Customer Name: Mercedes-Benz AG, Daimler AG
Customer Sector: Automotive
INTRODUCTION
Mercedes-Benz is a world-renowned automotive brand with a number of subsidiaries such as Mercedes-Benz AG, which deals with passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, and Daimler Truck AG being responsible for heavy commercial vehicles (i.e., trucks and buses). In Türkiye, Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş. (MBT) operates under Daimler Truck AG for trucks and buses. With this current project, we were commissioned to translate various training documents published by Mercedes-Benz Truck Training under Daimler Truck AG as part of a worldwide sales training program implemented by Mercedes-Benz Global Training. The training documents consist of a wide range of modules and components such as those related to virtual classrooms, e-Training modules, and face-to-face training camps featuring a Product Day each in order to prepare participants for C-Sales Truck Basic Qualification to become certified truck salespersons. The document formats range from PowerPoint presentations for trainers and various Word documents such as in-depth trainer guidelines and application phase manual and worksheets for participants in addition to various training materials in the form of role playing handouts, card sets, warm-up exercises, team games, etc. and even a C-Sales Jeopardy quiz! References to related pinboards, flipcharts as well as various other media such as Participant Journey wall image were also made throughout the documents. Since this was a comprehensive project as part of C-Sales basic qualification modules and certification for salesperson candidates in local markets, it required a holistic approach for review of source texts as well as taking into consideration any market-specific aspects for localization and adaptation of the training content into the target audience in the local market (i.e., participants). The source texts stated that the relevant market would be responsible for adaptation of the training content and C-Sales certification processes for training prospective salespersons in each market. This requirement was taken into consideration to determine translation and localization strategies for the given source texts in each case.
CHALLENGES
- Due to the comprehensive scope and wide range of formats, contents, topics as well as different types of media, a “one size fits all” strategy cannot be adopted for translation and localization processes; therefore, a preliminary classification of documents into subgroups is required.
- Some documents, including the trainer guidelines for training camps, contain many references to previous training modules and content that are not part of the current project and need further clarification to determine the exact context. In addition, there are references to various behavioral models, sales & marketing methods, studies, customer persona types, etc., which need further analysis to determine the context.
- Training documents also contain 11-chapter truck driver training presentations dealing with various vehicle systems and digital media. They contain technical terminology specific to each system and certain model series of MB Trucks.
- Documents related to virtual classrooms contain certain terminology related to information technologies and instructions on how to use certain online systems.
- One document was entirely dedicated to Gallup Strengths Assessment (i.e., Clifton Strengths), which has its own terminology, dividing talents into 34 talent themes and this was particularly challenging since there is no established earlier translation for reference.
- In the documents, there is also a warning that training documents are not subject to a continuous update service. Thus, as the language service provider, we need to pay particular attention to ensuring that the information provided in the source texts is still accurate and relevant in the target texts once the translation and localization processes have been finalized.
SOLUTIONS
- The training documents were divided into subcategories based on various criteria such as the target group (participant, trainer, truck driver, etc.), content (virtual classroom, trainer guidelines, application phase manual, driver training, etc.) in order to adopt corresponding strategies. For documents intended for participants, clear and descriptive instructions were given, any ambiguity in source texts were eliminated, concise and transparent language was used to ensure that the target group understands the content easily. For trainer guidelines, the content was provided in an informative manner with additional information where required. For texts providing the trainer with instructions on how to proceed with interactive lectures, alternative terms were also provided next to the original term with a slash mark to provide the trainer with further context.
- References to previous training modules were cross-checked with the original context by finding parallel texts on the topics. For instance, Sales Training Program published by Mercedes-Benz Global Training was used to confirm these references. References such as persona types and Gallup assessment required for access to the websites of the relevant institutions to confirm necessary terminology and context.
- For truck driver presentations, the official websites of Mercedes-Benz for the Turkish market were used to ensure that market-specific terminology is followed in the target texts. Since the purpose of these presentations was to provide clear information to truck drivers, the target texts were structured in a descriptive and informative manner. For technical terminology, previous Mercedes-Benz termbases and glossaries were used to ensure consistency.
- For Gallup Strengths Assessment (i.e., Clifton Strengths), the source text did not provide adequate context; therefore, the content provided by the official website of Gallup was reviewed to ensure that corresponding translations are determined accurately for such talent themes.
SOLUTION ELEMENTS
- Review of technical terminology, market-specific media, available termbases and glossaries to ensure consistency in the target texts.
- Research into the company, its brands, products, and local market variations to provide accurate and informative descriptions for both participants and the trainer.
- Review of the scope of C-Sales Truck Salesperson job profile and training modules to understand the sales process in the context of the participant journey as well as the customer journey in the local market.
BENEFITS
- Providing various target groups (i.e., trainer, participants, and drivers etc.) with clear and concise information and instructions as well as reliable source texts by taking into consideration any requirement for market-specific adaptations.
- Ensuring that localization strategies adopted in the source texts also help the local company in the market to adapt the training documents to their custom needs as required.
- Contributing to C-Sales Truck basic qualification and certification process in the local market by providing reliable target texts for various target groups with a clear context.
