Some of our devoted team members had the opportunity to attend the PM Bootcamp on March 30, 2019 in Córdoba, Argentina. The one-day event was hosted by the Asociación Argentina de Servicios Lingüísticos (AASL). The educational event was divided into three main workshops. “The Transition to the Autonomous PM”, “The 20:90 Evolution”, and a roundtable discussion “What is a 4.0 PM?”.
Alongside attending the workshops, guests were encouraged to network with the one hundred or so other attendees. Most guests were Project Managers, but some were company owners or linguists. Our Project Manager Rocío Fernández Cirera and our Operations Manager Santiago Lávaque attended the bootcamp in representation of Terra Translations.
The Lessons
There were many valuable lessons learned during the day’s workshops. For Santiago, a highlight of the day was a reminder to embrace new technologies like machine translation, “We should start seeing it as an ally and not an enemy. It’s also important to explain this to linguists so that they are on board with the change. And to provide them with the right training so the transition is smooth. Project Managers should be able to determine in which situations machine translation is a good fit and in which ones it isn’t.”
Another big takeaway from the day was the idea that Project Managers should have the proper tools to provide them with the autonomy and freedom they need to make decisions. Santiago agrees with this lesson, “This way they can strengthen their independence and provide a more comprehensive project management.”
Rocío walked away from the day with lessons that will help her improve her project management skill set as well, “The focus of the training was how to better work as a Project Manager, taking into account tools, organization, relationships with vendors, and the needs of clients.”
The Takeaways
Alongside valuable learning opportunities, there was also confirmation of our team’s commitment to high quality translation services. Santiago was proud that the processes, tools, and methods recommended, are ones our Project Managers already utilize. “I validated our current processes and approach to project management, in relation to both clients and translators. Most of the solutions or workarounds they suggested in the sessions are things we are already doing and have incorporated naturally over time,” Santiago said.
Rocío feels positive that our team’s efforts are paying off. “Terra Translations has steps and processes in place that other companies don’t have,” she noted. But of course, there is room for improvement. Terra Translations continuously strives to improve and fine-tune the way we do things. Rocío feels proud of our team because of this and feels reassured we are on the right path.
