INGCO’s Lead Corporate Interpreting Project Manager, Martin, recently had the opportunity to participate in an in-person conference in Barcelona. The event was a significant undertaking, requiring simultaneous interpreting from English to Spanish for approximately 100 participants. This experience highlighted the role of an Onsite Project Manager in ensuring the seamless execution of language services and event logistics. 

In this Q&A-styled blog, Martin shares his firsthand insights into the responsibilities of an Onsite Project Manager, the challenges they help mitigate, and the invaluable benefits they bring to the overall success of such events.

What does a project manager do on-site?

The Onsite Project Manager serves as a vital link connecting the client, interpreters, venue staff, and A/V technicians. The role encompasses comprehensive logistical support throughout the event. Onsite duties entail distributing updated presentation materials and managing logistical adjustments, facilitating interpreting equipment distribution to attendees while providing instructions on usage, supervising equipment load-in, setup, and testing, and collaborating closely with venue contacts to ensure a seamless process from start to finish.

What common things could go wrong that would not be fixed if a project manager was not onsite?

Without an Onsite Project Manager, some of the common issues that might arise during an event that could potentially go unresolved are:

• Equipment malfunctions: The project manager constantly checks for any technical glitches with the interpreting equipment. Without a project manager onsite to coordinate with A/V technicians, these issues could persist, disrupting the event. A/V technicians are likely hired by the venue and may or may not have experience working with interpreting equipment specifically, making it extremely important to have a project manager onsite to coordinate with the interpreting equipment technicians. 
• Logistical Hiccups: Last-minute changes in scheduling, room assignments, or attendee requirements might only be effectively communicated or addressed with the immediate presence of a project manager who manages logistics and communications with necessary parties on site.
• Participant Assistance: Attendees may need assistance navigating the venue, using interpreting equipment, or addressing individual concerns regarding the interpreting services. Without a project manager onsite to provide support and guidance, these needs may go unmet, leading to event participant frustration or dissatisfaction.
• Interpreter Assistance: Interpreters may have some communication needs, like informing the speakers to manage the time and pace of their speeches and presentations better. The Project Manager can offer support, such as refreshments or brief breaks, to help maintain the interpreter’s focus and energy levels.

What are the costs involved with having an onsite project manager? 

The costs involved with having an Onsite Project Manager typically include:

• An hourly rate
• Travel and accommodation
• A per diem or daily allowance to cover food costs.

Of course, these will depend on the nature of the project. Most conferences and large events offer a buffet where the Project Manager can eat with the interpreters and the rest of the participants. Travel costs will vary depending on the location of the venue. Travel costs can be incurred for flight tickets or ground transportation.

What are the other benefits of having an on-site project manager?

One of the primary benefits of having an onsite Project Manager is that the client is never left to navigate the project alone. They feel supported and cared for, fostering a sense of growing confidence. Throughout the event, the client is accompanied by the language service provider, allowing them to focus on other tasks such as engaging with attendees and networking, knowing that the language interpreting aspects are being expertly managed.

What do you do during your downtime at the event?

I regularly visit the conference room to ensure that the interpreting equipment functions correctly and that the interpreters have everything they require. Additionally, I touch base with the client to confirm that everything is proceeding smoothly from their perspective. If there is any remaining time, I like to engage with volunteers.

How do you communicate with the project manager during an event? 

If the venue is large, the most efficient method is typically via phone call or a headset if available. Alternatively, for smaller conferences, the Project Manager is usually stationed at a predetermined location where the client can directly approach them.

Martin, what is your favorite part about being onsite?

One of the aspects I enjoy most about working as an Onsite Project Manager is the opportunity to interact directly with both the client and the participants. These interactions often involve explaining the workings of interpreting services, ensuring clarity and understanding. I also like interacting with the interpreters, as their diverse experiences offer continuous learning opportunities.

Additionally, I find great satisfaction in building trust and creating meaningful connections through networking. Ultimately, my goal is to ensure that the client feels confident in the seamless management of their language needs, allowing them to concentrate on other aspects of the event with peace of mind.

Before our eyes, the global event industry came to a screeching halt. Meetings were postponed and corporate events cancelled. With the current economic situation quickly being defined as the “new normal,” the need to communicate with employees, clients and partners is more important than ever. Organizations have promptly shifted to virtual events utilizing technology that combines multichannel webcasting and video streaming to ensure that multilingual attendees are able to access the content.

Since all live face-to-face events are on hold, those of us tasked with ensuring equal access to information have jumped at the opportunity to showcase the skill sets we have worked years to create to ensure that organizations can continue to meet their audience. Following best practices, proven methodologies and tricks learned along the way, live virtual multilingual events are here and they work.

We have outlined 3 steps to ensure success with multilingual virtual events.

1. Focus on the experts.

Every event producer knows that the devil is in the details and that every member of the team plays an essential role to make sure that your virtual event goes off without any issues. Every carefully crafted event is managed down to the most minute detail to be successful. This is especially important for multilingual events. You will need to build into your team a very strong team of multilingual experts that will manage the multiple channels to support your in-language attendees and ensure that the content is delivered simultaneously to the entire audience. Beyond expert linguists, this team must consist of project managers experienced with managing live virtual events to manage all the behind-the-scenes details.

2. Content is king.

Delivering high-quality, relevant multilingual content impacts audience engagement so you will need to develop content that is interactive, visually stimulating and allows for repurposing on your website and social media platforms. Your language service partner will need to access the English content well before the event so they can ensure it is translated accurately and localized for your target audience. Allow your language service partner to help with multilingual logistics such as event design, registration, promotion, content collection, project management and technology ownership to ensure exceptional audience buy-in.

3. Plan, plan and plan again. Then practice, practice and practice again.

There can never be enough emphasis on planning and practice with virtual events. Live events generally lead to a more captivated audience with fewer distractions. Virtual events by nature are wrought with distractions — dogs barking, email notifications dinging, coffee brewing, to name a few. Virtual events must be stimulating and engaging visually with perfect audio and video quality. Presenters must allow time to rehearse not only their presentations but their slide transitions and other content like music and videos. Even with all the planning and practice, it’s important to have a back up plan in case there are technical challenges.

Virtual events are our new normal and with the right team in place, excellent content translations and perfect planning, your multilingual event is sure to be a great success. Contact us today to get started.

INGCO International was proud to provide conference interpreters for the FITASC annual meeting this week in Mankato, Minnesota. Our interpreter team provided simultaneous and relay interpretation services for audience members representing 20+ different countries that participate in the organization. FITASC is an acronym standing for the French words: Fédération Internationale de Tir aux Armes Sportives de Chasse. Sport shooting is a type of shotgun sport shooting similar to sporting clays, trap and skeet.

Sport shooting is an international competitive sport involving tests of proficiency (accuracy and speed) using various types of guns. Research suggests that 15% of Americans are active sport shooters. Bloomberg reports that US high schools are embracing sport shooting as a “hot new sport.”

“Preparing to interpret for any event is time consuming and intensive. Preparing for this event was no different. I am not a sport shooter and knew absolutely nothing about the sport before accepting this assignment. I can with 100% confidence say that I now know more about the sport than anyone else I know. This is one of the reasons why I love the profession of interpreting; what other job exposes you to such a broad range of concepts on a daily basis?”

 

“It is true that interpreters must walk into every assignment and be prepared admit when we don’t know a term or word. We carry along with us a plethora of tools and reference material to quickly find terms and vocabulary on the fly. When I first started in this industry, that included a complete suitcase full of dictionaries and glossaries that I would select based upon my assignment: legal, medical and business reference material all had their own suitcase. Now we primarily rely on technology like laptops and iPads. No doubt this has eased my back pain over the past few years!”

Minnesota is home to the World Sporting Championships Final of the World Cup. The Championships will take place at the Caribou Gun Club in LeSeur, Minnesota and will bring over 740 athletes from across the globe.

Looking for information for your  conference interpreting needs across the globe?