Optimum Deployment of Team Roles: As noted above, the way roles are deployed on the translation team determines the course or workflow which the translation follows. The workflow can have a great impact on the quality and cost of the end product as well as the efficiency with which the work proceeds. The two most important considerations are (1) the skills of the translator and the other members of the team and (2) the ease of communication and conferral. The optimum mix for your organization is generally determined by: (1) The size and regularity of your translation needs, (2) the level of the value/cost tradeoff you will accept, (3) your in-house human resources and their English skills. Even when a client outsources the entirety of a translation job to an agency or other translation service provider, someone must organize the team of people who will play the above roles on the translation assembly line. Thus in this case, the client outsources not only the translation job itself but the task of organizing the team. In doing so, however, clients give up all control over the translation process, which is rarely wise. One of the purposes of this page is to show that even smaller organizations can take advantage of many different and far more attractive options by considering the full range of translation service providers, including independent translators. As noted above, the choice of which combination of options is best for a given client should be made based on that client's unique translation needs and internal resources.

Workflow Organization: Below are examples of the various ways a client can structure the translation team by assigning the roles in the translation process to different translation service providers. The structure of the translation team can have a profound impact on the ease of communication and conferral and can therefore profoundly influence the efficiency of the translation process and the quality of the final translation. There is some flexibility in this flow, and I offer my own views on what type of workflow is best and why. The examples below illustrate a number of different possible routes which a translation job can take.

• Example 1. A company has an in-house translation team of two Japanese translators, one acting as coordinator. The coordinator divides the job between herself and her coworker. When they finish, they check each other's work. The coordinator then sends the report to a proofreader, an employee who is a native English speaker. He confers with the coordinator about any problems. When finished, he returns the draft to the coordinator.

• Example 2. At the other extreme, a company with no in-house translation staff must outsource all its translation. The company contacts a coordinator at a translation agency, who sends it to one or more translators registered with the agency. There is usually no conferral between the translators and the checker. It then goes to the proofreader, then back to the coordinator, who then delivers the translation to the client. Clients can not confer with the translator, and even if they are satisfied with the translation, they usually can not be sure they will have the same translator the next time.

• Example 3. A company with only limited English-speaking staff can still do quite well by working with a highly skilled outside independent "boutique" translator. An employee is appointed as coordinator to assign the work to the outside translator. If the translator needs to clarify any points regarding the assignment, he can consult with the coordinator by email or telephone. In this case, the translator also acts as checker and proofreader, which requires extra care on the part of the translator. But if the translator is highly competent, this alternative can be a very cost-effective solution for Japanese companies with only limited English-speaking in-house staff.

• Example 4. Some companies might have a few in-house employees who handle routine translation and English needs. However, they might assign certain technical reports to a native English-speaking outside translator who specializes in the relevant field. The outside translator can then consult with the in-house checkers to clarify any points before sending the final draft. If the in-house team lacks a native proofreader, they might make some corrections and then return the draft to the translator for a final proofread. Alternatively, the translator might consult with the in-house coordinator via email or telephone prior to sending the final draft.

• Example 5. An economist, analyst or attorney working at a company or law office might write a report or other document and then assign the translation directly to an outside independent translator. If the translator needs to clarify any point in the source documents, he can confer with the author via email or telephone. Once the translation is finished, the translator returns it to the author.

• Example 6. Some clients might have large or infrequent translation needs. If they have an in-house translation team, urgent assignments can be split between in-house staff and outside independent translators. If the job is not urgent, then the in-house team might be able to handle it themselves. If the company has no translation team, it could be assigned to a translation agency or perhaps several outside independent translators which the company maintains contact with.

As the above examples show, there are many ways which a client of translation services can organize a translation team using any mix of internal human resources and outside service providers. The optimal strategy for a client will depend on that client's internal resources, priorities and unique translation needs.