“This business is so simple; it’s just a three-way conference call. I am going to make millions in sales commission,” declared a sales representative at my employer’s years ago. To people looking from the outside, an interpretation business (especially remote interpretation business that is free from the physical logistical issues faced by in-person interpretation businesses) is remarkably simple – match an interpreter with a client request and the revenue just flows in. If that’s the case, why is it such a struggle for interpretation businesses to scale? Why is it so challenging to expand into a new location or to take on a new client with significantly larger volume or different language mix? Why are their customer-facing teams burned out and constantly on crisis mode?

“Operations is not a magical process. It is a methodical process.” That was one of the “Winnie-isms” used often. There are many stakeholders and many support staff who enable each and every interpretation call or interpretation encounter to take place. Over Winnie’s years of managing 24/7 interpretation services and now guiding clients in her consulting practice, she has come to appreciate three particular functions that are more critical than other functions.

In this presentation, she will discuss:
•    The ecosystem of stakeholders from clients, the interpreter supply chain and the LSP’s internal teams.
•    Three key functions that make or break the discipline critical to the scalability of an interpretation business: Product Management, Supply Chain Management and Capacity Planning 
•    The key challenges that must be overcome by these functions for the business to thrive 
•    The role of technology for these functions
•    Choosing KPIs that matter