The Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) Conference in San Diego was scheduled for March 2020. I was in Miami and ready to fly out to attend the event . . . but it never happened. Not in 2020 at least.
The GALA GLOBAL conference finally took place at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, on April 24-27, 2022, two years later than originally scheduled. Between the original date of March 2020 and the final date of April 2022, COVID and the worldwide lockdowns prompted changes that have affected the entire world, along with organizations and the way we do work. We all learned a lot, and what we thought was impossible is now the new normal or at least an option.
As I am writing this, President Joe Biden announced “the pandemic is over.” Companies were coming back from the pandemic with different models that enable new opportunities in this VUCA environment (VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity).
The Remote Work Revolution
At the end, I went to the GALA GLOBAL San Diego Conference in April 2022 to participate as a speaker, along with Pablo Vazquez from Locale Solutions, to discuss something that was not even on our radar as something relevant before March 2020. We were forced to learn ASAP, both in theory and in practice, and jump into the Work from Home situation. There was no other option for us, for our providers, and for our clients.
“Work from Home” was the only alternative worldwide during the lockdowns, but now Work from Home has become an opportunity for Work from Anywhere. That is why we decided to present at the GALA KNOWLEDGE FEST an interactive session on “Work from Anywhere: Opportunities and Challenges in the Localization Industry.”
We shared our experiences, trials, and tribulations with the community as well as what we have learned through the implementation of WFA and our active consultations with clients, providers, linguists, experts, and colleagues.
The Work from Anywhere revolution is here to stay. We believe it is one of the most relevant issues every service company is experiencing at this moment. While before it was about surviving during the pandemic, we now have found that you can thrive in this environment, especially as an LSP (e.g., access to better talent, less time commuting, better systems, and improvement of processes).
We believe the characteristics that are specific to the localization industry provide a unique setting where WFA can thrive and give those companies that adopt it a very specific competitive advantage over a traditional structure. For us, the question is not whether Work from Anywhere is possible but rather, what is needed to make it possible. If you want to learn more about our interactive presentation at GALA GLOBAL 2022 please take a look at the blog post about our presentation at the Knowledge Fest: “WFA: Opportunities and Challenges in the Localization Industry.”
