Guildhawk

Guildhawk, formerly Today Translations, is a global language services agency, headquartered in the City of London.[1] The company was founded by Jurga Zilinskiene in 2001, and has developed into international agency with multiple locations and over 3,000 staff, providing translation, interpreting, consulting, localisation, voiceover, subtitling and more in over 200 languages.[2] The firm uses database software Zilinskiene designed and evolved from the start of the business.[3][4][5]

Guildhawk
Independent
IndustryTranslation
Founded2001
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jurga Žilinskienė (CEO and Founder)
Services
Websiteguildhawk.com

Previously known as Today Translations, the company underwent a full corporate rebrand in June 2019, which included the new name, Guildhawk, new brand imagery and a new symbol and tone of voice. The rebrand process took 2 years, after company research and client feedback showed that “translations” was a limiting term which did not reflect the scope of the company's services, nor the expertise of its linguists.[6]

History

Guildhawk was founded under the name Today Translations in London by Jurga Zilinskiene in 2001. Zilinskiene funded the establishment of the company with £13,000 of her own savings.[3][4][7][5][8]

In 2003, Zilinskiene received a Shell LiveWIRE award for Young Entrepreneurs for the early success of the company.[9]

In June 2014, Guildhawk hosted representatives from the Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce (GHWCC), organising and participating in a series of site visits across London. The events culminated with Today Translations announcing the founding of a London-based commerce organisation for women.[10]

In June 2019, the company rebranded as Guildhawk Limited to reflect that the company's offerings extended beyond just translation.[11]

Corporate identity

Security assurance

To provide assurance and interoperability through the supply chain, Guildhawk was the first specialist language services provider to achieve independent United Kingdom Accreditation Service - ISO/IEC 27001:2005 certification for data security throughout its global operations.[12]

Guildhawk also has a global network of subject matter experts, who advise on how to reduce the risk of fraud, bribery and cyber-crime, as well as how to enhance multilingual communication.

Quality assurance

Guildhawk is certified to ISO 9001, the international standard for Quality Management.[13] The company uses database software Zilinskiene designed and developed herself, which adheres to the standard.[3][4][5]

Promoting international trade

Guildhawk has been recognised on several occasions for its dedication to promoting international trade, receiving a UK Trade & Investment Certificate of Appreciation presented by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 2006,[14] and the Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe (COBCOE) 'Make Europe Work' award for Breakthrough Trade in 2015.[15]

In 2019, Her Majesty the Queen honoured Guildhawk, under its former name of Today Translations, with the Queen's Award for Enterprise, in the International Trade category.[16] It is awarded to companies who have achieved outstanding growth in overseas earning, and shown year-on-year growth over at least three years.

Awards
  • Shell LiveWire Award for Young Entrepreneurs in 2003.[17]
  • UK Trade & Investment Certificate of Appreciation, presented by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 2006.[14]
  • COBCOE 'Make Europe Work' award for Breakthrough Trade in 2015.[15]
  • Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2019[16]

Associations

Guildhawk is a member of the Association of Translation Companies, and the European Association of Translation Companies.[18] It is also a strategic partner of the Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe (COBCOE).[19]

Locations

United Kingdom

Worldwide

Media and press

The company was noted in the media for polls to find the ‘world’s most untranslatable word’[20] and another to identify ‘the world’s most romantic word’.[21]

It has also attracted press attention for other events, including the hiring of regional Geordie,[22] Glaswegian,[23] and Scouse[24] translators. The recruitment of regional interpreters was seen as controversial in some media, but Zilinskiene disagreed, saying, "People in Newcastle and Liverpool shouldn’t be offended by this. The accent gives them a strong regional identity and they should be proud of it".[25] They have also advertised for speakers of Brooklynese.[26] The company maintains that its regional recruitment campaign was motivated by a genuine need to enable foreign business people to do business more easily in the regions. According to Zilinskiene, "We are aware that some of our foreign and UK clients can find the Glaswegian accent difficult to decipher. While it's unusual for us to want someone to translate a dialect of English, there is a clear demand".[27]

In November 2016, Guildhawk advertised for ‘the world’s first emoji translator’,[28] which received widespread media coverage.[29][30][31] As a result of the unusual job advertisement, Zilinskeine appeared on BBC News,[32] ITV News,[33] and Vice News,[34] as well as several radio stations.[35][36] According to Zilinskiene, the position is intended to address the "emerging area of confusion" around the usage and meanings of emojis in different cultures.[34]

Philanthropy

Guildhawk supports several charitable causes, including donating a percentage of its profits to The Fairtrade Foundation.[37]

See also

References
  1. Financial Times - Suppliers to the Square Mile, 22 March 2011
  2. "Today Translations". www.todaytranslations.com. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  3. NicheGeek - How to Start a Six Figure Online Translation Business, 17 September 2006
  4. Arabic eBook, 2008
  5. Growing Business, 1 June 2004
  6. "Yes, we've rebranded! Here's why…". Guildhawk. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  7. The Independent - Business Essentials, 6 June 2004
  8. Telegraph - Starting Out, 26 June 2007
  9. "Today Translations: Jurga Zilinskiene | Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas". Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas. 24 July 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  10. Management Today - London is getting its first women's chamber of commerce, 30 June 2014
  11. Zilinskiene, Jurga (10 June 2019). "Yes, we've rebranded! Here's why…". Guildhawk (Press release).
  12. IT Governance - Today Translations is ‘first in sector’ to achieve ISO27001 certification, giving them the edge in secure communication, 2014
  13. "ISO 9001 Quality - Today Translations". www.todaytranslations.com. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  14. British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania - BCC Paper, Winter 2006 edition
  15. Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe - Breakthrough Trade Award 2015 Winner, May 2015
  16. "Today Translations Wins Queen's Award for International Trade". Today Translations. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  17. PNE Group - If Only I Knew Archived 24 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  18. "Today Translations Ltd". Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  19. "Today Translations". www.cobcoe.eu. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  20. BBC News - Congo word 'most untranslatable'
  21. Reuters - Is this the world's most romantic word? 12 February 2010
  22. The Guardian - Language firm advertises for 'Geordie translators', 12 October 2010
  23. The Times - Is Glswegian lost in translation? 18 October 2009
  24. Liverpool Echo - Wanted: Scouse translators for Liverpool's foreign visitors, 9 October 2010
  25. Daily Mail - Interpreters hired to translate Geordie and Scouse accents for foreigners, 8 October 2010
  26. Schapiro, Rich (28 April 2010). "London firm Today Translations give tourists a hand in understanding confusing Brooklynese". New York Daily News. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  27. Daily Record - London firm launches hunt - for Glaswegian translators, 14 October 2010
  28. Eggert, Nalina (12 December 2016). "Emoji translator wanted - London firm seeks specialist". BBC News. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  29. Petroff, Alanna (13 December 2016). "Now hiring: Emoji translator in London". CNNMoney. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  30. Hunt, Elle (13 December 2016). "Sign of the times: London company advertises for 'emoji translator'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  31. "A Top London Translation Firm Is Looking To Hire Its First Emoji Translator". The Huffington Post. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  32. Today Translations (11 January 2017), BBC reports on Today Translations' search for an Emoji Translator, retrieved 20 January 2017
  33. Today Translations (11 January 2017), London company looks for an Emoji Translator - ITV, retrieved 20 January 2017
  34. VICE News (28 February 2017), Professional Emoji Translator Is Now A Real Career: VICE News Tonight on HBO, retrieved 7 May 2017
  35. "Wanted: Emoji translator, The Newsroom - BBC World Service". BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  36. "Is there a need for an emoji translator in today's professional world?". audioBoom. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  37. "Charity organisation we support | Today Translations". www.todaytranslations.com. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
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