Pros
Considering all available jobs in the wider area, I see no significant positives, other than a higher than average effective use of technology.
Cons
It's not a translation company. It's only an Outsourcer. They outsource 100% of the jobs they receive. They are so wide spread that in some languages they have more than 50% of the market, still nobody has questioned how they "abuse their dominant position" (competition laws etc). They lie to clients that their documents will be handled internally, while all are sent to unverified translators in other countries. Anyone can work for Transperfect if they have a computer and pass an easy 300 word test. They overcharge the clients and underpay their production staff and freelance translators (they do NOT have internal translators). For both employees and freelancers, it's a race to the bottom. Terrible reputation among most translators, and among all other agencies, which consider them the "Walmart of Translations" and destroyers of the art itself. Clients are promised things that do not even exist or are never implemented. "Quality assurance" is paid less than the minimum salary of developing countries. "Creative content" is paid at about minimum salary rates. It's the ideal outsourcer for desperate translators. They have destroyed the good reputation of any smaller agency they bought over the years. Particularly, the industry experienced the destruction of Overtaal (Netherlands) and Iverson (US), two former excellent agencies which turned into sweatshops when bought by Transperfect. Overtaal employees talked about "invasion of the barbarian Americans" (I was there and saw it). There's a constant need for work among translators, and that helps them grow, along with a very aggressive sales department which should probably be investigated for multiple counts of fraud against their clients (misrepresentation of how the job will be handled, selling of services that are never performed, confidentiality almost non-existent, since jobs are always sent to other countries to unverified individuals). Still though, since the product does get delivered, and since many freelancers will deliver something decent, most clients are generally satisfied, even if they pay double than what they should (they do not know that). The "average" quality though, which freelance translators give them for only 20% of what the end client pays Transperfect, along with increased automation that Transperfect itself promotes, is not a factor that promises a future for translators and career personnel. This is a private outsourcer, which can close at anytime, still leaving its owners with hundreds of millions in the bank. Translators and staff will not find a "consistent relationship" environment here - maybe it's worth taking some projects, but not worth relying on this company (they are purposefully unreliable to both personnel and translators, consistently revising their relationships towards the cheaper choice - considering their 2.5 - 4.4 markups, their practices make them what you call "cheap people"). - For employees: avoid them. - For translators: treat them as any other agency - do not get dependent, do not rely on them for long. Do not sacrifice your personal life or other business opportunities for a few bucks every day. They'll make you neglect all other clients, all other opportunities, all your free time, and your income will be lower every year - that's their actual practices on a wider scale.
