Meet the Expert

PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATION SERVICES

GEORGE COOKE MANAGING DIRECTOR, SURREY TRANSLATION BUREAU

Acatchphrase at the moment is that businesses need to ‘think global, act local’. Practically this can mean a lot of things, but from a translator’s point of view hopefully it encourages businesses to consider how to communicate with international stakeholders and customers in their own language. For example, this might be professional translation of regular business and marketing materials, or at least finding out ahead of a pressing need about the translation options available in case something urgent comes up.

The language services industry itself is of course international, expanding and becoming more competitive. Surrey Translation Bureau (STB) has kept its place and reputation by responding to client technology and service expectations, whilst maintaining the same core business values. George Cooke took over the family business in 2012 and has seen it grow in terms of revenue, staffing and IT. Recent additions to STB’s service offering include subtitling, literary translation and post-editing of machine translation, adding to the company’s already expansive list of translation-related services, such as transcreation, DTP and legalisation services.

“Quality is at the heart of what we deliver and for more than 20 years we’ve demonstrated that, with ISO certifications that test and document our procedures, designed to produce the highest quality work. The process for certification has of course become more sophisticated over the years and now we are accredited to three BS standards.

STB and individual staff members also keep winning awards for customer service and contribution to the translation industry. This all comes from what I see every day from our staff – professionalism and enthusiasm for what we do, embracing new challenges from clients, new texts and new software.”

With the support of his sales and marketing teams, George ensures that the company is actively involved in local networking and training events. STB is a member of various local chambers of commerce and engages with local businesses through events, sponsorship, presentations and as many marketing channels as possible.

Surrey Translation Bureau is also an accredited and active member of the prestigious Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI), the largest professional translation association in the UK for

Client acquisition and retention is not an exact science, but listening to what our customers want certainly helps!

practicing translators and language service providers. This means we sustain a continued contribution to and commitment to the translation and interpreting profession – we regularly participate in translator-focussed training sessions and e-learning materials. Our Head of Operations, Hannah Stacey, is even the Corporate Representative on the ITI Board of Directors.

Despite the upheaval that the pandemic threatened, STB was able to adapt and function relatively well. The company’s wide client base meant a healthy quantity and variety of work and we’ve also taken the chance to recruit two graduates through the government’s Kickstart Scheme to aid young people affected by the pandemic.

“I’m obviously pleased the staff at STB have navigated the company through these difficult times and we all look forward to finding and converting future opportunities. Please do get in touch or take a look at our website to find out more about what we could do for you and your business.”

E: hello@surreytranslation.co.uk

W: www.surreytranslation.co.uk