| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: Have you outsourced work without telling you client? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| Good points, Benjamin; but some have indeed been brought up already. | Jun 13, 2006 |
tectranslate wrote:
What nobody here so far seems to realize is that outsourcing might be against your agreements with a given client and put you in legal trouble.
For instance, our General Terms of Purchasing clearly state that documents and files provided by us must not be passed on to third parties, mostly for confidentiality reasons. All and any information, documents, inquiries or jobs we send to our freelance partners are subject to these terms.
No question about that; if there's a confidentiality agreement, the translator *must* honor it. Henriette, who suggested the poll, mentioned this point. See the 3rd post on this thread.
tectranslate wrote:
But apart from all of the above, third-hand translations have the clear disadvantage that the agency or client who picked YOU to do the job does not get a translation done by YOU. While you might go to lengths to ensure that the translation is error-free, it just won't fit your usual style, although your client would expect that.
A good point, already discussed above--see Christine's post.
tectranslate wrote:
The upshot of all this is:
Do tell your client.
If you're so sure your outsourcing is the right thing to do, then there can't be any problem with you explaining that to the client, right?
Regards,
Benjamin
Well...there are clients, and then there are clients.... Some trust me completely, "whatever you say is OK with me." Some are interested in the process per se and enjoy hearing how I wish to go about a job. Most, especially the monolingual ones, just want to get what they paid for. If I hire a seamstress to make me a dress, I don't ask whether somebody else did the sewing; I just check to be sure the dress fits me and is what I ordered.
I would never lie to a client, both because it's immoral/unethical and because it's stupid/dangerous. And logically, you're right: if I'm sure outsourcing is OK, then I shouldn't feel a need to keep it a secret. But when neither confidentiality nor style considerations enter the picture, I don't feel compelled to get the client's permission. Perhaps just a notification when delivering the work, to give credit where credit is due, a la Time magazine, which often gives one person the byline with a note at the end about "with reporting by Jane Doe and Janet Roe."
BTW, I answered "Never" because the situation has never yet come up. But in the right circumstances, I wouldn't hesitate to outsource to a trusted colleague.
[Edited at 2006-06-13 15:10]
| | | | Irene N
United States
Local time: 00:58
English to Russian
+ ...
tectranslate wrote:
The upshot of all this is:
Do tell your client.
Being in full agreement with all the considerations regarding confidentiality and legal issues, I only want to add the following:
Why unethical? Because it's not yours, period. Didn't our grandparents teach us to ask permission to play with other kids' toys? What is the difference here?
Client A routed the job to translator B without expecting any detours. Woudn't you want to know what happened with your personal stuff shipped to one address and ending up at another?
Clients are THE ONLY ONES capable of assessing the full range of reasons for this or that job to be or not to be subcontracted by a prime contractor. I won't go over all the possibilities but those who have project management experience know what I mean - the list would be too long.
When I leave on vacation I give the keys to my car and my place to certain people. So far they have not been passing it around silently to whomever they wish or trust on the grounds that anyone can feed a cat or water a plant, and I would not appreciate such attitude one bit. I act accordingly when charged with their pets and plants:-) Again, no difference here.
I would go along with "silent" outsourcing only if the client had been notified in the very beginning of business relationship that you consider outsourcing and might practice it under such and such conditions. After receiving clients' general OK and accompanying requirements I would think it would also be OK not to tell them every time since they have been warned and should be warning you in return, if necessary. But not entirely behind their backs. Don't you expect to be notified about every detail of their business practices that concern you in any way?
Sincerely,
Irene
[Edited at 2006-06-13 16:18]
| | | | | Unethical (from the subcontracted translator's point of view)? | Jun 13, 2006 |
Thinking from the subcontracted translator’s point of view: in a long and important text (company’s manual, web site, proceedings, whatever….), not telling the client about the team or the other colleague who helped you with the translation… wouldn’t be unethical? Would you just don’t mention that half of your translation was made by another translator? I mean… the subcontracted translator will never be able to ask for a reference letter from the client, for instance, or his/her n... See more Thinking from the subcontracted translator’s point of view: in a long and important text (company’s manual, web site, proceedings, whatever….), not telling the client about the team or the other colleague who helped you with the translation… wouldn’t be unethical? Would you just don’t mention that half of your translation was made by another translator? I mean… the subcontracted translator will never be able to ask for a reference letter from the client, for instance, or his/her name will never appear on a publication. The few times when I outsource short, not specialized texts, I never mention it to the client… but I am always thinking if I am doing the right thing! 
Hellen ▲ Collapse
| | | | Pamela Cruz 
Chile
Local time: 01:58
English to Spanish
+ ...
| When and how... | Jun 13, 2006 |
Hi all,
I also heard about the case Henriette mentioned. As far as I was told, the unethical behavior was (a) outsource when told not to do it because of confidentiality agreement (b) denying absolutely the outsourcing in spite of the fact that it was done openly through a mail list where all these translators are members (What can I say... )
In my view, if you have some kind of trouble after accepting a job (e.g., CAT tool not working, Virus situation, etc... Murphy) t... See more Hi all,
I also heard about the case Henriette mentioned. As far as I was told, the unethical behavior was (a) outsource when told not to do it because of confidentiality agreement (b) denying absolutely the outsourcing in spite of the fact that it was done openly through a mail list where all these translators are members (What can I say... )
In my view, if you have some kind of trouble after accepting a job (e.g., CAT tool not working, Virus situation, etc... Murphy) the first thing to do is notifying your client about the problem and immediately offering solutions. Among these, of course is to find another translator. But you do inform your client. Is up to him/her to choose a solution. As a provider, I collaborate not only by translating, but also helping to satisfy the requirements of the final client in terms of confidentiality and quality.
What do you think?
Pamela
[Editado a las 2006-06-13 18:00] ▲ Collapse
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