Poll: In general, how would you rate your clients' project management skills?
Автор темы: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ПЕРСОНАЛ САЙТА
Oct 25, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "In general, how would you rate your clients' project management skills?".

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neilmac
neilmac
Испания
Local time: 19:56
испанский => английский
+ ...
Fair Oct 25, 2018

In general, not bad.
I have to keep telling the only agency I regularly work with to try to get their clients to agree to the longest possible deadlines, as I can't always drop what I'm doing and accept rush jobs from them. It seems to have sunk in.
As for my regulars, over the years I've managed to convince them of the same thing - that I also have other clients to deal with, so they should always try to factor that in when planning (that's the ones that actually do any planning).


Annemieke Blondeel
 
Marjolein Snippe
Marjolein Snippe  Identity Verified
Нидерланды
Local time: 19:56
Член ProZ.com c 2012
английский => голландский
+ ...
Good Oct 25, 2018

Some are good, some are excellent; clients with poor project management skills do not seem to stick around for very long and I am not sorry to see them go, even if I rarely tell them in so many words that I will not work with them again.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Португалия
Local time: 18:56
Член ProZ.com c 2007
английский => португальский
+ ...
Good Oct 25, 2018

Good in general, with one exception: a British translation agency I have been working with for a few years which for the last 6 months seems to be biting off more than they can chew: POs are never sent on time and are occasionally wrong, payment of some invoices is late. I’m still giving them the benefit of doubt because work is regular and interesting and they pay my rates…

 
Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:56
французский => английский
+ ...
Памяти
Much variation Oct 25, 2018

Most of my frequent clients (agencies) are highly efficient and always pay on time without fuss - or they wouldn't be my clients.
A few pay promptly but usually seem to be in a state of panic and highly disorganised, send countless additional paragraphs or questions or prevaricate about the price after the job has been delivered. I accept work from those only when I have no other work.


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Дания
Local time: 19:56
Член ProZ.com c 2003
датский => английский
+ ...
Generally good, or I drop them! Oct 25, 2018

It's a privilege, I know, but I tell some clients why I do not wish to work with them, and move on. I tell others what I like about their management, and would not want them to change.

A lot of my clients' affairs are beyond my control, and none of my business anyway, but if they are chaotic, I can't work with them. On the other hand, they like to know when they are appreciated, and it goes both ways!


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Бразилия
Local time: 14:56
Член ProZ.com c 2014
английский => португальский
+ ...
Fair Oct 25, 2018

In general, what I see is people with an intermediate level of education/qualification, occupying PM posts with a little training for the basics, but hardly ever able to resolve any issues when they appear. What I see is a senior manager paying low salaries for these people, with the instruction: "if anything wrong happens, you call me".
What they call "Project Managers" are usually "Project Assistants", and there is one single real manager who is doing other things and is called only in c
... See more
In general, what I see is people with an intermediate level of education/qualification, occupying PM posts with a little training for the basics, but hardly ever able to resolve any issues when they appear. What I see is a senior manager paying low salaries for these people, with the instruction: "if anything wrong happens, you call me".
What they call "Project Managers" are usually "Project Assistants", and there is one single real manager who is doing other things and is called only in case of trouble.
Collapse


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
Великобритания
Член ProZ.com c 2011
шведский => английский
+ ...
Terrible Oct 25, 2018

Most of my direct clients leave everything to the last minute, and guess who has to pick up the pieces?

A good PM will stand up to the CEO and tell him to haul his fat arse off the golf course to approve the final draft because the translator needs it!


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
США
Local time: 10:56
Член ProZ.com c 2003
испанский => английский
+ ...
Excellent Oct 25, 2018

I mainly work for international organizations. One of them is absolutely excellent and the others are all very good to excellent.

 


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Poll: In general, how would you rate your clients' project management skills?






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