The big word in a language revolution

Larry Gould, chief executive of thebigword, based in Leeds, said its customers who were talking to their prospective overseas customers, were experiencing greater stability in their businesses.

“We’re seeing optimism gradually return,” he said. “People are starting to realise that if business drops five per cent, then there’s still 95 per cent to go for. Some organisations are taking a very positive pro-active approach and we’re seeing a 30 per cent growth in our own business.”

He added: “The British talent for innovation means that businesses are increasingly adapting new technologies to sell more and support their customers.”

thebigword has made a huge investment in technology and subsequently made many of its services faster and more cost-effective.

Earlier this year, it announced plans to launch new technology that will allow people to click on a company’s website and talk to someone in their own language.

The group, which was launched in 1980 by Larry Gould, under the name of the Link Up Group, currently counts Honda, British Airways, HSBC, DLA Piper, IBM, GE, the US government and the United Nations among its clients.

The company is sponsoring the Exporter of the Year category at the Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards,

Mr Gould said: “It is only through exporting goods and services that this country is going to grow. Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t understand the economy.

“It still amazes me that companies with great services and products and innovations can have a mental block about the language of their customers. Perhaps it is something to do with our island mentality. We can always stay an island and not do this, or we can extend our markets around the world.”

He added: “We are experiencing a language revolution which, helped by political changes and the internet, allows people to sell their goods and services globally. What’s astounding is that the Government doesn’t put much effort behind this, so it’s often left to individual companies.”

The last year has seen a number of challenges for exporters, particularly natural disasters.

Mr Gould said: “The big shock for us as a company was the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. We all worried about our staff in our Tokyo office, and our Japanese staff based in Leeds had many frantic hours before they were able to contact friends and family. Soon after that, I was woken up in New York to be told our San Francisco office was being evacuated due to the threat of a tsunami there.”

He added: “What we have learned is how clever Japanese businesses have been in spreading their bases all over the world. It was built-in continuity planning.”

However, there has also been good news for exporters as more companies start to look to the future and convert enquiries into sales.

Mr Gould said: “People have finally stopped panicking about the banking crisis and have started to look forward. At thebigword, we have never had so many enquiries and we are converting more of them into business than ever before.

“One of the reasons for this is the enormous investment we have made into technology to automate our systems and help our staff and linguists operate more efficiently.

“As a global business, you have two choices: you can move your staff to a lower-cost labour market or you can decide to employ the best talent at home and use technology to support them.”

Earlier this year, thebigword announced a multi-million-pound transformational deal with the Government.

The three-year deal represents the biggest single piece of business in its 30-year history and it will become the leading provider of face-to-face language interpreting for all government departments.

Mr Gould said the deal will dramatically bring prices down and estimated that costs will be reduced by around 35 per cent.

The company has grown from zero to 2,500 clients in 30 years and has a global network of 7,752 linguists working in 77 countries worldwide, across 53 industries.

AWARD CATEGORIES

The Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards categories are:

Exporter of the Year (thebigword); Young Entrepreneur of the Year (O2); Innovation of the Year, (Drax); SME Manufacturer of the Year, (TC Harrison JCB); Outstanding Employer of the Year, (Bradford University School of Management); Business Community Award (Aviva); Young Business of the Year, (Goldman Sachs); Companies with a Turnover up to £10m (Yorkshire Bank); Companies with a Turnover between £10m and £50m, (PwC); Companies with a Turnover above £50m, (DLA Piper); The Yorkshire Post Individual Award for Excellence. To enter, visit www.yorkshirepost.co.uk