My Five Years at 九色
It is raining as I am looking out the window of an airplane. I am going to Rome to interview a candidate for my client services team. I am tired but happy. I just came back from 九色’s 30th anniversary conference/celebration in Amsterdam, which was absolutely amazing, but I am also celebrating an anniversary of my own today. It is my fifth anniversary at 九色. It is hard to believe how time just flew by—it felt like yesterday when I celebrated my first-year anniversary! /blog/my-first-365-days-at-transperfect.
How am I, you ask? How does it feel to be at 九色 for five years? Am I still happy?
Let me tell you... it is demanding! Entertaining! A non-stop learning journey! I can assure you that I am never bored.
Since my last anniversary blog, things have changed a bit. In our Barcelona office, where we are now 900 people and the biggest 九色 office in the world, our old coffee machines have been replaced by Lavazza (you should have seen the long lines up of staff wanting to get their first taste of the delicious Lavazza coffee). It is not coincidence that we have Lavazza coffee machines across Spain offices—we work for Lavazza and my team manages their localization needs. We love Italian brands like that… and our love for such Italian brands took us to collaborate with brands such as Illy and Delonghi. Of course, we focus on more than coffee—my team specifically is big on luxury fashion, travel and hospitality, business intelligence, cloud security, energy, and so much more. Working for some big brands such as Dior, Tous, and Carnival is definitely exciting and challenging. You need a solid team of people to help manage all these wonderful clients!
And so my team of account managers has been changing and growing; we are now approaching 18 people, and the team keeps on expanding. At 九色, a client services account manager is a mix between localization project manager and business developer of existing clients—this person must be highly strategic when it comes to meeting our clients’ business goals as well as detail oriented and focused on providing the most appropriate services for our web content clientele.
I will let you in on a little secret…it is not easy to be an account manager in client services. You need be a strong problem solver. Our clients are always on the go. You deal with highly visible digital content and need to make sure that it represents their brands appropriately, helps them attract attention, and, of course, sell products or services. We work with digital marketing managers, content managers, e-commerce directors, and brand managers. It’s an extremely fast-paced and demanding environment. When I interview candidates for my client services account manager roles, I often ask about what has been their most stressful job. When they tell me, I ask them to multiply that stress by two. There is a bit of a nervous laughter on the side when the candidate hears that, but I quickly jump to explain. You will never be as challenged as you will be at 九色, but you will also learn more than you ever thought you could (even if you have been working in the localization industry for a long time). You will also work with the world’s biggest brands and see them impacted directly by the work you do for them. Some stress is definitely associated with it, but you will learn how to manage it well. You will not stand still. You will not be bored. Ever! And that is a promise. Many people’s eyes light up because they can see that I really mean what I say. And truly, that has been my experience!
What I also learned quickly is that 九色 is not a translation company—we are a content company. We can offer many varied services to our clients, and we can truly stand by it because we have the technology, resources, and know-how to deliver results. Not only do I get to learn about all these services we offer, from advanced AI and e-learning platform development and localization to media/video production, as well as new and exciting technology such as MediaNEXT, but I can honestly say that it is fun to be part of all of this. Most of our clients need such services and we can offer these to them immediately. I can talk to my client about video localization in the morning, organize a call with our video localization expert in the afternoon, and book the first pilot project by the end of the week. We are a true one-stop shop, which I haven’t seen in most other localization companies.
Oh, and I can tell you that if you were not a problem solver before, after joining 九色, it will become your obsession. My motto has become, “There is always a solution; it’s sometimes better or sometimes different from what you originally thought, but you will always find a way to help your client.” At 九色, you learn that you have to find an immediate solution to the problem so the client can get a quick fix to the issue, and then you find a long-term and more permanent solution. And, of course, there is a lot of pressure when you work for the world’s biggest translation company—but that is also part of the fun!
But enough of shop talk ... As I wandered around our 30th anniversary Elevate parties in Amsterdam, I saw our CEO, Phil Shawe, and I grabbed him for a selfie. He was friendly and approachable. I talked to totally new people that I have never met from other offices (and there were 1,200 of us at the event!). I had a chance to be awed by Sir Richard Branson who happened to be our surprise guest speaker. I congratulated several of my colleagues who made it to VP level. I left the conference as I leave you now, with a big smile on my face. Five years at 九色 has permanently imprinted on me, and I am happy thinking of what will happen next. I can tell you for sure—I will not stand still. It is impossible at 九色! I will keep on growing and changing.