Axiom Translate Obtained ISO 9001 Quality Management Certificate

What is ISO 9001 Certification for Translation Services?

ISO 9001 is certification issued by the International Organisation of Standardization (ISO). ISO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation has been active since 1947 when it was founded in London.

ISO is non-governmental, independent international organisation with 169 national standard bodies as members. So far it has developed more than 24 000 different standards covering many aspects of our daily lives. Some of the main reason to develop standards is to ensure quality as well as safety of services and products.

ISO standards also tend to ensure transparency and consistency across the globe. More particularly ISO 9001 is seen as the international benchmark for Quality Management Systems (QMS).

The key aspect of the certificate is to help set up a systematic consistent approach to meet and possibly exceed the needs of their customers and other significant stakeholders. The emphasis is on risk based thinking, consistent service improvement and the involvement of management in quality efforts.

QMS are particularly important for the linguistic industry as our main responsibilities include transmitting precious information and meaning from one language to another. In translation services, ISO 9001 is uncommonly relevant as it provides a framework for ensuring top management commitment to quality as well as customer satisfaction.

Why is ISO 9001 Quality Management Certificate Important for a Translation Agency ?

ISO 9001 for translation services embodies a strong emphasis on customer satisfaction. A certified translation agency such as Axiom Translate provides its customers with translation services which meet or exceed their expectations in terms of accuracy, linguistic nuances and cultural relevance.

It also indicates that your potential partner organisation has introduced a risk based thinking approach. In the context of a translation this can be interpreted as ensuring that factors such as linguistic complexities, specialized terminology and more importantly tight deadlines are all taken care of for all of your projects.

ISO 9001 for translation services is also important because it outlines a strong focus on record keeping. In other words – all records for projects, translator’s qualification as well as other relevant documentation safely kept in traceable manner. ISO 9001 quality management certificate for translation services also underlines strong commitment to building a culture of recurring improvement of processes, translation quality as well as client satisfaction.

Such form of verification allows organisations like Axiom Translate to enhance their credibility by consistently exceeding the standardised processes outlined by ISO 9001 for translation services.

Because there are 169 member countries of ISO and many more certification auditing companies it is challenging to understand how many language service providers certificate holders are. Yet, some industry leading publications suggest that more than 40 % of boutique translation agencies lack audited proof against this essential standard.

What are the ISO 9001 Requirements for Linguistic Service Providers?

First it is important to understand that ISO 9001 quality management certificate requirements are not exclusively tailored for translation agencies. Those certification requirements are much more comprehensive and they provide are framework for quality management practices.

With that being said, the list of ISO 9001 requirements for translation service providers is not short. Much of the opposite, it is relatively long and contains a variety of so specific requirements. They can be grouped in seven different sections. This is how ] a system which ensures that the language service provider consistently operates at a high professional level is created. Here you can have a look at the different principles as well as understand how we implement them in Axiom Translate:

• Engagement of people

In other words it is the idea that everyone in the company understands that they have a role to play in ensuring that the company’s operations constantly improve. As an ISO 9001 certified translation agency Axiom Translate, ensures that both internal and external stakeholders are equally aligned in driving continuous operational excellence.

• Customer Focus

ISO 9001 requires certified institutions to ensure that clients’ interests are always at the centre of their mind focus. Axiom Translate is however, not only a customer focused organisation, but also excellence driven.

• Leadership

ISO 9001 for translation services has leadership commitment to operational excellence at its core. Axiom Translate’s leadership has got a clear vision where the company is headed and explicit ways in involving stakeholders helping to achieve that vision.

• Process Approach

ISO 9001 quality management certification for translation agencies requires establishing a systemic approach to produce desired results. The reason is simple – a set of actions can be systematically measured, controlled, and repeated. Axiom Translate has developed proprietary systems to excel in meeting and exceeding client satisfaction.

• Continuous Improvement

ISO 9001 for translation services require explicit commitment to constant improvement. This particular ask completely resonates with Axiom Translates core kaizen DNA.

• Evidence

Based Decision making – ISO 9001 quality management certificate for translation agencies requires institutions meeting the standard to employ the most accurate possible information in order to make decisions. Axiom Translate is a data driven organisation which employees a number of proprietary indicators to make decisions as accurate and impartial as possible.

• Relationship management

ISO 9001 standard requires translation agencies to foster transparent and respectful relationships with its vendors and suppliers. At Axiom Translate we value open communication and forge mutual trust with all our partners. This is how we attract the best available talent.

Axiom Translate Goes Beyond ISO 9001 Quality Standards

When choosing a language service provider many different aspects need to be looked at. Many business clients tend to look at things like quality assurance processes, which are often attested by quality management certificate such as ISO 9001. By choosing an ISO 9001 certified agency such as Axiom Translate you can be assured that qualitative focus is one of the core values of your potential partner. What is more you can be sure that the organisation that you are working with is customer focused.

Also, you can say with high degree of confidence that your translation provider is going to consistently deliver continuous process improvements, as they adhere not to only follow the best practices in the industry, but to also build on what already existing. At Axiom translate however offer many more benefits than what the ISO 9001 standard requires.

• Qualitative Focus

Receiving qualitative service is important in any industry. Even more so in linguistic services where customers are looking to transmit a message to a culturally different audience without losing the actual meaning of the text. For example, the qualitative focus of Axiom Translate has allowed many of its clients receive projects delivered faster than expected with-in depth cultural context explanations. To this date 99.99% of all projects delivered by our agency have been error free and have received positive customer feedback.

• Customer Centric

Finding a solution to their problem is what customers expect. This is the reason why customer centricity is so important. It is the basic foundation of customer understanding. At Axiom translate we put your needs first. We are small enough to provide you boutique customer experience and at the same time big enough to cater to all your global needs.

• Continuous Process Improvement

Constantly improving existing processes is something which all ISO 9001 certified translation agencies strive for. From customer perspective this is a huge benefit. There is nothing better than a vendor doing what they can to ensure all your requirements are met. Axiom Translate, however goes beyond by forging a culture of innovation and ensuring that client demands are met before they occur.

• Best Industry Practices

From a customer prospective choosing to partner with an ISO 9001 certified organisation often ensures that you will be receiving a consistently qualitative translation service. At Axiom translate, we set standards higher than the industry common practices. For example, our client response times are 17% faster than what the industry considers best practice guide book.

Final Thoughts

To put things into prospective and put a summary – ISO 9001 certification for translation services indicates both strong leadership and organisation commitment to applying the most relevant industry standards. Customers choosing to partner with certified agencies can have the peace of mind that their service provider will surely keep client interest at their core.

What is more organisational commitment to continuous innovation and improvement certainly serves as a progress driver for the language services industry. At Axiom Translate, we see our ISO 9001 certification as the first step in our never ending journey to excellence.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Axiom Translate ISO 9001 Certificate Issued?

Axiom Translate’s ISO 9001 quality management certificate was first issued in September 2020. We have since been audited annually. All the auditors who have inspected our organisation have been complementary on the way we genuinely exceed the certificate required benchmark.

Is the ISO 9001 Quality Management Certificate Still Active?

Axiom Translate’s ISO 9001 quality management certificate is active. Our commitment to quality and customer satisfaction is second to none. Our teams strive daily to exceed the most demanding quality standards.

What are the Benefits of Choosing an ISO 9001 certified Translation Agency?

Choosing a ISO 9001 translation agency like Axiom Translate brings a number of benefits. First, it means that by large and far you will be most likely dealing with highly professional institution. Second, by choosing an agency with ISO 9001 certificate you can have the peace of mind that their expertise and commitment to quality is something which is externally verified and auditied by an internationally certified firm .

Is ISO-Compliant the Same as ISO-Certified?

The difference is the following – an organisation can follow all or almost all of the ISO requirements without having a certificate. An organisation certified for ISO 9001 means that an independent third-party auditor has attested the compliance with the ISO standard and has subsequently issued a certificate to attest the standard compliance. This certificate is also recorded with the national certification agency of the country where the organisation is from.