Customer Services Directorate
Translation, Interpretation and Transcription Service
Method Statements
Procurement Team
3rd Floor
Lewisham Town Hall
London SE6 4RU
020 8314 6556
July 2012
Translation, Interpretation and Transcription Service Method Statements 36
Name of Organisation: Pearl Linguistics Ltd
Customer Services Directorate
Translation, Interpretation and Transcription Service
Method Statements
1. LIST OF METHOD STATEMENTS REQUIRED
1.1 The Council requires Method Statements to be given so that it can see the way in which a Tenderer will provide the Service. This is one of the main ways in which the Council will assess the quality of the Service which the Tenderer is going to provide, and the successful Tenderer will have to provide the Service in the way set out in their Method Statements, once they have been agreed with the Council.
1.2 It is important that the Method Statements you provide are clear, concise and full. Explain your methodologies, processes, and time frames where appropriate.
1.3 The Method Statements required are:
MS1 Operation and management of the service
MS2 Setting up the service
MS3 How you would provide the services
MS4 Quality assurance
MS5 Quality assurance for sub-contractors
MS6 General Qualifications
MS7 Specific Qualifications
MS8 Working with smaller, specialist firms
MS9 Confidentiality
MS10 Service improvement
MS11 Technology
MS12 Communications and Training
MS13 Sharing services
MS14 Efficiency savings
MS15 Meeting the needs of service users
MS16 Safety of staff and service users
MS17 Performance Management
1.4 Set out on the following pages are the particular areas of the Services that the Council wishes to see covered by each of the Method Statements. Your Method Statements should be provided on the following sheets provided, and should be completed using a minimum of font size 11.
1.5 As the questions and issues within each statement are essential to the evaluation process, please ensure that they are all answered. If they are not, your tender bid may not be considered further.
1.6 If you enclose separate attachments to supplement your Method Statements, please clearly mark which Method Statements they refer to.
MS1 Operation and management of the service
Outline how you would manage and run the service, including internal project management procedures, booking procedures, management information and single point access including contingency plans for emergencies.
Background of Pearl LinguisticsPearl was introduced to the market in January 2004 by Ms Zeynep Demirbilek. Since then, we have become one of the UK’s leading language service providers dedicated to the needs of public services with large contracts throughout the UK for Local Authorities, the NHS, Housing Associations and Charities etc.
There are three core principles that have defined Pearl and generated its great success:
§ Linguistics must always remain at the heart of the business; all senior positions including Managing Director, Project Managers and Coordinators are filled by individuals who are professional accredited linguists.
§ By embracing new technology and IT resources, everyday activities such as enquiries, bookings, project management and delivery can operate more quickly and efficiently. Service quality levels are significantly higher and end user costs are lower, thus language service provisions can be extended to a wider clientele.
§ A flexible approach, 100% bespoke service offering and a “can do” attitude at all times result with happy and long term collaborations with clients.
Working in partnership is what we do best. As we have always rejected “one size fits all” approach, over the years we have achieved a 100% customer satisfaction level by offering each and every single client the exact service they had in mind. Letting our clients choose what they need is the idea behind Pearl Linguistics’ model.
Once a contract is fully implemented, our management strategy involves 1) regular communication with our clients, 2) an efficient and structured reporting system and, 3) our willingness to proactively develop new solutions; the three key approaches which have resulted in Pearl Linguistics re-winning every contract they have previously held.
Qualityis a watchword at Pearl so togive you even more peace of mind;we are one of the few linguistics companies in the UK to have obtained ISO9001 Quality Management Systems accreditation. We are also a member of both ATC (Association of Translation Companies) & ITI (Institute of Translators and Interpreters); the two most prestigious linguistics governing bodies in the world. In 2008 and again in 2012, we became the proud winners of Best Service Award (Government Opportunities) and Excellence in Customer Service Award (London Chamber of Commerce). As a testament to our commitment to quality and efficiency, we have also garnered the recognition of the Customer Contact Association, and been nominated for two of their 2011 Excellence Awards: Best Outsourcing Partnership and Most Effective Use of Self-Service. We won the Most Effective Use of Self-Service category early in 2012!
[Please see Appendix A – Quality Accreditations, Awards and Memberships]
Our efforts to continuously improve upon the services we provide has also resulted in Pearl Linguistics being listed among the top 20 Language Service Providers in Northern Europe by the Common Sense Advisory.
The company has had no changes of ownership or financial structure since its formation in 2004 and thanks to the Managing Director, Ms Zeynep Demirbilek continues to have the same vision it did seven years ago, to provide the highest level of customer service and quality to the UK Public Sector.
Organisational Roles and Responsibilities (Account Management)
For the duration of the contract Pearl will appoint a dedicated Account Manager who will:
· act as coordinator for all liaison between the Authority and Pearl
· take responsibility for the implementation (please see MS2) of the new service
· oversee the smooth running of services in Council premises as well as at Pearl Linguistics’ Central London office,
· make sure service levels and other contractual requirements are fully met throughout the contract duration,
· conduct monthly/quarterly review meetings with the Contract Manager
· provide all required management information (please see below and MS17) in a format and on the date specified by the Authority
· resolve all complaints raised within 48 hours
· provide all initial and ongoing required training for Council staff
MS2 Setting up the service
Describe how you would set up the service, including an implementation plan.
Current ProceduresBy staying with your current provider, Pearl Linguistics, LB Lewisham would already make significant savings in time spent setting up a new contract, implementing new booking procedures with staff, new payment procedures with Finance etc.
We have provided below a sample implementation plan for LB Lewisham, should the Authority wish to make any changes to the current service set up. However, we are equally happy for ‘business as usual’ should this be the desire of the Authority after re-awarding to Pearl Linguistics.
Implementation Plan
At Pearl, we believe in creating a tailored implementation plan to each client and may adapt certain aspects depending on the size and specific requirements of each organisation/department. We have adapted the implementation plan below to advise what we could offer in terms of any changes to the current set up with LB Lewisham:
Implementation (Contract Renewal) Actions and Timescales
Week 1 / Ø Meeting with all key stakeholders to agree any changes required for invoicing, dates for further training, changes to language service codes etc.
Ø Work with the Authority to make any updates to the intranet page and upload all updated user guides and assistance material.
Week 2 / Ø Send out refresher packs to all departments, including but not limited to, our Language Identifier Posters, Leaflets and audio computer application [please see Appendix D for refresher packs and Appendix E for the audio Language Identifier]
Ø Send out login details for our online booking portal ORBIT™ [please see Appendix C] to all users (where required).
Ø Confirm all dates for any required refresher training.
Week 3 / Ø Conduct any training sessions [please see below] at all required client sites.
Ø Create email campaign with the Contract Manager and send out to all service users to advise them of the renewal of the Contract including any local partner organisations.
Week 4 / Ø GO-LIVE!
Ø During the first week, the dedicated Account Manager will carry out courtesy calls and keep in constant contact with the Contract Manager from the Council to ensure everything is running smoothly, all users have their login details and all departments have received welcome packs etc.
Ø During this week, the Account Manager will also conduct any outstanding training if required.
Please note, that the above can be made completely bespoke for LB Lewisham if required. Alternatively, should it be the preference, we would continue ‘business as usual’ for staff at the Council.
Our implementation (Contract Renewal) plan is fully supported by the right marketing of our service, we therefore ensure that:
Training has been provided to all who require. As discussed above, the dedicated Account Manager would offer training free of charge to all sites and their staff. These training sessions are also an opportunity to re-introduce Pearl Linguistics to the staff, explain the booking procedure and allow them to ask any questions. At these training sessions, the Account Manager would provide all the marketing material as well as feedback forms.
Client training is essential for the accurate and economical use of services.
Pearl Linguistics’ free of charge client training sessions proved to be extremely useful for all professionals who use interpreting services on a regular basis. The sessions can take anywhere from 20 minutes up to 2 hours depending on what information is required and availability of staff.
Our full session has 3 parts:
Figure 25 - Client Training Chart
THEORY:
o What to expect from your new supplier
o Service descriptions
o Which service do you need
o Languages
o How to order translation services
o How to order interpreting services
o How to order transcription services
o How to order disability services (BSL, Braille, audio, large print etc..)
o What needs to be translated
o How to reduce costs when ordering language services
o How to reduce DNAs
o How to cancel a booking (also covering importance of timely cancellations)
o How to raise a complaint
ROLE PLAYING:
o How to use a face-to-face interpreter effectively
o How to use a telephone interpreter effectively
o How to work with a face-to-face interpreter in different settings, e.g. mental health etc.
ORBIT™:
o How to register
o How to order services through ORBIT™
o How to view your account history
o How to send feedback
o What client support options are available
o
All training materials will be tailored to the specific needs of the Authority and will be provided electronically and in hardcopy to all staff, free of charge. Various video demonstrations and online booking training will also constitute a large proportion of the sessions.
Following every training session, a feedback form will be distributed to all attendees. In this form, they will be able to express how they found the training session and offer suggestions as to what else they would like to see covered.
At the end of each session, a Question-Answer forum will be opened to address and resolve particular user concerns.
Courtesy e-mails will be sent to all attendees 2 weeks after the completion of the training to follow up how contents of the training are implemented.
Service usage of each client will be assessed quarterly in order to ensure that the training is being properly deployed and that weak areas are spotted. Extra training sessions will be offered and/or information sheets distributed to overcome any surviving or repetitive problems.
Intranet Page has been updated to include all of the marketing collateral as well as details of key contacts.
After contract renewal, the Account Manager and Pearl Linguistics Marketing Team will also follow up with courtesy calls to ensure that service users are happy with the service and that they have everything that they require.
Our contract implementation strategy is tried and tested!!!
Our contract implementation strategy has already been applied at the beginning of one of our largest exclusive contracts, INTRAN Partnership. INTRAN is essentially a Collaborative Procurement Hub which unites all translation and interpreting requirements of 40+ large public service organisations, including local councils and PCTs in the East of England.
After 3 months of hard work, over 95% of INTRAN users have received relevant information and started to use Pearl Linguistics’ services.
“The amount of effort and hard work Pearl Linguistics has put to implement this contract and raise awareness within INTRAN far outstrips what we purchased."
Valerie Gidney, Chief Executive
INTRAN PARTNERSHIP
MS3 How you would provide the services
Describe how you would ensure you are able to provide the translation, interpretation and transcription services required by the Council as set out in the specification and pricing schedule. You should also include how urgent requests would be met and identify all of the cost implications based on the particular request.
Services Available with PearlFACE TO FACE INTERPRETING: This is required when a linguist is physically present and used to interpret orally the contents of a conversation from one language to another, between you and a third party (your client).
TELEPHONE INTERPRETING: It is the same as face-to face interpreting except that it is conducted over the telephone as the interpreter is not in the physical presence of you and your third party.
TRANSLATION: Translation is written. If you have a document, leaflet, brochure, website content, e-mail, letter, form, or any other kind of written text which you need to have converted from English into another language (or languages) or converted from another language into English, then you need translation.
DTP (Desktop Publishing / Design): This is needed when you have a leaflet or a brochure to be translated. It is the design work we have to do, to provide you with the exact leaflet in a different language including all the pictures, charts and colors.
AUDIO INTO TEXT (Transcription): This is needed when a recorded conversation (either on video or audio tape) is converted from the spoken word to a written format so that it can be either translated or used to verify what is being said in a given language on the original recording. Transcription is used when the recorded information contained on tape needs to be converted into written text.