Geoffrey Bowden is the Secretary of the EUATC since January 1992. He has seen various developments and transformations of language businesses across Europe. Geoffrey has been instrumental in forming about 12 partnerships so far with numerous trade associations. He was keen that India should have an active association too. [More about him here].
Geoffrey promptly agreed to address the CITLoB members by means of a small interview for the maiden issue of IndoVox. Read on:
1. You have played a role in founding and helped run several associations over the last 40 years. Please share your personal take on why associations are important and how, in your opinion, do they help members in particular, and the industry in general?
It is a little daunting to think that I really have been working with professional and trade bodies for that long! However, it is true. Apart from the language industry, which is the sector I have continuously served across four decades, I have supported umbrella organisations in the health and medical professions, the motorcycle and accessories industries, the building and construction sectors and the pharmaceutical industry. A pretty diverse cross-section of the economy, but each umbrella group has delivered some common benefits to their members.
- Providing a strong unified voice that speaks to legislators, practitioners and the marketplace
- Creating awareness of a sector and helping to grow markets
- Developed programmes for continued development and sharing best practices
- Professionalising a sector through the introduction of a Code of Conduct
- The promotion of the highest standards
Of course, there are many other benefits, but you cannot underestimate the value of providing a safe space where market rivals can come together to discuss issues of common concern and agree on sector-wide solutions under an association banner. The motto from The Three Musketeers best describes this approach – “One for all and all for one!”
2. The recent agreement between the EUATC and CITLoB is an encouraging start for CITLoB. How do you think that would help the members from both the associations, especially when India is becoming an increasingly attractive market to be a part of?
The growing importance of the Indian economy and the complexity of doing business with such a vast subcontinent with a population of 1.3 billion cannot be underestimated. However, only 10 percent of the population speaks English and while there are 22 official languages, there are still 13 different written scripts, and over 1620 dialects. This means that any European-based LSP could be entering a minefield if it does not have reliable partners to turn to. That’s where the partnership with CITLoB will prove to be so vital. There are more than 640 EUATC Network Members belonging to the 23 national associations members of the EUATC. All of those companies need some peace of mind when seeking out Indian partners with whom to work. Rather than being seduced by a flashy website, they can now turn to CITLoB members, safe in the knowledge that its members are signed up to deliver their services while adhering to the principles underpinning the governance of the Association. And in the unlikely event of anything going amiss, it can turn to CITLoB to help resolve the issue.
3. You have similar partnerships with several other countries. Could you please share your experience or a few success stories and how the partnership is beneficial for both the associations involved?
The EUATC has partnerships in place with nine umbrella organisations spanning the global language industry. Agreements allow for the cross promotion of each other’s events, while adding to the portfolio of member benefits for all parties. For instance, the Partner Agreement with CITLoB means its members will have been able to take advantage of a generous 60% discount to participate in the EUATC’s recent digital marketing webinar. Above all though, sharing best practices, gathering and disseminating market intelligence are among the key benefits of such partner arrangements.
4. You have a larger view of the language industry – be it working non-stop during the lockdowns or unlocking the new normal, or simply witnessing the consequences of the pandemic. What, in your opinion, are the three key ingredients of working that would equip the language companies to sustain and grow?
Luckily, language companies and the freelance community across the globe are used to remote working. However, if their customers have been locked down and businesses forced to stop trading (or gone out of business altogether), that has certainly had a serious impact on a service sector such as ours. The recent joint market study, which the EUATC undertook with FIT Europe, among others, showed that the interpreters’ market for instance has fallen off the edge of a cliff. The same study showed that language companies with a digital strategy in place, were the ones that were showing growth. That take-home message prompted us to stage the recent webinar examining how to go about implementing such a strategy.
We may all be thoroughly “zoomed” out but many LSP owners may be wondering whether having physical offices, paying rent and local rates is an overhead that really needs to continue in the future. Lingo24 pioneered the office-less approach many years ago and, I suspect, many LSPs will be looking at whether this is a model that can be developed for themselves. It will certainly reduce a considerable overhead, even if meeting spaces will still need to be rented from time to time.
The pandemic has taken us all into uncharted waters. The growth of remote working and virtual gatherings takes away an essential element of our working lives. You cannot have relationships with avatars and screens. Ultimately, our DNA indicates that we need real physical human interaction. As the fear of the corona virus persists, that side of our working lives may become less frequent. However, the consequence of that means those running language companies will need to pay far more attention to the wellbeing of its employees and freelance suppliers. After all, a happy workforce is more productive and that translates into a healthy bottom line.
