Project D: Interpreting For a Biomedical Company

In early summer of 2001, a Bay Area pharmaceutical company contacted Peritus about a two-day interpreting assignment. This company was a new client, and they had not been using interpreters before.

Goal: To find two top-notch Japanese <> English biomedical interpreters for consecutive interpretation at an investor’s meeting with a Japanese delegation in the Bay Area.

Allocation and Methodology

The Peritus project manager conferred with the client prior to choosing the interpreters. The client also wanted to screen the interpreters’ resumes to make sure they had the proper biomedical experience.

• The Peritus project manager screened our database for interpreters with biomedical experience and forwarded some resumes to the client as they had requested
• Peritus recommended two Japanese interpreters who had many years of experience also within the biomedical field. The client agreed, and the two interpreters were booked for the assignment
• Confidentiality agreements were signed by the interpreters and Peritus
• The client mailed various presentation materials as soon as they became available. The project manager forwarded the presentations to the interpreters as well as the company’s website information in order for the interpreters to prepare for the meeting

A week prior to the meeting, the client contacted the project manager to arrange a four hour briefing session with the interpreters before the assignment. Both the client and the interpreters were very pleased with the briefing session, as they discussed the client’s goals and solved various terminology issues.

The actual meeting took place at the client’s headquarters. The interpreters reported back to the Peritus project manager every evening to let her know how the meeting went.

Results

Three days after the meeting, the Peritus project manager contacted the client to follow up on the project. She had read the interpreter’s reports and used these as reference when she talked to the client. The meeting had been very successful and the Peritus interpreting team had played a crucial role in the outcome. The client was very impressed with the professionalism of the interpreters and the way they had handled the subject area. The company has been a regular client since this project, and they always contact Peritus in regard to their interpretation needs.

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