On the 2nd week of October this year, I was assigned to head to Germany to meet up with our dear GCBG partner, and one of the best language service providers in the business, Kocarek GmbH.
Was it a positive experience? Most definitely.
Any negative remarks? Nein!
Embarking on a journey to a country that I’ve never visited before, and to learn more about Kocarek’s business processes, was a truly unforgettable experience. And especially so when the weather was joyfully pleasant in the rather lively city of Essen.
(Kocarek’s hallway)
It was simply remarkable to talk to almost every member of Kocarek’s family and understand their methods of handling various job requests and requirements through the use of their most prominent translation tool, memoQ. I was able to learn more about the various functions, shortcuts, and intricacies of memoQ that could vastly help our team whenever we deploy that particular program for translation needs. No doubt it seems like a complex tool to get used to, but by placing some effort into learning, anyone will eventually find the tool to be very effective with a sense of control and security over the different translation processes.
In addition, we shared our various methods and views of other business functions such as sales/marketing, vendor management, and desktop publishing. Most of which seems pretty much the same for both sides.
(A view from inside the office)
By observing at how everyone at Kocarek places their best efforts into their roles, no sane person can deny that their customers’ requests will be well handled with stringent quality control procedures in place to prevent any besmirching of reputation.
They were very gracious with their guest too. I was well-taken care of throughout the trip and got to experience several aspects of the local’s life. It was a blast tasting traditional German food (e.g. Sauerbraten with a side of mashed apples), having locally (or regionally?) brewed beer, and playing a few rounds of Kegeln with the Kocarek folks.
But alas, everything eventually comes to an end as it was time to face another 13 hours of flight time and head back home to sunny Singapore, family, friends, and work.
Until then, farewell Kocarek.
Written by Chong Kai
Senior Project Manager, Project Management Team