In the context of globalization and the rapid progress in machine translation, human capital, with its sensitivity, culture and experience, takes on its full value. The team at Sematos, a growing translation firm based in Quebec City, demonstrates this in black and white.
At Sematos, we have a team spirit. To the point where the president, Manuel Fresnais, insisted that the interview take place not in private, but in the company of his colleagues in the management. “When I started in the profession thinking I would become self-employed, I quickly noticed that the shot of the translator alone with his cat in his basement was not for me. I like working surrounded by people and that’s why I founded the firm in 2011. ”Ten years later, he is at the head of a tight knit team working in perfect collegiality in a bright space in the Saint-Roch district.
A commitment to diversityFor the president of Sematos, each employee contributes to the success of the company. “When we recruit, we look for somewhat atypical profiles. Our translators and revisers – I use the generic feminine because women are overrepresented in the profession – have had different experiences, have taken different training courses, and their general culture is well developed. This is what enriches us. Manuel Fresnais, like his team, brings to the company an eclectic background, having worked for ten years as a medical technician in the Armed Forces before reorienting himself in translation. An experience that served him well. “This military background played a role in my resilience as an entrepreneur, and also taught me to trust my instincts. I did an MBA in order to be well equipped for growth, and this instinct, which still serves me today, is based on analysis and data. “
The keys to success
The approach has paid off. “Each year, the management team resolves to focus on process improvement rather than growth – it’s become a running gag – but you always find yourself managing both head-on,” comments the President. . What explains this success: once its notoriety was well established, Sematos attracted important customers, who spread the word to their suppliers and so on.
“It’s the snowball effect,” says Director of Operations Laurie Fournier. We establish a relationship of trust with each of our clients by offering them personalized attention. We assign them a project manager who proposes a work plan for all the translations, and quality control is carried out throughout the process. The firm, which deals with texts on a wide variety of subjects, pays particular attention to the allocation of files. “We always try to distribute the work according to the interests of our translators, continues Manuel Fresnais, and we even seek to develop a clientele that will call on their expertise. In addition, collegiality, a founding principle underlying the work at Sematos, means that several translators can work on the same file. Result of this collaborative approach: teamwork is stimulating and enriching, expertise is increased tenfold, texts gain in precision and quality. An added value that does not go unnoticed.
People at the heart of business strategyThe workforce is becoming scarce, the retention rate is declining, the translation market is increasingly competitive. How is the firm doing well? The answer is simple: by leveraging human capital. “Our main strengths are listening and being close to our employees,” emphasizes Catherine Lavoie, human resources advisor. Suggestions are welcomed and we put them into practice when they are relevant. We adopted a flexible teleworking policy long before the pandemic, and we offer benefits that meet the expectations and needs of our employees. Thus, two years ago, Sematos was one of the first companies in Quebec to offer 24/7 telemedicine services, which deals with both physical and mental health. Another example: our welcome and integration program as well as continuing education by peers. “
Such initiatives mobilize employees and directly reflect their values. It must be said that the team of translators is young. “The firm maintains close ties with Laval University by participating in career evenings, offering internships and launching hiring periods at the end of the session,” underlines Catherine Lavoie. This allows us to recruit very, very good translators, whom we welcome, like the rest of our employees, with a structured coaching and training program. “
A significant benefit when you surround yourself with young recruits: their natural ease with new technologies, which today are inseparable from translation. Starting with artificial intelligence (AI).
AI at the service of translators
Machine translation (MT), which is developing at full speed, worries the community. But according to Manuel Fresnais, it is rather a very interesting resource – and it is not tomorrow the day before that it will replace humans. “The rise of digital technology means that the demand for content to be translated is growing exponentially. AI provides translators with additional tools, allowing them to better respond to demand, both quantitatively and qualitatively. “
How exactly does AT work? Julien Gagnon, Quality Director at Sematos, enlightens us on the question. “We use custom MT engines – which are the basis of AI algorithms – which we have trained with our own corpus. In other words, it was our previous projects that showed them to translate and use our lexicon as a priority. The result is raw material for our translators and revisers who, alone, have the human touch, discernment and language expertise to make an excellent translation. Please note: the data processed at the firm by these paid TA engines is strictly confidential, while the free services of the digital giants can reuse the translated content for their own purposes.
In the era of globalization, emerging technologies allow translators to work faster and more precisely. This is a good thing, because the pace is constantly accelerating: everywhere on the planet, the volume of translations is increasing at the same rate as the quality requirements. “Companies that are developing internationally, and there are many of them, must become more and more local in their markets if they want to succeed,” declares Julien Gagnon. Take the example of Japanese video games, which were exported only in the English language twenty years ago. Today, the same producers broadcast their games in a multitude of languages. “
Professional translation is more than ever essential to economic development, because it opens up new horizons and allows companies to conquer new markets. “For concepts to cross borders, language expertise must be based on in-depth knowledge of the target audience and markets,” concludes Manuel Fresnais. Thanks to its multidisciplinary expertise, the Sematos team is well equipped to make ideas travel. “
For information: sematos.ca
This content was produced by Le Devoir’s special publications team in collaboration with the advertiser. Le Devoir’s editorial team played no role in the production of this content.
To learn more about Sematos