08.28.2019

Those Words are My Inspiration! Interpreting Coordinator Haruka Misawa’s Experience and Knowledge

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This is the second of our series about JCS experts, and their professionalism and pursuit of excellence. This time, we’re featuring interpreting coordinator Haruka Misawa. Using the experience gained from her previous career, a customer said that she freed them up to focus on other work, but what exactly does that mean? Haruka took the time to explain the true meaning of it to us.

What do Weddings and Interpreting Have in Common?

Haruka　Previously, I was a wedding planner, and if you think about it, it really is like being a producer. Not of a movie or TV show, but of a wedding. There were instances where I had to take the lead and come up with a complete proposal, and there were other times where I worked with happy couples to realize their plan. From that, I realized that communication between people forms the basis of trust, and it gave me a huge sense of purpose for that job.

Now, for clients who need interpreting, I help them transcend language issues they face (as an interpreting coordinator). Weddings and events requiring interpreting actually have something in common – for the client, they are once-in-a-lifetime events. Because they are once-in-a-lifetime events, clients, and therefore planners and coordinators, have to consider how to impress guests – this is only natural. Although my current position as an interpreting coordinator seems quite different than a wedding planner, every day I get to use my experience to ensure guests have an excellent experience.

Enabling Clients to Focus on their Core Business.

Haruka　In addition to interpretation services, in almost all cases clients have other things to focus on as well. For example, just looking at guests from outside Japan, there are things such as arranging flights, hotels, and meetings, and all of these things can add up. From the perspective of a client, interpretation is just one success factor out of many for their event.

However, its also true that understanding each other is a prerequisite for communication and that a failure to seal the deal is a problem. When there is a new interpretation client, I spend a lot of time to understand what they want and ensure that any issues they might have are taken care of. Depending on the circumstances, there are times when we are in close contact and also those where we come up with a solution meeting our clients’ needs that is based on written information we received.

Clients have appreciated this customer centric way, as shown in some of the comments I’ve received. I was once told that “By having Ms. Misawa arrange an interpreter, we could focus on other things. The conference was a success, and we were very satisfied with the arrangements for the interpreter,” and this made me so happy. It reinforced by love of being a coordinator, supporting clients with language, and I remember just how overjoyed I was.

Interpretation Coordinator: Haruka’s Knowledge.

Haruka　I think it is important to move forward as an interpretation coordinator, thinking carefully about the reason why this job of arranging interpreters is needed, and continuing to pursue what I can do.

For example, there are cases when someone who is fluent in the language but not a professional interpreter is actually interpreting, but that person might have something else to do during the meeting. We have a determined time for our clients and by providing an interpreter who matches the client’s field, we make everything smoother and therefore more productive. In addition, for communication within the department, because each coordinator is in charge of different clients, there is a lot of knowledge (such as things that worked well and pleased customers). One thing I have come up with is listed below.

My golden rule is that the coordinator is between the interpreter, and client and change the client’s labor into value and create a profitable time and make everyone happy.

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