Finding the Balance: Shifting Stress from People to Systems Michel Lopez CEO, e2f translations

Standard LSP Model Issues: – Scalability, Capacity Management, Reactivity, … Project Manager Clients Freelancers

Life as a Project Manager Christine, thebesttranslations.xx  High level of stress

Life as a Freelance Translator Maria, translator, bestfreelancetranslator.xx  High level of stress

Case Study Paul O’Neill 1987, CEO of Alcoa Faced with host of issues Focused on a single indicator: “time lost to employee injuries” Company improved in all areas Safety for Alcoa  Stress in Localization Industry

Stress Management Strategy Why manage stress? – Your resources are people, not machines – Happiness is linked to productivity and quality – Pressure generates risk How to manage stress?

Shifting Stress to Systems 1- Have an Overall Strategy Analyze your Processes Look for Sources of Stress Solve Inefficiencies – Study New Technologies – Borrow from other Industries – Find Innovative Solutions – Tailor Solutions to YOUR Needs

Shifting Stress to Systems 2: Breakdown Tasks into Roles Breakdown jobs into tasks Combine tasks into roles: – Client Coordination – Project Preparation – Resource Allocation – Production Coordination – Quality Follow-Up

Shifting Stress to Systems 3: Distribute Roles to Global Teams Document every procedure Expand your Hours of Operation – Each team is split into shifts Build global distributed teams: – Shift from geographical to functional approach – Build sub-teams around accounts

Shifting Stress to Systems 4: Manage Resources Flexibility Internal Resources: – Offer as much flexibility as possible External Resources: – Offer commitment

Shifting Stress to Systems 5: Build Distributed Tools Use a single company-wide system Share Information – Mailboxes – Databases – Procedures Use Collaboration tools – Instant Messaging within teams – Social Media to distribute information

Shifting Stress to Systems 6: Build Redundancies Build as many redundancies as possible Prepare and Implement fail-over plans

Lower stress Lower turnover Predictability of Capacity Consistency Scalability The Pay-Off

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Finding the Balance: Shifting Stress from People to Systems Questions & Answers