S03E20: Building Trust with Language Translation

Ingrid Christensen

Thank you so much. I’m so excited to be here. Thanks for the invite.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

I know we’ve been trying to coordinate this for a while and finally we get to do this. But Ingrid, there are lots of people who would like to hear about your background. Please give them an introduction to those listeners who don’t know you and tell us what you do.

 

Ingrid Christensen

Yes. Awesome. Thank you so much. So, my name is Ingrid Christensen. I’m the president and founder of INGCO International. INGCO International is a language service company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have a full-time staff of about 20 right now. We’re in five different countries currently. And we service for the most part about 200 different languages across the board for any sort of language service needs  and that’s translation, interpretation, transcription, localization, voiceover, subtitling, etc.

 

I got started in this industry kind of by accident. I’ll say a lucky accident, a planned accident, right? I think many of us kind of found our way into this industry. And for me, my purpose became crystal clear on a random decision that I made way back in 1999. I had just graduated from the University of Minnesota wi]th intentions of going to law school and I was trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life, right? I think I’m still trying to figure that out. And I answered an ad in the Minnesota Daily. So at the time when you were looking for a job, you had to go to the newspaper, right? And look in the want ads. And there was a local interpreting agency here based in Minneapolis and they were looking for scheduling help. And I was at the time I was working at a sports bar and let me tell you, I could not handle one more day working at this sports bar, schlepping pitchers of beer around. So this job looked a heck of a lot more interesting.

 

So responded to the ad, got the job, started working, kind of scheduling admin tasks, right? And my boss found out that I spoke Spanish. And she said, would you ever be interested in trying interpreting? I said, sure. So they tested me and found out that my language skills were on par with that of what they needed and said, all right, we’re going to try this out. And I’m okay. I didn’t really think too much about it. And then she came down to my desk and said, we’ve got an emergency at the children’s hospital. Can you go? And I go, well, yeah, here’s my chance. I’m going to take a chance.

 

So I remember walking into the hospital, right? My knees were shaking. I was sweating. I was so nervous. I had no idea what I was doing at the time. I had a very basic understanding of what an interpreter was supposed to do. And I thought, I’m just going to go in there and I’m going to do my best. And I walked into the waiting room and there was this nervous Latino couple with a brand new baby. And she was crying as she had her fever and they just looked so confused. And I was confused and everyone was confused. And we just started interpreting, right? The doctor came in and I started interpreting and we facilitated conversation. And I could instantly see the nervousness, the apprehension melt away from their faces. And on the drive home, I remember thinking I have never done anything so impactful in my life. And it was that very moment that I decided to launch into a career as a professional interpreter. And of course that led me up.

 

Ingrid Christensen

I realized quickly that I needed to figure out what I was doing. I needed to get some skills. So I went back to the University of Minnesota. We’re lucky to have a very well-established translation and interpreting program for many, many, many years, 30 plus years supported by the university. And I became certified as both a Spanish medical and legal interpreter. One of our states is one of the first that had a department of health certification. And then I went through the legal certification and I really dived into the profession and expanding my skillset to the best of my abilities. So I really enjoyed a six, seven year career as a freelance Spanish interpreter. And I loved it. It was really fun.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

So Ingrid, that’s again an amazing story about how you got started. And it was a great, happy accident then because you are where you are. I’m curious to know about your observations and what actually stood out to you as major events in this industry since you started. I mean, what do you remember about those changes and evolutions that have happened? And what do you think a major shift or impact in this industry was to you?

 

Ingrid Christensen

Well, you know, I age myself a little bit, but I grew up right before email. It was a time before internet and email. And so when I was interpreting, I had to cart around stacks of dictionaries, right? I was always prepared, depending on what sort of appointment I was walking into. And, in my car, what I like to call my mobile office, I had a basket in the back and I would, depending on where it was going, I would grab a dictionary.

 

Now take that in comparison to where we are right now and what the rapid acceleration of technology has done to our industry, specifically has turned our industry upside down. And so for me, I think first and foremost, how technology has advanced our industry in ways that are happening so quickly and so rapidly. I do think that it’s a huge benefit to the industry.

 

I mean, I’m sure you remember back in the day, right? I would work, dabbled a little bit in translation and a client would courier me an envelope, right? A stack of papers and I would sit down at my huge desktop computer with my stacks of dictionaries, translate whatever the material was printed out and courier it back to my client, right? There was no such thing as email.

 

And look at what we’re doing right now, right? We’re leveraging AI, we’re leveraging machine translation, we’re leveraging translation memory software in ways that we could never have dreamed possible back in the, you know, the early 2000s. So I think for me, the biggest thing that impacted our industry has been technology.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Speaking of technology, today it’s everywhere. In fact, the past two years, technology brought us closer together and it kept our industry running despite all the lockdowns and all these issues we had. But let’s shift our focus on today’s topic. And I know this is something very important and dear to you, that’s trust through translation. So as we will be talking about this, give me a high level view of trust as a currency in our industry, what it is and what we do we need to know.

 

Ingrid Christensen

So I’ve had the opportunity this past year to dive into all things trust. So I launched a huge project January of 2022 and I decided I was going to write a book and I knew right away that I wanted to talk about trust. Trust was something that kept coming up over and over again when talking to people in our industry and outside of our industry about what it is that we do. I kept coming back to trust, trust, and it just, it sparked an interest in me. It sparked a curiosity within me to dive deeper and to figure out what, what is it? What is trust? How do you get it when it’s broken? How do you get it back? How does it have anything to do with our industry?

 

And then I really started thinking about all the different stakeholders involved in our work, right? Certainly there’s us as industry leaders, there’s our employees, there’s our vendors, there’s our clients. We couldn’t do anything without our clients.

 

But then I started thinking, well, who’s the very most important person in this cycle, this circle of trust. And I started thinking about the end user. And I know there’s lots of different ways to describe the end user, but that’s what I’m using for purposes of this book. And I’m talking about the person that reads a book that’s translated, that goes to the doctor and has to make a life decision with the help of an interpreter. I’m talking about parents that are looking for a better future and a better opportunity for their children and enrolling them in public schools with the help of interpreters. You know, I’m talking about people that are making real life decisions based on the very work that we do.

 

And then I started thinking about all of that based in trust, the blind trust that our stakeholders gift us in our industry specifically, for me it felt very overwhelming. And I just really wanted to explore it more. So that’s kind of what I’ve been doing this past year. I’ve been super blessed with the time by my company and by my team, to give me time to really dive into this. I’ve spoken with, I don’t know, 50 plus industry leaders about trust. I’ve read lots of reports about trust, and really kind of just kind of dived in and dove in and tried to figure out what is this thing called trust.

 

So I have a couple working theories. For me, what has become apparent is that leaders regardless of your industry, whether you’re in a localization, translation, interpretation industry, or any other industry, trust is first and foremost, what we as leaders need to be focusing on 100%. It’s the cultivation and development of trust, the bilateral trust that has to flow both in and out of everything that we do and touch on every single one of the stakeholders.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Let’s look at the fundamentals of trust in the business world. Why should a client organization or an enterprise care about trust? After all, if people like something, they trusted by default, isn’t that so?

 

Ingrid Christensen

Yeah, well, the fact is, you know, yes, if you like something, you’re able to trust it. In fact, there are studies that show that we have a greater ability to trust people that are like us, somebody that looks like us, talks like us acts like us. We have a natural ability to trust them.

 

And that actually goes way back to human evolution back when we were living in the caves. You know, we could trust that what we could see, right? We could trust the people around us, we could trust the people that were living in our cave, we knew that we can rely on them. But when we had to expand our world, and we had to start trading goods and food, you know, we had to start opening up and we had to figure out who is it that we could trust.

 

And so a lot of times people describe trust as a gut feeling. And it is, it’s related to the vagus nerve, which connects to the brain, which I’m not going to get too nerdy, but it sets off a whole slew of concoctions of different endorphins and hormones in the body that actually put the body into a state of trust. But that’s a whole different topic that we can dive into another day. But once you’re able to give into that state of trust, everything becomes easier, right communication, you feel more competent and competent, and it’s a two way street.

 

So yes, the fact is, we can trust who we know, we like who we know, etc. But the world is evolving, right? People are moving, people move every day. Immigration, emigration, migration, wars, famines, you know. Global pandemic has people moving around in ways that we’ve never seen before. Even way back in the days of the cave, right, we had to leave the cave to fall in love to broker business deals to trade, I don’t know, you know, your bison bones for, you know, some vegetables.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Yeah.

 

Ingrid Christensen

Right, so we’ve been relying on trust since before we evolved to our to our current state. And if we don’t have trust, if we cannot enter that state of trust, then we cannot possibly begin to even start talking about competence and confidence and care and a lot of the other things that we as human beings need in order to survive. So yes, I’ll give you that, that we trust who we like, and we like who we trust. But why do we as businesses, why should we care? Here’s why I think we should care.

 

First of all, as employers, if we don’t have employees, we have nothing. They’re I think perhaps the very most important stakeholder in the mix, if there’s nobody to do the work, how are you going to get anything done? How are you going to sell anything? It’s impossible, right? And so I think as employers, it’s our responsibility to work on creating and cultivating trust with our employees. So they want to come work for us. So they believe in the products and services that we’re selling so that they’re engaged, right? We keep hearing about this quiet quitting, and the great resignation. Well, the fact is that less than 20% of employees are engaged in the work that they’re doing. As a leader, to think about only 20% of my employees giving any sort of attention and care to the job that I’m paying them for, really makes me feel uncomfortable. So how can I as a leader, start to develop and pay attention to trust in a way that builds engagement? I think that first and foremost, is our number one reason why as leaders, we should care.

 

But beyond that, if I’m selling a product or service, I also need to know that whoever’s buying that product and service, trust me in a way that they want to buy my products and services. So it’s not just about the self, and about engaging with our employees, but it’s also about our consumers and our customers, and making sure that they trust us.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Absolutely. So is trust something that happens Ingrid, subconsciously or subliminally, or is it something that is a conscious decision on the part of the buyer or user of a product or service?

 

Ingrid Christensen

Fascinating question. Thank you for asking that. This is something that has kind of risen, bubbled up to the top. I think, again, this is part of a much greater discussion. To be able to be in a state of trust is an immense privilege. And I’ve spoken to people who live in environments, in countries, in conditions in which trust is not a given.

 

For me, when I wake up, I can trust with relative certainty how my day is going to go. I can trust that I’m going to have food, that I have electricity, that I have water, that I’m able to provide for my family, that my government is somewhat stable and reliable, and the economy is somewhat stable and reliable. But there are millions and millions of people around us that do not live in that state of trust, and so they don’t even have that basic ability to trust. So while I think that it’s natural for humans to trust each other, I think that the formation of trust comes way before we start to think about it. And there’s certainly all sorts of pre-verbal trauma that an infant can suffer, and there’s all sorts of connectivity situations that happen. And if you don’t form those bonds with an infant, we know that they have lifetime concerns and issues with trust. So that’s one thing. The second thing is the situational area around you or the conditions around you by which trust just doesn’t exist. You don’t know who to trust, you don’t know how to trust. It’s just not possible. So while I think that, yes, the natural human instinct is to trust, I do also recognize the immense privilege that it is to trust. And not to give it away, but that might be book number two. There might be a book number two in my future.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Translation of text. I mean, we are in an industry where we transform language, take content from one language and create another language or transform it. So regardless of the industry or vertical, this facilitates delivery of facts and information in another language. In your opinion, Ingrid, how does that generate trust?

 

Ingrid Christensen

Well, I think the fact is that our very industry is based on blind trust, right? Clients give us a document to translate. We give it back to them. You can’t read a single word. It’s all Greek to them. They have no idea what it said. So what are we doing before that transaction occurs to establish confidence and competence? I think that’s part of the initial question that we need to ask ourselves is, you know, what are we doing to really establish trust from the beginning?

 

But when we continue down the line of where our translations go and who they’re touching and the purpose of them, I think again, back to that blind trust that we discussed initially, is that we have to give these documents over and our clients have to trust us. So I think that there are things that we can do on the front end to establish that trusting relationship and that confidence and competence. But I think you’re right. I think the fact is that our industry is completely based on blind trust.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

When an end user of a translated text reads it, I mean, we’ve all come across this. How do they find that translation to be trustworthy? Do they think what the original text might have been saying or they just look at it as something that was just created for them and their own language for their market?

 

Ingrid Christensen

Yeah. Well, ideally, a great translation should look and sound as if it was originally written in that language. It shouldn’t look or sound like it was translated. And I think the trust issues really kind of bubble to the surface when you have a poor translation or it wasn’t properly edited or revised or the localization process wasn’t completed. I think that’s when trust really starts to show its head.

 

So I think first and foremost, we need to remember who we are translating for and really get into the mindset of regardless of who you’re talking to, we need to get in the mindset of talking to people like they want to be talked to. I don’t know if you have experience with teenagers. I have a 17-year-old son. The way that I have to adapt my communication so that he pays attention and listens and that anything sticks is very different than the way that I talk to my friends, than the way I’m talking to you. Now I have aging parents. The way that I have to communicate with my parents so that they understand what I’m talking about and what I’m saying is also very different.

 

So really when we think about it, all day long, we’re serving as localization experts regardless of who we’re talking to. Now if we’re localizing for a different language, a different culture, a different personality, we’re putting more spins on that localization and we’re talking to people like they need and want to be spoken to. And I think it’s in that care and attention and compassion and empathy that trust really shows itself.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

When we’re talking about businesses, they would like their customers or end users to trust them as one of their own, be part of their own community. So again, the world is made up of all kinds of different cultures and beliefs as you mentioned. Do you think certain communities are more concerned with language, placing their trust in their own languages versus others, while others might be open to accept translation in a certain way or even a foreign language? How does that reflect upon a brand or an enterprise trying to appeal to a specific audience?

 

Ingrid Christensen

Yeah, I think that that’s a very interesting concept that we’re starting to talk about more and more in the translation localization industry. What is acceptable to the end user? Are they willing, is the end user willing to take translation that has a little lesser quality because it’s not as important of a text? Are they used to reading something in a way that doesn’t have to be 100% accurate? I think even myself, I want vital information to be 100% accurately translated. I need legal documents to be correct. I need medical documents to be correct. If I’m making an important decision based on the content, I need it to be accurate. Well, if I find something frivolous, something that’s not necessary, do I need it to be 100% accurate? Probably not. I’m not probably going to trust it. In fact, I’m probably going to use other ways of confirming my trust, other than what they’re telling me.

 

As consumers, we’re smart consumers. We have access to more information than we could possibly ever want and or need and or consume. So, as smart consumers, most of us are looking to other sources to confirm whether or not we can trust something or not. I think that depending on your industry, and I know that we don’t want an answer that it depends, but really what you’re selling to your consumers matters and it matters to what level you need to make sure that the accuracy of that translation has been paid attention to.

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Sultan Ghaznawi

Organizations that assume that everyone in the world does or must speak English must face a challenge with regards to foreign language trust deficit. I mean, there was some sort of a study if they cannot read it, they will not buy it. Now, how does that manifest itself and for these companies trying to appeal to different countries or to establish growth and how do they see that when they don’t put translation into that perspective?

 

Ingrid Christensen

Yeah, I mean, the fact is not everybody speaks English, not everybody wants to speak English and not everybody wants to be forced to buy to make buying purchases and buying decisions in English, right?  We just got to push that out of the brain because, you know, English is not the language of the world. So I would think that if an organization cares about their ideal market, really want to buy their products and services, if they care about them at all, then they should care enough to recognize that they don’t want to be spoken to in a language that they don’t want to be spoken to, right?

 

I firmly believe and from day one, when I got into this industry, I believe that language is a living and ebbing and evolving thing and our language changes depending on where we are. I mean, look at the words that are in our vocabulary now that weren’t in our vocabulary 10, 15, 20 years ago, even a year ago, right? I mean, we didn’t know what COVID was two years ago, and we certainly know what that is now. And so I think we need to recognize that. Number one, it’s a form of respect. You know, I don’t want to be spoken to or spoken at in a way that doesn’t resonate with me. And so if somebody is speaking at me in a way that’s not making sense, I’m just going to close out and I’m going to choose to communicate with somebody else.

 

Likewise, you know, somebody is trying to sell me a product in a way that doesn’t resonate with me, I’m just not going to buy it. And so the power really lies in the buyers, right? You buy what you want to buy. And when you’re faced with a never-ending opportunity of things to buy in the world, you’re going to make choices based on what you want and based on what you don’t want. And you know, I think that thanks to social media, thanks to the internet, thanks to you know, a lot of things that have evolved over the last 30 years. Trends used to take time to cross continents and to cross countries. And now they’re instant, right, and you can go on TikTok and see what the latest craze is in any country and the consumers demand that they want it now, in a way that they can buy it. It’s not like it was 30 years ago, where things had to, you know, evolve a little bit slower.

 

So I think that for any organization, for any company, regardless of their selling a product or a service, they need to think about their buyers, and they need to sell to them how they want to be sold to. It’s as simple as that. It’s basic marketing when you think about it, right? I mean, haven’t we all been taught that in all of our marketing 101 classes? You know, you talk to people like they want to be talked to and that’s basic respect.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Right. So trust has a chain, Ingrid, and the end user relies on the provider of content who in turn relies on the translation company like yours or mine, which relies on the translator. Can you please explain how can the translator and editor uphold and ensure that the trust in this chain is always maintained and guaranteed?

 

Ingrid Christensen

I think interpreters, translators, those language service professionals took an oath, if you will, right, of fidelity to their job, to accurately translate the information provided to them to the best of their ability. And so how can they ensure that that consistently happens? And I think we talk a lot about content education and credentialing as very important tools for our language service experts to continue to focus on. But when it comes down to it, they basically took an oath, right, without taking an oath. But there is the interpreter’s oath, there’s the translator’s oath, to be true to the meaning of the content presented to them in a way that proves fidelity to their job and fidelity to the art of translation, right? Because this is an art, it’s a little bit science, but it’s really more based on art.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Right. Now, speaking about the translator, and even the editor, do they realize that there is a lot of trust placed on them and their capabilities? How do we trust our resources?

 

Ingrid Christensen

How do we trust our resources you know? I know that when I was working as a professional interpreter, I could feel if I was doing a good job. You can sense in somebody’s body language in an instant if they’re truly understanding what you’re saying.

 

Now, I think that you know, the days of face-to-face interpretation have evolved, right? We’re relying more on remote, over-the-phone, video interpreting solutions. But I think you can still pick up on those small nuances. In fact, something that I talk about in the book is that the little secret interpretation is that the interpreter is really the only one who knows exactly what’s going on, because they can read those body language, they can pick up on the cultural cues. But where it gets trickier is in translation, right? Because translators are disconnected from the end reader, the end user. And so how can we as leaders consistently reinforce the fact that translations matter, and being true to the language, true to the content, and true to the messaging is really what we expect and demand from our translators? And so, yes, I think that translators know, interpreters know, language service professionals know.

 

But I think it’s also up to us. And I think it’s a bit of our responsibility to remind the individuals that we’re working with that, hey, this matters. Are you going into this with the end user’s best interest at heart? Are you thinking about how someone is going to read this? Are you thinking about how they’re going to perceive this? How they’re going to consume this content in a way that is caring, that is empathetic, that is human?

 

I think we need to remind people that there is somebody on the other side. There is somebody that is going to read this. And I’ll tell you that publishing a book is probably one of the most vulnerable things that I’ve ever done in my life. Not probably, for sure. This is definitely the most vulnerable thing that I’ve ever done. I’m putting out 45,000 words that the readers could think are completely suck and I’m crazy and I have no idea what I’m talking about. And I’ve invested a year and lots of time and money and resources in putting this thing out there. And I’ll tell you that it’s stressful. And it requires a level of vulnerability and reaching deep down into my soul and you know deep personal work to recognize that I’m just going to do this. I believe that I have a voice. I believe that I have something important to say and I have to put it out there. But it doesn’t escape me that translators need to do the same thing because their words are permanent. They’re on paper. They’re going out there. They’re making a difference in some perspective. And that’s a really, really powerful transaction.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Given that trust is becoming a major issue in the world in general, I mean, we see that every day we watch TV. Lots of companies have undergone third-party audits in the form of standard certifications like ISO, for example. Now does that build the confidence and trust that their translated products are a better fit for consumption?

 

Ingrid Christensen

I think so. I do think so. I think that credentialing is perhaps an organization’s main trust-feeling tactic. If we don’t take the time and effort to become credentialed by an outside body, how are we supposed to prove to the world that we know what the heck we’re doing, right? There are certainly things we can do by documenting processes and getting referrals and feedback from clients. But I think that there’s something really powerful about a third-party credentialing process that sets us aside and puts us on a pillar and says, hey, look, I showed up. I care about the work that we’re doing. I’m taking the time necessary to check all the boxes and do exactly what is required of me to do by this particular certification, whether it’s ISO or ASTM, taking the time to say, I care about the work that I do so much that I’m willing and ready and I’m going to accept the responsibility that comes along with credentialing. I absolutely do. I mean, we don’t put drivers out onto the street without a driver’s license. I mean, even the person that paints my nails, right, my nail technician, it’s nail polish, it’s a pretty colour. They have to become certified and credentialed. So I do think not only does that help establish trust, but I do think it’s our responsibility in this industry, quite honestly. I talk about that in the book, too. I think it’s really important.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Humans make decisions based on emotions. You mentioned that earlier. And they normally have the tendency to do what others in their positions do. That’s I think why they like to do things that other people like them do that. Now, do testimonials and word-of-mouth marketing instil trust in our product? And Ingrid, is that type of trust factor being misused today?

 

Ingrid Christensen

Well, testimonials and word-of-mouth marketing, do they instil trust? Yes, absolutely. I can’t think of a better way to gain trust than by asking somebody that you know, love, respect, etc. You know, who are you using for this? What product did you purchase for this? I mean, when I need to buy a new product, I rely on my friends and family. And I hate to admit it, but I rely on influencers, third-party review sites. And I’m going to ask people, what do you think about this product? I mean, how often do you purchase something just because, just because? Highly likely you’ve seen it somewhere, you were exposed to it in some way. You talked to somebody that had it and raved about it or liked it in a way or didn’t like it. How many purchasing decisions do you not make, or you choose not to make because somebody gave a poor kind of testimonial or a word of mouth.

 

You know, I’m a purchaser also. And so I think a lot about my consumer behaviours in relation to the work that we do. And I understand how important things like net promoter score and things like reporting and asking clients for testimonials and really asking, you know, what was the impact of the work that we did? How did that impact your organization?

 

I think as especially service based companies, right, we don’t necessarily have anything physical to show for our work, right? We can’t show, we’re not building hammers, we can’t show a hammer that doesn’t break or, you know, the latest technology with bells and whistles, right? We’ve got words to show, for what we do. And words are ambiguous. And they don’t necessarily carry meaning, especially if you don’t understand what they say. And what else do we have, then? What else do we have to rely on to prove that we’re doing anything of any value, besides credentialing and your good history and doing business for 20 years, or however long you’ve been in the industry.

 

I think you have to rely on testimonials. And you have to rely on other people talking about the work that you do, and elevate that and highlight that and celebrate that. I think it’s really important.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

I agree. And there is trust in the brand, right? In your brand, you have trust where customers perceive that the translation provided by your organization is trustworthy. And then there is trust in your product where everyone feels safe using your translation. Now, how do you balance and maintain or build trust in both of these things?

 

Ingrid Christensen

You know, I think it comes back to the same kind of what we’ve been talking about, is that the translator needs to be true to their work and true to their art and true to their profession. And when you’re translating a product, for example, the organization that is selling that product needs to be true and honest and communicate the actual benefits of that product to the potential consumer and the potential buyer. So I think that there’s trust surrounding both sets of parties if you will.

 

And I think that it’s our job as brokers, essentially, we’re brokers, right, we’re brokering a deal from one service to another to make sure that everybody along that continuum understands the position that trust plays in the work that we do. And when we’re brokering the work, that we’re mindful of the processes of the credentials and how important trust and compassion and competency play in that in that lifecycle.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Ingrid, let’s talk about the role of your staff, the people who make your organization run and making sure the end user of your translation trusts it. What should they know and do in order to make sure your clients always trust you?

 

Ingrid Christensen

You know, we talk a lot about trust in INGCO. Obviously, I’m writing a book about trust. So no surprise that that’s an area of focus for us. My staff knows that there are things that we’ve implemented into our work that naturally build and help elevate the status of trust with our clients. Things like credentialing, things like proven processes, things like understanding the lifecycle of a project. What happens when you submit a project to us? What happens between that point and the point of delivery and being very open and honest and transparent with clients about that process and communicating along the way what’s going on?

 

You know, we’ve all experienced late deliveries or a vendor that ghosted us, right? It’s happened to all of us. And so where do we fall as organizations? You know, how much of that are we going to be transparent about? My organization knows that I expect 100% clear transparency. You know, if something happens along the path and a job can’t be delivered when promised, or we have concerns about quality, they know that they’re expected to be 100% transparent and they have full authority to do so. They shouldn’t need to ask me or to rely on me to communicate that. So I think that’s one thing that we’ve been able to establish in our internal staff.

 

And I think it also goes both ways, we need to do what we say we’re going to do. Our staff is looking at us, to put our money where our mouth is. And if we talk about things like core values and a corporate identity, and our purpose for doing the work that we do on one side, but on the other side, we’re not following through with it, then it’s just a pile of rubbish, but it doesn’t mean anything.

 

So I think as leaders, we really have to elevate what we’re talking about in a way and do it, walk the walk, talk the talk, you got to, you got to do what you’re saying, what you say you’re going to do in order for your staff to believe in you. And if they see transparency in my communication, they see vulnerability in my communication, and that trickles down to everybody in my staff, and they see that I feel comfortable with that, then they’re going to be comfortable with that when speaking with clients.

 

So I think it’s a two-way street, there’s vulnerability involved, there’s open and honest communication, early and often open and honest communication, and really level setting what clients can expect and what employees can expect from us as leaders. I’m not remiss to the fact that our employees are making a big risk coming to work for us. I mean, we’re providing them with salaries, to raise families, to buy homes, to live their lives. And they have to trust us that we’re going to deliver and trust us that their pay checks are going to come, right? They got to trust us that we’re not going to go out of business tomorrow. So I think that just as much as they expect trust from us, we have to expect trust from them. I think it’s a two-way street.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Do you think factors such as data breaches or cybersecurity issues cause a trust issue in the eyes of our customers? Ingrid, how do they affect the perceived trust of our translated products?

 

Ingrid Christensen

You know, yes and no. Data breaches and cybersecurity criminals are wicked smart. And unfortunately, oftentimes, they’re two steps ahead of us. So while we have a responsibility, a financial responsibility, a business responsibility, to do as much as possible to stop potential breaches and cybersecurity concerns from happening, the fact of the matter is, they do. And so where I think the trust-building opportunity lies is one, of course, you’ve got to do whatever you can do to prevent them. But number two, if and when they happen, how are you going to respond? How as a leader, are you going to respond? Are you just going to sweep it under the rug and pretend that it didn’t happen? Because I don’t think that’s the best answer. I think vulnerability and open and honest communication is where the answer to these sorts of serious, serious trust concerns lie. So yeah, I do think that data breach cybersecurity issues cause a huge trust issue in the eyes of our customers. But I think the more important fact lies on how do you respond to them once they do happen.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

And how about automation and machine translation? You mentioned that earlier, the technology has come so far. Now how does that affect the trust and your translated content? If people know that you’re using machines and automation, does that reduce their level of trust and your translated content?

 

Ingrid Christensen

Well, I think you just hit the nail on the head. If they know that you’re using AI, machine translation, technology-assisted translation if they know about it, then how can they feel that their trust has been violated? I think what happens is that if they don’t know about it, and if you’re secretive about it, that’s where I think trust eruption starts to happen.

 

When people do not know your business practices, when people do not know how you’re doing the work that you’re doing, trust just erodes in ways that we cannot control. So whatever method you’re going to take to get from A to B, however you’re going to get there, you just need to be open and honest with your clients. And the honest truth is if they could do this work themselves, they probably would. They’re coming to us because we’re providing a service that they can’t do on their own, for a variety of different ways. And so I think if we’re just transparent with how we’re doing the work that we’re doing, then I think it’s fine. I don’t necessarily think that relying on AI or machine translation is bad. I think it’s just all in how you roll it out and how you’re communicating that to your clients and if you’re doing it in a meaningful way.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

You mentioned about your book. I would like you to tell us about this exciting project and what should people expect from it inside and outside our industry?

 

Ingrid Christensen

Oh, the book. So the book is called The Language of Trust. And this has been a year in the making. This has been an extremely emotional, vulnerable activity that I’ve decided to take on. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to publish and I’m so excited to bring this out into the world. I will publish in February of 2023. I’ll have a presale campaign that launches. And then I’m going to take my trust off to the world. I’ve started talking on the concept of trust already, but my goal is for industry professionals and industry leaders and beyond, I want people to understand how vital trust is and how and why we need to pay attention to it. Because I really think that this is the crux of everything that we do. I think this is it. I think this is the heart. I think trust is an umbrella term that envelops everything that we do as human beings. So this is something that I’m super passionate about, really excited to get out there.

 

So the book will come out in a couple of months. So people will be able to buy it on our friendly favourite Amazon website and through the INGCO International website. So I think that this is not only for language service experts, but this goes beyond our industry. This is for anybody that cares about establishing trust. It cares about understanding what trust is, what trust isn’t. And certainly for anybody that has experienced broken trust. And let me tell you that every single human in the world has experienced broken trust at some point, whether it’s heartbreak or sickness or illness or some sort of calamity or everybody has a story, a personal story about trust. And so I think that this is something that resonates with every single human being. So I’m really excited to bring this out to the world.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

As we reach the end of this conversation, Ingrid, what is your message to the LSP executives in order to make sure their translated content or their product has always the weight of trust and confidence?

 

Ingrid Christensen

Well, first and foremost, certain, and I know for certain that life is better on the other side of trust. And if you take the time and energy to develop and cultivate trust, you will reap the emotional, operational and financial benefits of trust. So trust is worth it.

 

And specifically for our industry, to be mindful of why we’re doing the work that we’re doing. Who is it for? I think when you take a step back from our daily operations and you think, my God, this really has an impact on people’s lives, then I think we’re reminded why it’s so important to focus on trust and why it’s so important to cultivate and nourish in a way that is meaningful, that has empathy, and that has really the hearts of our listeners, of our readers, of the people that we’re touching along the way. And I think that’s why we as humans and as LSP executives really need to focus on trust.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

What a great conversation, Ingrid. Thank you so much. And I hope we can continue talking about trust through translation language in the future. I’m sure that you will be speaking in many public events about this, and I would love to follow what people’s reaction and our industry’s thoughts are on this specific topic. I’m excited that you are going to be involved through ALC and other organizations and can’t wait to see where this conversation goes. With that, I want to thank you for your time and look forward to speaking with you again.

 

Ingrid Christensen

Thank you so much. It has been such an honour and privilege to talk about this little thing called trust. I think it’s really a huge thing and I’m really excited and I just cannot thank you again for trusting me to be here to have this conversation with you. So thank you so much.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you so much for being such a great leader.

 

Ingrid Christensen

Thanks so much. You too. I appreciate your time.

 

Sultan Ghaznawi

Trust is an important and deciding factor in business and these days, given the global socioeconomic situation, trust is in short supply. Thankfully, our industry has always been considered trustworthy and our clients have great confidence in our translation products. Yet, it is important to be transparent and let our clients know how we leverage our experience and expertise to maintain the same level of trust in any translated content as it was intended in the source. Ingrid is doing an amazing job raising the profile of our industry and we must all do our part to build and maintain trust in translation. It will be a collective effort.

 

That is a wrap for today. I’m glad we had a chance to hear from Ingrid about this important topic and if you were able to apply any of her ideas to your business to build trust with your translation clients, then my objective for today is met. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Translation Company Talk Podcast on Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify or your platform of choice and give this episode a 5-star rating.

 

Until next time!

 

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