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Certifications for a translation company in Switzerland

translation company in Switzerland

If you are looking for a translation agency and have been comparing different providers, you have most likely already encountered ISO certifications. There are many different types of certifications in the translation sector, but what do they stand for exactly? ISO certifications are an indication of a language services provider’s quality standards. Here is a brief and comprehensible overview of the most common certifications that can be held by a translation company in Switzerland:

ISO 17100:2015 for translation services

This international quality standard defines minimum requirements for the qualifications of specialised staff and evaluates them according to objective criteria. It also stipulates the use of dedicated resources that guarantee high-quality translation services. What does this mean in concrete terms for customers? They can depend on the following:

  • Professional linguists with either five years of work experience, a degree in translation, or another type of degree and two years of work experience
  • Top-quality translations proofread by another expert (four-eyes principle)

ISO 18587:2017 for post-editing

Machine translations have improved in leaps and bounds in recent years and are now virtually indispensable in the translation industry. They are fast and more affordable, but are not (yet) able to produce the same level of quality as human translations. This fact gave birth to the concept of post-editing, in which human optimisation of a machine translation produces a coherent, idiomatic and accurate final product. Given that this is a new process, many aspects still need to be sorted out, which is where the ISO 18587:2017 quality standard comes into play. It guarantees:

  • Post editors with the same qualifications as described in the ISO standard 17100 for translators
  • Equivalent content in both the source and target text
  • Adherence to customer-specific requirements
  • Coherent texts

ISO 9001:2015 for quality management

This internationally recognised standard is considered the basis for qualitative and optimised processes. It contains a set of guidelines for products and services that a company offers and describes how they are to be delivered to customers. In addition, the processes are analysed and optimised on an ongoing basis, and the aim is to continually improve customer satisfaction. Is your translation company in Switzerland certified according to ISO 9001:2015? If so, you can rely on efficient work processes that are continuously being improved.

ISO 27001:2017 for information security management

The ISO 27001:2017 standard is an international norm that ensures information security in organisations and companies. It outlines the requirements for setting up, implementing, operating and optimising an information security management system. Acquiring this certification involves meeting highly demanding conditions that are strictly monitored.

In case you’re interested in reading more about this topic, you can click here: “Why ISO? Because separating the wheat from the chaff is key to your success”