Using Survey Translation to Reach Audiences across the Globe

Are you looking to connect more with your global customers or unlock valuable insight as your organization grows? Online surveys are increasing in popularity as businesses look to get to know their employees and their audiences better. As your team and your client base expands, so will your survey translation needs. Enlisting a professional translation team to help with survey translation will result in a turnkey product that yields authentic and accurate data.

Why Use Survey Tools?

Surveys offer important information. When used in-house, surveys can help management understand employee satisfaction and keep a pulse on morale in the workplace. In fact, research finds that employee engagement surveys are still one of the most effective high-performance HR practices.

Externally, surveys are also used to gather feedback regarding customer service. They offer insight into new products, brand loyalty, and market research. Survey data can also help you better understand your customer demographics. Once you understand someone’s lifestyle, preferences, concerns, and interests, you can work to develop better partner relationships.

Surveys were once incredibly time consuming and expensive. As a result, many businesses and organizations used them infrequently, if at all, due to the inefficiency or cost-prohibitive nature. Now, online survey tools let businesses create visually appealing surveys quickly for little to no cost while still providing accurate results. Most of the leading tools will also provide multilingual survey support.

Who Needs Survey Translation?

Surveys are powerful. Any business, organization, or associate can benefit from online survey data. As teams and audiences grow, translating those surveys into their multiple languages can ensure that viewpoints and feedback are captures accurately. Because surveys are so valuable for every content type in any industry, professional translation teams are equipped to translate surveys for every topic into any language.

The Professional Survey Translation Process

For surveys to be valid and reliable, they have to be carefully crafted. Part of that process includes enlisting the expertise of professional survey translation teams to ensure that the content is translated accurately while still preserving the layout and intent of the survey.

Since this translation process can be a monumental undertaking, Interpro offers a turnkey solution. Consequently, there are no additional steps required from our clients once the Interpro team has access to the survey.

To start the turnkey survey translation process, clients will share access to the original survey instrument with our translators and describe their translation language needs. The source survey may be translated from English into dozens of target languages. Additionally, our translation experts can also translate a source survey that was originally written in a foreign language and then translate it into English.

The original survey instrument will be reviewed, and then words, phrases, or concepts that may be difficult to understand in the target language are carefully reviewed. Since each translator is a native speaker, they are familiar with not only the language, but the culture and demographics of the target survey audience. That means that the terms will be translated in ways that are culturally nuanced and appropriate for the target audience.

The quality assurance steps take place in the live environment. There, our team compares the original language type with the translated version. This step ensures that no matter which language the survey is completed in, the intent behind the questions is preserved and the data will still allow for intense analytic action. After the turnkey product is created, the survey is ready to be shared and data collection can begin right away.

Final Thoughts on Survey Translation

Online surveys are an efficient and cost-effective way to better understand both employees and audiences. With a multilingual employee base or a global audience, the reality is that survey translation is a must. Professional translation teams use their linguistic skills to develop a turnkey product that preserves the aesthetic that online survey tools offer while helping you collect valid and reliable data.