Global Communication Maturity Model 2.0

Our Global Communication Maturity Model™ (also known in our industry as Localization Maturity by Common Sense Advisory) has undergone further enhancements:

(click to enlarge for a printable version)

Our LSI Global Communication Maturity Model reveals the stages through which organizations will progress when implementing a multilingual communications strategy. Each stage represents a point in time when an organization faces unique challenges that must be met and built upon in order to move forward on their global business path.

Our updated model shows 4 key dynamics of maturity:

• Scope of work increases exponentially and can take over domestic work. Volume increases by adding more content (usually top-down) and by adding languages. Language support of less strategic content is justified at higher stages of maturity due to automation and processes that make it more cost efficient to work with high volume levels. Levels of acceptable quality get more diversified as you go up on the maturity level as well.  
• Process Focus is most important in the early stages of maturity before standardization and centralization (and certification) controls the process. The process focus in mature stages focuses more on control audit and improvement.
• Technology Maturity is usually an investment in content management systems needed to move to a mature stage and grows further by means of technology automation . The level and timing of that investment differ between organizations as budgets usually control the decision making process, but the critical stages start at High Risk. Budget conflict is a possibility when organizations not able to justify their investment in technology. Organizations go out to find support from their LSP to manage and control technology until they make the investment to take control content for translation.
• LSP Involvement shows that in the first 4 stages (reactive stages), the LSP plays an important role in Localization Maturity. That involvement continues in the mature stages, but organizations work to become more self-sufficient where LSPs are an integral part of a systematic process.

Our experience with the localization maturity model

Our Global Communication Maturity Model - like the Localization Maturity Model (LMM) - shows a natural evolution of maturity of a buyer. We know that this growth will only happen if translation services become of an increasingly important strategic factor for growth.



Global Communications Maturity Model

Our research was predicated on the industry assessment that many organizations tend to overspend on translations as they grow. There is a clear opportunity for LSPs to provide additional customer service by focusing on 80% of translation buyers that are at the beginning 4 stages of maturity in the maturity model.

Why buyers fail to move up the maturity level
In our experience, these are some of the leading factors within the buying organization:

• Lack of organizational support (translation is not deemed important enough)
• Lack of time (inadequate job responsibility; no dedicated localization manager in house; unrealistic deadlines)
• Lack of understanding (no insight into the cause/effect of their own processes on the translation process)
• Lack of information sharing (buyer/vendor relationship structure; lack of proper follow-up

Without any intervention in this growth process, a buyer can lose its control over the costs of translation. (Tweet this!)

How LSPs fail to help buyers move up the maturity level
Barriers for LSPs to help buyers:

• Lack of process (documented process to identify, analyze and implement process improvements on the buyer's side)
• Lack of understanding of client process, goals and objectives (relationship)
• Lack of vision (too much focus on the translation process)

These barriers are not easy to overcome, but they are necessary to maintain a relationship with their client as they grow into the next stage of maturity.

How LSPs can help buyers move up the maturity level

A collaborative effort between buyer and LSP, especially at the early stages of maturity, is essential to meaningful improvements (Tweet this!). This is where the balanced scorecard approach is an excellent tool to establish goals and objectives that not only address our responsibilities, but also looks at the buyer's responsibility to protect their goals and objectives in their own processes.

An LSP can help a buyer by reminding them of the impact of changing requirements and at the same time providing them with insight into improvements that are meaningful to the goals and objectives that the client has.

The ideal approach:

1. Assessment of Maturity - We have developed an assessment tool (Global Communication Readiness Assessment) for buyers to get an understanding of their level of maturity. This tool is a great way to introduce buyers into thinking about their own processes and how it affects their outcomes
2. Understanding Need - SWOT analysis - A documented approach to understand the goals and objectives of the buyer and find the gaps through a SWOT analysis.
3. Discovery and Findings - In a collaborative effort, turn findings into priorities that you agree to work on.  
4. Balanced Scorecard approach - An outcomes based agreement between the buyer and us establishes meaningful goals and objectives that are aligned with the findings of the SWOT analysis. Metrics are defined to measure the progress of each of these goals.
5. Reporting on progress and continuous improvement - A quarterly report keeps track of progress and forms the basis of continuous improvement (see the Balanced Scorecard example).

But even when there is no time for this ideal approach, an LSP should be able to adapt and work on process improvements. The GCMM or Localization Maturity Model is an important asset to any LSP to continuously look for opportunities to extend their knowledge to the buyer in order to help them move.

We'll look more into that assessment tool for LSPs in following posts.

How your LSP can move you up the Localization Maturity Model (LMM)

We're very keen to learn that one of the industry's leading research organizations, Common Sense Advisory, has continued to support their Localization Maturity Model that they initiated in 2006, with further publications on this subject. The model is directed towards buyers of translation and localization services and LSPs (Language Service Providers) and provides an indication of the level of maturity an organization has in handling their localization efforts and how they can effectively move up the maturity ladder.

Most organizations will have to rely on a qualified LSP (Language Service Provider) to help in that process as the translation process is usually not handled internally.

Our history with the Maturity Model concept

The LMM was introduced in 2006 as an adaptation of the exiting Capability Maturity Model that was modeled after the software industry. The LSP world took notice of this evolution, but at the time it was more of a concept than a comprehensive approach towards localization maturity.

An example of an objective and metrics

In 2007, we took the challenge to create our own structure around the Maturity Model concept. Our eyes were on creating a Maturity Model for our clients (the buyer) along with objectives, metrics and leading KPI's to help our clients grow and mature as they move up the Maturity Ladder. As our clients' translation needs grew , we witnessed greater risk to overspend due to process inefficiencies on the buyer's side and we wanted to mitigate that risk.

Our organization spent over 400 man-hours since 2007 developing this model. We took into account industry standards, industry research and our own experience in managing translation projects for clients at various stages of the maturity model to come up with a comprehensive process management system for our clients. It has helped us greatly in understanding how we can contribute to our client's processes.

Example of our scorecard

In 2008, we were quite ahead of the curve in having a comprehensive process management system for our clients in identifying gaps in their processes at their stage of maturation (based on the buyer's growth and risk/reward analysis) on the Maturity Model that we coined the Global Communications Maturity Model (GCMM).  The model became a great tool for us to communicate with the client on individual goals.

We developed an assessment tool, the Global Communication Readiness Audit, based on 4 dimensions. Strategic Readiness,  Organizational Readiness, Content Readiness and Design Readiness. This provided buyers with a scorecard of where they could find themselves on the GCMM and clear objectives and metrics to find improvements

A new platform for a strategic Buyer/Vendor relationship

Balanced Scorecard with actual client

In 2009, we took the model a step further by creating an outcomes based Balanced Scorecard approach for our clients. We had a good model to identify gaps in the process, but we needed a platform of collaboration in order to commit to the process improvement process that aligned with the objectives of our client, the buyer. The Balanced Scorecard approach was highlighted in the HBR as a method to move a client/vendor relationship (strategic or non-strategic) to a collaborative strategic partnership with objectives and outcomes and provisions for responsibility and accountability on both sides. Our model already address the objectives, outcomes and responsibilities, but the Balanced Scorecard approach became a framework to the benefit of our clients.

Now, our GCMM in combination with our Balanced Scorecard approach is the unique process that we bring to the table as an LSP. When a buyer is seeking a more comprehensive approach to managing their localization process, our approach provides a committed relationship that looks at their corporate objectives and we tie those in with our objectives and metrics that we have in place to move them up the maturity model.

We'll post more about the Maturity Model in subsequent blog posts that addresses the pitfalls of implementing a Maturity Model and advice on how buyers and LSPs can collaborate to mitigate risk, manage expectations and strive for continuous improvement.