HSBC, one of the world’s largest banks, once had the perfect slogan: Assume Nothing. It was professional, trustworthy and the exact kind of thing you’d expect from a bank. After translation in multiple markets, it became Do Nothing, which is exactly the advice you don’t want from your financial institution.
HSBC spent $10 million cleaning up that mess.
Then, Pepsi launched Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation in China. Energetic, youth-focused, perfect for a soft drink brand. Except it translated to Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Dead.
Refreshing? Sure.
Accurate necromancy advertising? Debatable.
These are just two examples of multi-million dollar disasters that prove one point: not having translation quality assurance in place bleeds money, destroys trust and makes a joke of your global brand.
The translation market is heading toward $49.02 billion by 2032, but spending more on translation doesn’t guarantee quality.
What actually works is quality assurance in translation, a systematic process that catches disasters before customers do. Here are six non-negotiable steps in translation quality assurance.
What Is Translation Quality Assurance?
Translation quality assurance is what stands between your content and becoming an internet meme.
It’s the systematic process that makes sure your translations say what you actually meant.
Quality assurance in translation does three things:
- Verifies accuracy: Your message survives the journey from one language to another without becoming unrecognizable.
- Maintains consistency: Customer support doesn’t randomly become client services halfway through. It’s one voice, one message, everywhere.
- Ensures cultural fit: Your translation resonates with real humans in the target market instead of confusing or offending them.
6 Steps to Improve Your Translation Quality Assurance Process
1. Define Translation Quality Standards and Requirements
Most translation disasters start the same way: everyone assumes they’re on the same page about quality. Then the translator delivers, and you realize you had completely different definitions of professional tone.
Quality means different things depending on what you’re translating. Marketing copy needs creativity. Legal documents need precision. Technical manuals need clear instructions.
Set expectations before work starts:
- Accuracy requirements: Some things demand absolute precision. Medical copy, for example, can’t afford even the smallest error. But creative content? Sometimes, capturing the feeling matters more than a word-for-word match.
- Terminology expectations: Terminology needs clear rules. Certain terms must stay consistent, some should remain in English, and others rely on highly specific industry language that only experts would recognize.
- Style and tone guidelines: Tone should feel right for the audience. A brand might sound polished and professional in one market, but more relaxed and friendly in another, without losing its identity.
- Formatting specifications: Formatting can’t be an afterthought. Think about special characters that don’t exist in English, or interfaces that break when a German word takes up twice the space.
- Cultural adaptation: Cultural adaptation goes beyond language. Idioms, humor, and references rarely translate directly. Sometimes a light touch-up works. Other times, a full rewrite is the only way to truly connect.
2. Choose Qualified Translators and Reviewers
It’s tempting to pay lowly for a translation until you’re paying triple to fix a bad translation job. That bargain then costs more than hiring professionals would have in the first place.
Here’s what you need to make sure of when hiring a professional translator:
- They’re an expert in their native language. You want someone who knows the language inside out.
- They have the required knowledge on the subject matter. Tech content needs tech translators. Medical content needs healthcare professionals. Legal documents need legal experts.
- They have a proven track record: Ask for samples. Check references. Run a small test project before handing over your entire product launch.
Here’s the rule: separate your translation and review teams. Fresh eyes catch what familiarity blinds.
3. Use Translation Technology to Support QA
Technology won’t replace human translators, but it makes them dramatically better at catching the tedious errors that slip through.
- Translation Memory (TM) systems: These store everything you’ve translated before. TM systems can cut costs on repetitive content by 30-50% while making sure you’re not calling the same thing by three different names.
- Terminology management databases: These databases work as your official record. No more translator debates. No more inconsistency. Just one source of truth that everyone follows.
- Quality assurance software: Catches spelling errors, grammar problems, missing translations, and formatting mistakes automatically.
- Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools: Give translators instant access to approved terminology, previous translations, and quality checks while they work.
At the end of the day, the goal is to let technology handle routine checks so humans can focus on the nuanced judgment calls.
4. Apply Multi-Level Reviews
Real quality assurance in translation needs multiple sets of eyes, each hunting for different problems.
Here’s where a three-tier review comes in handy:
Tier 1: Translation review
Does the translation say what the original said? Is the grammar correct? Does it sound like something an actual native speaker would say?
Tier 2: Editorial review
Does this follow your style guide? Is the terminology consistent across all pages? Does the tone match your brand?
Tier 3: Subject matter expert review
Is the technical terminology actually correct? Would someone in this industry recognize these terms? Does this comply with local regulations?
For critical content, legal documents, medical information, and financial reports, add a fourth tier: back translation. Have someone translate it back into the original language and see if you still get the same meaning.
It’s tedious and time-consuming, but it catches meaning shifts that every other review misses.
5. Conduct Functional and Linguistic Testing
Quality assurance doesn’t stop here. You have to test how translation performs in real life, on websites, in apps and on printed materials.
1. Linguistic Testing
Linguistic testing involves reviewing the translation in its final format to make sure everything displays correctly. This includes verifying that button labels are not truncated, special characters appear properly, and the layout remains intact.
2. Functional Testing
Functional testing requires thorough interaction with the product. Every button and link must be clicked and tested to confirm they work as intended.
3. Cultural Testing
Cultural testing makes sure the content resonates with the local audience. Images should be reviewed for cultural relevance, colors need to be appropriate for the target market, and idioms or references that don’t translate well should be replaced.
6. Establish Continuous Improvement and Feedback Loops
Translation quality assurance isn’t a one-time checklist. Here’s how you build feedback systems that drive improvement:
Translator feedback: Share what reviewers caught so translators can learn.
Reviewer feedback: Notice what keeps showing up. These patterns reveal where you need better resources or clearer guidelines.
Client feedback: Talk to people actually using the translated content. Gather insights from teams in target markets. Track support tickets about translation confusion.
Your Next Move in Translation Quality
Translation quality assurance is less about perfection and more about preventing your brand from becoming the next case study in What Not to Do.
The companies that do this well aren’t translating more. They’re translating smarter.
Clear standards. Qualified people. Smart technology. Multiple review layers. Real-world testing. Systems that learn from mistakes. They’re applying these six steps in real-time and are avoiding expensive disasters by simply being proactive.
The gap between successful growth and reputation-damaging failures often comes down to one thing: whether you caught the problem before customers did.
At EC Innovations, we’ve built 28+ years of expertise in delivering translations that drive results. Our translation services combine systematic QA with deep industry knowledge to protect your brand while you scale globally.
Want to improve translation quality before your next international launch? Contact us and let’s build a QA process that works. The only thing worse than delaying your global expansion is launching with translations that damage your brand.
