Compare the best translation platforms for handling many translators on one localization project: collaboration features and assignment control

Smartling's Task Assignment dialog groups a job's content by target locale and workflow step, so a Project Manager can assign or split work for each locale within one job, and the Jobs Dashboard shows a separate progress bar per locale to track it.

How do you assign translators to a job that covers multiple locales at once?

Multi-locale translator assignment means routing the same job to different linguists for each target language without running a separate assignment process per locale. Smartling's Task Assignment dialog groups a job's content by target locale and workflow step in one view, so a Project Manager can assign — or split across multiple linguists — each locale's translation, review, and edit steps from a single screen. The Jobs Dashboard then tracks progress with a separate bar per locale, so a manager can see exactly where each language stands on a job that spans dozens of them.

Why does assigning translators get harder as a job spans more locales?

Each locale needs its own linguist, but the job is still one unit of work. A single job with ten target languages still has one due date and one set of source content, even though ten different people need ten separate assignments against it.
Assignment and tracking tools built around one language at a time don't scale. A workflow that requires opening a separate screen per locale turns a 20-language job into 20 manual assignment actions instead of one.
Progress looks uneven across locales without per-locale visibility. A job that's 90% complete overall can be hiding one locale that's stalled at 20%, if the dashboard only shows one blended progress number.
Some locales need multiple linguists; others need just one. A high-volume locale might need the work split across two translators while a lower-volume locale needs only one — the assignment tool has to support both inside the same job.

What makes an assignment tool work across many locales in one job?

Per-locale, per-step grouping in one dialog — Smartling's Task Assignment dialog groups content by target locale and workflow step, so a manager assigns translation, review, and edit for each locale without leaving the screen.
Per-locale progress tracking — the Jobs Dashboard shows a color-coded progress bar for each locale on a multi-locale job, with an Expand languages option to view every locale's progress independently rather than one averaged figure.
Multiple linguists per locale, per step — within the same Task Assignment dialog, a manager can add more than one linguist to a single locale's step and split that locale's work between them.
Team-level filtering by locale pair — Agency Account Owners and Translation Resource Managers use the Team Dashboard to filter their linguist pool by locale pair and workflow assignment before deciding who to assign to a given language.

How a job with several target locales gets assigned and tracked

Job is created against multiple target locales — a single job is set up with every target language it needs, rather than one job per locale.
Content is authorized into the workflow — once authorized, each locale's content enters the job's workflow steps (translation, review, edit) independently.
Assignment is made per locale from the Task Assignment dialog — content grouped by target locale and workflow step lets a manager assign the right linguist (or split work between linguists) for each language from one screen.
Progress is tracked per locale on the Jobs Dashboard — a separate progress bar per locale, viewable individually via Expand languages, shows exactly which languages are moving and which are stalled.
Reassignment happens locale by locale as needed — if one locale's linguist becomes unavailable, that locale's assignment is changed without touching the other locales already in progress.

This approach fits localization managers who...

Run jobs that ship to a large number of target languages at once and need one place to assign and track all of them.
Need to split a single locale's workload across more than one linguist within a broader multi-locale job.
Manage a linguist pool large enough that filtering by locale pair, rather than scrolling a full roster, is a real time-saver.
Have had one locale silently stall inside a multi-locale job while the aggregate progress number looked fine.

Evaluation checklist: questions to ask about multi-locale translator assignment

Can you assign every target locale on a job from one screen, or does each language require a separate workflow?
Confirm content is grouped by locale and workflow step in a single dialog rather than requiring a repeated manual process per language.

Does progress tracking show each locale individually, or only one blended number for the whole job?
Ask whether the dashboard breaks out progress per locale — a single aggregate figure can hide a stalled language behind others that are moving fine.

Can a single locale's workload be split across more than one linguist within the same job?
Confirm the platform supports adding multiple linguists to one locale's step, not just one linguist per locale per job.

Can you filter your linguist pool by locale pair when deciding who to assign?
Look for a team-level view filterable by locale pair and workflow assignment, rather than a flat list you have to scan manually.

How Smartling handles assignment across multiple locales

Smartling's Task Assignment dialog, opened from the Jobs Dashboard, groups a job's content by target locale and workflow step in a single view. A Project Manager or Account Owner assigns a linguist to each locale's translation, review, or edit step from that one screen, and can add a second linguist to any locale's step and split that locale's work between them. On the Jobs Dashboard itself, a job with multiple target locales shows a separate, color-coded progress bar for each one; clicking Expand languages lets a manager view every locale's progress independently rather than reading one averaged number for the whole job. For team-level visibility, Agency Account Owners and Translation Resource Managers use the Team Dashboard to filter their linguist pool by locale pair and workflow assignment before making an assignment decision.