When starting to work with a new supplier, the expectation is generally full performance from the first job onwards. This expectation overlooks what the first year is for.
The first job is a measurement job
Starting with a small or medium-sized job allows both sides to see each other. Starting with a large file means getting to know each other under the riskiest conditions.
Preparation is long in the first job
The terminology list is set up, decisions on style are taken, the context is handed over. This effort is not repeated in later jobs, but it lengthens the turnaround of the first job.
The number of queries is high in the first months
There are many unknowns, and every query heads off an assumption. In this period it is not good news if few queries arrive.
This is the period when feedback is most valuable
The preferences given in the first jobs determine the language of the whole relationship. When the same preference is passed on a year later, there is far more text to be corrected.
The gain from repetition is low in the first year
The memory is still small and the match rate is limited. An assessment made on the basis of unit cost does not reflect reality in this period.
The continuity of the team should be tracked
Whether the team is preserved in the first year is the strongest indicator for the years that follow. In a team that changes constantly, no accumulation ever forms.
Four indicators are read at the end of the year
The on-time delivery rate, the feedback rate, the share of rush jobs and the repetition rate. At the end of the first year these four give a meaningful picture.
Counter-view: the first year is a paid year too
That the organisation is financing the trial period is a reasonable objection. But what remains in return is not only the texts delivered but the infrastructure that accumulates in the organisation; if ownership is defined, this accumulation stays with the organisation.
Ownership is written into the first contract
If it is not written down at the start of the relationship who owns the memory and the termbase set up in the first year, it becomes a subject of negotiation later.
The contact person should be fixed
Designating a single contact person on both sides is the arrangement that prevents the most loss of information in the first year.
The exit conditions are also written at the outset
When the possibility that the relationship does not work is provided for from the outset, the freedom to decide is preserved and the decision to stay really is a choice.
An assessment is made in the middle of the year
Waiting twelve months allows problems that could have been corrected to settle in. A short review done in the sixth month catches most problems early.
Comparison is meaningful in the second year
The performance of a supplier can be measured only after the infrastructure has been set up. The numbers of the first year are a baseline, not a verdict.
Takeaway
The first year is not an examination period but a set-up period. Starting with a small job, encouraging queries, giving feedback early, writing down ownership from the outset and reading the four indicators together at the end of the year make this period productive; an early verdict reached by looking at the numbers of the first year, on the other hand, generally turns out to be wrong.