Program Auditing

In the first article in this series, we discussed what a localization audit is — and how it can benefit your organization. In our second article, we helped you determine whether or not you need to run an audit. Now, in this third article, we'll give you the tools to actually conduct a localization audit.

Deep down, every business person in the world knows it: localizing a company’s content and products can boost revenue — enormously. But how can globalization experts persuade the C-suite — and other stakeholders — to greenlight a localization program? In other words, how do you pitch a localization program? Answer: you create a business case.

There are several methods that can be used for assessing an organization’s performance. These typically focus on highlighting the company’s internal resources, strengths, competitive advantages, as well as its weaknesses. Examples of internal analysis tools used for such purposes include gap analysis, strategy evaluation, SWOT analysis and the McKinsey 7S Framework. In In other words, internal analysis reveals where an organization excels, what it is good at and where it needs improvement. In any business, there may be many different scenarios that warrant conducting an internal analysis.

A localization audit is a powerful tool to help validate an organization’s language program and to reposition its role as a key growth enabler. Whether it’s carried out internally or a company hires external specialists for the job, an audit can serve as a validating pat on the back that will boost the localization leaders’ confidence and/or a much-needed sanity check that will point out areas where the program can do better.

A localization audit is a comprehensive, systematic analysis of a company’s localization processes, dependencies and workflows, its supply chain, and technology stack.