Hip, hip, hurr-ISO!

…” So what can we do?, Reut sighed. Her gaze followed a moth captured in the light of the exposed lamp. “How do we bring more customers in?”

If we were smokers, I would have told you that a thick smoke rolled up towards the ceiling of our meeting room, but we don’t, and the veggie plate only contained some cucumber and carrot pieces.

“No worries,” I said confidently, disguising a slight concern. “We are in good shape. Real good. We only need to think about increasing our client database. Something new that we have not thought about before…. “

Pepe, who was lying under the table, lifted his head and looked at me with sheer admiration. If he had a tail, he would probably wag it.

A thud on the table sounded from across the room. It was Sivan, who up until now remained silent and brooding, and now lifted her fist and called enthusiastically: “I know! I know!”

Four sets of human eyes and one set of dog eyes turned to her inquisitively.

“The answer is ISO! – We must have an ISO standard certification! Lots of clients ask me about it, and I keep avoiding them. So let’s just do it!”

Pepe looked away in disappointment. When people talk about standards, he gets bored.

We were deliberating about getting into the long and complicated process of implementing ISO 17100 to the company for quite some time. We knew about it and that it fits translation agencies; We knew that some of our colleagues boasted about having it but had no time to do something about it. And then Covid came. During the team’s brainstorming, it became clear to us all: Now is the time. To bring our service a few notches upward and pick up some new clients while we were at it, we had to get certified and win the coveted ISO 17100.

So, what is ISO 17100:2105?

This standard specifies the requirements, processes and resources necessary for the provision of quality translation services. I won’t bore you with the details. But, I thought it was an excellent match to what we do and who we are. After all, Lichi = Quality. So, we braced ourselves and went full force ahead.

Well… it was not easy!

Months and months of hard work were invested in bringing us up to par. Numerous forms, writing and implementing procedures, re-organization (even Pepe gave up his VP status)… when alongside all this – business as usual vs. our clients.

And what is the difference – you probably ask?

Well, we did say “Quality” already? Right? That is not new. Lichi has always been a synonym for high quality and fantastic service. But from the moment we became ISO CERTIFIED, another Premium Service was added to our business – a service that includes translation + editing. Lichi’s translation team takes the work one more stage through our editors, who review the texts and verify that the final product is top notch!

Beyond that, ever since we got certified, we have operated accordingly. We keep adding procedures; We keep improving our existing workflow; We conduct feedback conversations and talk about subjects during our team meetings, to become better and more efficient.

And of course, companies who could not work with us previously due to their strict demands for certified translation agencies can now become our clients and rest assured they get the highest quality; ISO CERTIFIED service.

And Pepe? Though a bit frustrated he’s no longer VP, he forgets all about it when he gets some salami.