Looking back on 2020

Summarising the events of a year has never been this difficult. The year started off heading in a very positive direction and we expected great things from 2020. However, expectations changed in March when we suddenly found ourselves working from home. The interpreting business collapsed practically overnight, so all we did was manage cancellations. The demand for written translations was also very low for a while – it seemed as if the whole world was paralysed.

When we finally started receiving requests for written translations again, we were ready: we had moved our daily meetings from the usual in-office gathering to video conferences, and VPN connections to the office server made working from home just as efficient as working at our desks. Nevertheless, we were overjoyed when we were able to meet again in person over the summer. We had all sorely missed those casual chats and joint lunch breaks.

When it became clear that international conferences – and even smaller in-person meetings – were not going to be an option for some time, we started working together with clients to develop digital alternatives. These range from interpreting pre-produced product presentations to online consecutive interpreting and simultaneous interpreting from interpreting hubs. Some of these formats are sure to stay with us beyond the pandemic, as they enable access to a global audience at relatively little expense. At the same time, everyone is longing to meet in person again. I think we have all come to recognise the opportunities digital methods of communication have to offer. Yet at the same time, the value of face-to-face meetings has become clearer than ever before.

Even in challenging and confusing times, things sometimes just fall into place: When our project manager Victoria Klotz decided to go back to university, Simone Ruiz Anderer returned to Freiburg after some time abroad. Job sharing was the obvious and ideal solution for everyone.

The Peschel leadership team’s project of the year was once again certification. Preparations for our first ISO 9001 audit in March 2021 are in full swing.

We also continued our commitment to sustainability, which we made official by joining WIN-Charta, the sustainability management system of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg.

In conclusion, I can only say that we are grateful to have pulled through this year largely unscathed and healthy. And that we can’t wait to be able to celebrate this together in person.

On that note, I wish all our partners and friends the optimism that we all so desperately need!

When we finally started receiving requests for written translations again, we were ready: we had moved our daily meetings from the usual in-office gathering to video conferences, and VPN connections to the office server made working from home just as efficient as working at our desks. Nevertheless, we were overjoyed when we were able to meet again in person over the summer. We had all sorely missed those casual chats and joint lunch breaks.

When it became clear that international conferences – and even smaller in-person meetings – were not going to be an option for some time, we started working together with clients to develop digital alternatives. These range from interpreting pre-produced product presentations to online consecutive interpreting and simultaneous interpreting from interpreting hubs. Some of these formats are sure to stay with us beyond the pandemic, as they enable access to a global audience at relatively little expense. At the same time, everyone is longing to meet in person again. I think we have all come to recognise the opportunities digital methods of communication have to offer. Yet at the same time, the value of face-to-face meetings has become clearer than ever before.

Even in challenging and confusing times, things sometimes just fall into place: When our project manager Victoria Klotz decided to go back to university, Simone Ruiz Anderer returned to Freiburg after some time abroad. Job sharing was the obvious and ideal solution for everyone.

The Peschel leadership team’s project of the year was once again certification. Preparations for our first ISO 9001 audit in March 2021 are in full swing.

We also continued our commitment to sustainability, which we made official by joining WIN-Charta, the sustainability management system of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg.

In conclusion, I can only say that we are grateful to have pulled through this year largely unscathed and healthy. And that we can’t wait to be able to celebrate this together in person.

On that note, I wish all our partners and friends the optimism that we all so desperately need!