Building a Superior Interpreting Service Marketplace

It can be hard for interpreters looking to join an agency to fully trust a setup that looks like an open marketplace. The same is true of potential customers. Too often, online marketplaces put language service professional against language service professional in a gladiatorial battle to ask for the least amount of money. Customers are left wondering whether person A is more qualified than person B, based on a picture and a per-minute price.

Marketplaces notoriously facilitate a match between a request and an offer, leaving customers and interpreters in charge of creating these matches and accepting the resulting choices. While this approach can be valid, it's not good for interpreting services. Customers need a quality service they can trust and interpreters need to be supported, encouraged, and coached. An open marketplace doesn't allow for that.

Ablio has developed an innovative and empirical process for assessing candidate interpreters.

The Hiring Process

All interpreter candidates must first submit a written application. They are asked to provide any relevant information regarding their studies, curricula, experience, fields of interest, etc.

Each application is immediately assigned to a coach, who is responsible for evaluating and reviewing the application.

If a written application is positively reviewed by the coach, the applicant is asked to take an oral test. The test is a simulation of a dialogue between two parties in the interpreter's selected language pair. The dialogue is 25 minutes long and it is recorded. Ablio's simulation test is more severe than the exams used in certifying interpreters.

The coach reviews the dialogue and approves or denies the candidate. If approved, the coach assigns the test a quality score/rating in adherence with specific guidelines.

Continuous Improvement

Although the application process is stringent enough to eliminate candidates who are not yet skilled enough in the field, Ablio follows a model of continuous improvement and coaching. This model guarantees top-notch language services and provides support to our interpreters. Our model includes:

• Feedback. After every service, customers are asked to provide feedback. The feedback system is embedded and it contributes to the rating of each interpreter. The rating is continuously updated.
• Monitoring. The coach provides periodic reviews: reviewing feedback, highlighting areas for improvement, etc. This facilitates a continuous learning process.
• Training and tools. Interpreters are provided with tools and resources to improve their skills, increase their rankings, and advance their expertise.

Interpreters with higher ratings ultimately receive a higher ranking in the platform, get priority assignments, are are offered higher rates, The whole process ensures quality.

Although Ablio appears at first to be just another marketplace, don't be fooled. Our interpreters are the best available, the most professional, and we are committed to develop them and support them every step of the way.