integrating it with our whole working system. The latter has yet to be published in the Official Gazette. Still, as soon as the draft versions were made available, we set up our teams in each of the six pertinent areas of expertise and ensured they had received the necessary training. In addition to adhering strictly to these two standards, we have received certification in eleven translation-related areas. Localization Agency follows the general translation standard ISO 17100 at every stage. Our software is built per our own TMS and LQA systems, and we follow the necessary workbooks and methods provided to us by ISO. Our team generally adheres to the spelling regulations set out by the TDK (Turkish Language Association), the official language authority in Turkey. However, we also follow the guidelines of Dil Derneği (Language Society[3]) when needed. At Localization Agency, we comply with the client’s precise requests. Our translators, editors and proofreaders adapt translations to match the client’s preferred spelling.
What does your company do to support young translators & interpreters?
Localization Agency has always provided help to young translators. Our employees are all Translation and Interpreting or Translation Studies graduates. As translators or editors, we collaborate with graduates of the Language and Literature departments or associated fields; as the administrative team, we do not cooperate with alums from different areas of study. This is founded on the vision that our business values education and training and works with individuals specialising in the relevant field. Since our establishment, we have provided aspiring translators with various training prospects by visiting universities, providing internships, and setting up online conferences, workshops and seminars. DLocalization Agency supports young translators with numerous apprenticeships, including specialised and translation technology training, and offers students academic scholarships as well as employment opportunities. Through free publications, we give educational materials, professional assistance on translation and mentorship to aspiring new translators.
How are young and newly graduated employees trained?
Since its founding, our company has collaborated with translation, interpreting, and language studies departments. We have also maintained touch with translation institutions around Turkey to arrange free training sessions and courses. Apart from Turkey, we have held over 165 training sessions and offered free online activities in other European countries. Occasionally, academic groups would stop by our workplace to see what we did throughout the workday. Thanks to our “Translators in the Field” programme, many universities, including Bilkent University, Boğaziçi University, Ege University, Dokuz Eylül University, Hacettepe University, Istanbul University, Kırklareli University, Trakya University had the opportunity to spend a day at our headquarters. We offer free summer and winter internships each year to provide the next generation of translators with an introduction to the field.
Furthermore, should the internship be accomplished satisfactorily, we extend employment offers. Our enterprise employs at least one recent graduate to foster emerging talent annually. Students from several universities have gained practical translation experience at Localization Agency thanks to our eagerness to train our newly graduated employees. Apart from giving seminars to assist recent graduates in the translation profession, we also serve as the primary sponsor of three translation competitions and have sponsored two publications. Through our voluntary work, we have helped translation clubs materially and morally and continue to welcome fresh talent into the industry.
[1] No official translation found.
[2] Vocational Qualifications Authority, National Occupational Standards.
[3] No official translation found.
