Being the first ever localization expert in a given company, generally a scale-up, can be super exciting and a bit overwhelming at the same time. Such a huge opportunity to really shape the function and your role within the org but: how and where to begin?
Being the first localization expert in a scale-up means that you basically have a chance to create a function very much in line with what you believe the function should be to create the most value for the business and for the internal stakeholders. You will have the opportunity to act as an internal consultant and start providing the best solutions for the teams´ needs while you build up the function in alignment with the company´s and your own vision. At the same time, you can benefit from a steep development curve while you learn the best way to create a localization function within that particular org, contributing to the business international expansion and growth.
Without a team of peers in your direct environment and perhaps even reporting to a manager that does not fully understand localization, it is expected that you are able to serve immediate needs, organize your own work and start creating a more mature structure for the processes to flow. This can be truly overwhelming, especially if you don´t have a huge amount of experience to fall back on. Still: it is doable!
First of all, it is vital that you understand the business: what are the products and services of the company, who are the users and/or customers, what countries is the business active in, how was the experience shaped, how much user research is done and what are the most immediate opportunities to explore. One of the first documents you should be looking for is the current or the next half-year roadmap.
Secondly, learn about the environment as quickly as possible: who are the teams, who are the leads, what do they need from you, how do they interact with marketing and product, how are the UX disciplines handled, how much buy-in does localization have to begin with, who are the content owners, how are adaptations handled currently. It is important that you learn about the teams and people that can influence your work either positively or negatively and actively start engaging with them.
Thirdly, discuss about what the expectations for localization are in the short, mid, and long run. What localization strategy would be best suited for the company in its current state and how much room will you have to shape that strategy and prepare a future proof set-up for localization in the org. In other words, will you be able to build a system that will allow for as much scalability as will be necessary for the ambitious goals of your company? This means that at some point you and the company will have to decide for a centralized or decentralized localization strategy. In case you are wondering about the main differences, you can read my article Centralized vs. Decentralized Localization: Making the Right Choice.
Not just the LSP (language service provider) but also the TMS (translation management system) provider will be the main allies of the smart localization manager. Not only because they are able to provide the outputs, but also because they will be able to advise on strategies, solutions, tooling, and processes while taking over a good part of the project management, thus becoming the team that the localization manager does not have - yet. It is important to balance the interests of the scale-up against the interests of the vendors, but all in all this is an indispensable partnership.
The role of the first localization manager is an extremely important role for a scale-up that is starting to become international. This role will enable the scale-up to focus on the growth while the localization manager focuses on streamlining the translation work and finding the best internal and external localization solutions for the best cost, while ensuring that the solutions are acessible and in line with what internal teams need. This enables everybody to focus more on their own job instead of trying to figure out how to do proper localization on top of the regular job. This is an operational, technical and business function that requires a highly-skilled professional to take on and follow through.
To be the first localization manager in a scale-up can be a huge professional opportunity connected with a steep learning curve. Especially if you are a creative, dynamic personality you can take a lot of pleasure by solving different kinds of problems in paralel for different teams in the org while thinking ahead and foresseing future optimized solutions. Remember though that as a team of one you can only do so much, so don´t forget to take care of yourself.