How an interpreter scheduling platform could change your life (really)

By Elena Isshiki, Customer Success Director

For so much of the existence of the interpretation industry’s existence, there’s been a resistance to automation and adding technology into the workflows. Interpretation is such a fundamentally human experience and false promises of AI replacing interpreters have soared over the last few years, so I get the tech resistance.

However, in my years working at Interpreter Intelligence, and now as part of the Boostlingo organization, I’ve seen how scheduling automation can scale a group’s ability to offer even more services. Instead of thinking of tech as a danger to their interpretation business, companies who choose to use tools like scheduling automation save time so they can focus on getting more people the language help they need.

There’s a reason accountants don’t use an abacus anymore, and why we all use GPS to get us from point A to point B. When a technology is developed with good things in mind by good people, industries like the language service industry can grow their reach and serve more clients.

Here are just a few of the ways an interpreter scheduling platform can be one of those good technologies for your language service company:

Simplify the booking process

Right now, your administrative staff is likely going back and forth in an email exchange or trading voicemails with potential interpreters who could be a fit for a request you’ve received. What if instead, there was a single broadcasted opportunity that went out to your network of interpreters to let them know a job was available? With a click of a button, an interpreter could see the details of the appointment and confirm their availability.

As a bonus, your admin staff could even prioritize interpreters you love working with or include special certifications required for a job in their broadcast. Only the right interpreters see the offer, and your team hasn’t had to dig through a spreadsheet to find numbers, emails and updated certificates.

That’s all possible with an interpreter scheduling platform that’s created with language services in mind.

Share calendars and schedules

You may have seen tools like Calendly for sales teams and account managers to share their availability with potential customers. That same functionality exists in interpreter scheduling platforms.

Instead of trading emails back and forth to find a time that works for everyone, the interpreters in your network can upload their availability at the beginning of the week so you know at a glance whose available. Your team may be waiting half a day right now for an interpreter to get a moment to reply to an email during their busy day.

With calendar sharing features in a scheduling platform, you remove that hurdle to getting an appointment booked.

Communication Presets

Every customer and interpreter has different needs in how they want to be reminded or notified about the status of an upcoming appointment. Rather than your staff having to text, email and call after each confirmation, a great interpreter scheduling system will automatically notify everyone involved.

In a good platform, customers and interpreters can choose their preferred communication methods. And don’t worry – in the right platform, you’ll be able to tailor these communications for that friendly, personal touch your staff is giving right now. Just because you’re automating your system doesn’t mean you can’t have personality in your notifications.

If your staff is booking dozens of jobs a week, these changes to the workflow can be a huge time saver for your entire team. Across multiple accounts a day, the optimization will mean you can book more appointments without having to add to your headcount.

Additionally, your team will feel the relief of having their job simplified and expanded. The repeated burden of having to track down information can cause fatigue and burnout. With the right technology, staff will be more productive and live without those headaches.

If you’re in the process of looking for a platform, we’ve got some great options here at Boostlingo. Regardless of your choice, make sure you think about ways the technology will truly simplify the day of your administrative staff.

Have questions? Comment below! We’d love to use our experience to help you out.