The ATC’s Member of the Month in November 2022 is Peak Translations, one of the longest-established translation companies in the UK, and the winner of the ATC’s Project Management Team of the Year Award 2022.

We caught up with Peak’s owner and Managing Director Helen Provart to talk about building a winning PM team, and how a PM team’s commitment to continued development feeds into client success.

A Team Built for Project Management

Helen Provart joined Peak Translations in 2005 as a Project Manager and acquired the company in 2013 when its founder retired.

Coming from a project management background, it was clear to Helen how building solid processes would feed into the company’s development. Celebrating its 45^th birthday in 2023, Peak Translations has doubled its turnover through Helen’s process-driven approach.

Today, Peak’s winning Project Management Team consists of three full-time PMs led by Lead PM Madeline Prusmann. They work in close collaboration with each other, from daily morning meetings to constant communication throughout the day, ensuring holistic, seamless customer service and the sharing of best practices and experiences.

Peak’s PM Team’s expertise is further built-in regular training sessions, from quality and ISO standard implementation to new and emerging services and solutions.

“We put a lot of effort into ensuring everyone in the team is included and everyone’s voice is heard, which is especially important for the remote workers’,” says Helen. “We encourage team members to explore other areas they are interested in, whether it’s about the company’s sustainability practices, or getting involved in creative writing. In a small team, being motivated about the work we do is what gels us together.”

UK Client Base in Motion

Peak’s client base is predominantly UK-based, and Helen has seen a continued up-and-down pattern this year, following the disruptions of Brexit and the Covid pandemic, with demand from one sector rising while another falls.

For Helen, the company’s strength has always been the diverse range of services and client verticals. “Understanding client needs is the key to growth, but what has also stood us in good stead has been the spread of sectors we serve,” Helen confirms.

Talking about client sectors in an instantly recognisable manner and building solutions rather than just selling a translation or interpreting product are the cornerstones of Peak’s business development activities. “Today, we work not only with our direct clients in the technical, legal, medical, financial and public sectors, but also with video production companies, partnering up with them to provide multilingual AV solutions to their clients. This is one of the areas where our PM team’s drive for development has been critical,” explains Helen.

The Art of Giving Back

At Peak Translations, life is not just about work, but also about play. The team gets together for activities and charity fundraising together outside of work, too.

“Our charity involvement is something that has been motivated by the team and their interests,” says Helen. “This year, we have fundraised for Ukraine, and supported the British Deaf Association. In October, we started learning British Sign Language. It has been great to support each other in that and seeing everyone’s little videos on social media, raising awareness and funds at the same time.”

Peak Translations’ Managing Director Helen Provart was in conversation with ATC CEO Raisa McNab.