Alicia von Achten is part of our Account Management team. With a background in languages and a passion for travel, Alicia tells us what her Account Manager role involves and how it fits in to the wider language service industry.
An Account Manager’s role is to work in partnership with the client and help them to understand which services will best suit their projects. We put workflows in place that best meet their needs, and ensure that we are delivering projects on time and working as effectively as we can be. As Account Managers, we aim to be proactive in our quest to put in place the most streamlined and cost effective solution for the customer.
We also work closely with the operational teams within the business to ensure quality of service and translation output, by going through a stringent project set up process.
Management Information (MI) is also an intrinsic part of the job, as it means clients receive an overview of their spend, the most common languages ordered, and savings to their organisation.
Mainly, we maintain regular contact with our clients to ensure that they have a sounding board for any queries and feedback that they have, and then we follow this up internally following all of the established feedback processes.
I enjoy a fast paced work environment that involves a lot of client interaction – this is Account Management in a nutshell.
It’s a great job to be in because one day is never the same as another; each client has a different requirement and therefore it keeps you on your toes thinking of different ways in which you can service a client’s individual requirements.
For many years it was my dream to become a translator, however, when I was coming to the end of my degree I attended a seminar about other jobs available in the language industry, and following the talk, I went for an interview, got the job and here I am!
I love the localisation industry because you not only deal with translation, but you learn a tremendous amount about your market vertical (for me that is manufacturing & engineering with a side of online gaming). The software we use and the localisation industry as a whole are both constantly evolving, so you have to keep your finger on the pulse to ensure you don’t get left behind.
Account Management is what I would call a hybrid between sales and operations; we work with our clients to expand on our existing relationships and work towards putting a centralised solution in place, yet we work in conjunction with operations to ensure the smooth running of all localisation projects.
Business Development is essentially seeking new business opportunities through various channels, winning the confidence of potential clients and putting together a solution that best suits their needs. BDMs then have to work with our operations teams in the initial stages, to ensure that a comprehensive on-boarding plan is put into place and adhered to.
We do not provide, nor believe, that “one size fits all” with localisation.
One business’ requirements could be completely different to another’s, so it’s important that I tailor the service and approach for each individual client. It’s also hard to convince clients that localisation shouldn’t be an after-thought, and should be a part of their wider strategy.
You have to have very strong people skills – caring about your job and listening to your clients takes you a long way in an Account Management role. A love for learning and change is really important too – you need to be able to constantly evolve in this industry as it’s ever-changing.
I think that this role shouldn’t be taken at face value, it’s not an easy job, but can be very rewarding.
If you’re someone that has a love for languages, is good at problem solving and enjoys a fast-paced environment, then this is definitely a job for you. My advice is to work hard and you will reap the benefits.
I’d be a professional traveller!