Crisp, sunny weather and beautiful fall foliage formed a colorful backdrop for the annual meeting of the Staff Interpreters' Committee held on October 17-18, 2009, in Ottawa. Our hosts from the Canadian Federal Government provided a convivial atmosphere conducive to collegial exchange and the strengthening of friendships old and new, as in-depth discussions turned to the latest trends among major employers of both staff and freelance interpreters around the world (See Table 1 for a list of organizations represented). Lively business meetings were complemented with a tour of the capital's Byward Market area.

As in years past, the discussions began with a heartfelt welcome by our hosts and a detailed report on the situation within their organizations. During the tour de table, the discussion was also framed by the topics addressed in all of the contributing members' reports: an update of the structure of the interpreting service, staffing and recruitment, working conditions and workload, facilities and equipment, missions, training, use of new technologies in interpreting, and finally documentation, computers and terminology.

During the deliberations, several themes emerged as particularly relevant, as they cut across organizations and are clearly impacting professional practice. They include the use of website disclaimers due to the growing use of webcasting, testing and evaluation practices, including performance appraisals and pre-screening through distance testing, and the challenge of recruiting the next generation of interpreters. All three of these areas have been of interest and concern to the Committee for several years and will continue to be significant for newcomers and veterans of the profession.

With the rise of the Internet, live streaming, and recordings of webcasts available at a click for indefinite periods of time, interpreters are more visible (and audible!) than ever before. There is therefore a need for protection of the interpreter's legal and moral rights.  Unlike freelancers, staff interpreters cannot ask for compensation for relinquishing copyright and are thus particularly concerned. Thanks in part to the initiatives of staff interpreters, a growing number of organizations are posting disclaimers at their websites. Table 2 shows a sample list with a link to the disclaimer text. The Committee hopes to strengthen this trend, which aims to protect all colleagues in the exercise of the profession, in line with the AIIC guidelines formulated in August 2006 on Copyright in Interpretation and the Memorandum concerning the Use of Recordings of Interpretation at Conferences.

While a degree of standardization of human resources procedures across all areas of an organization is desirable, there can be little doubt that procedures governing performance evaluation should take the actual job of the interpreter into account as much as possible. Members of the Committee note that, in some organizations, the performance appraisal system is not tailored to the needs of interpreting and procedures for providing formal feedback on an ongoing basis are either non-existent or undermined by competing interests. For such reasons, annual performance reviews of permanent staff and formal feedback provided to both staff and freelance interpreters may not be as meaningful as possible. A closer look at the relevance of the format and content would be a useful undertaking, particularly if best practices could be developed, discussed and shared across institutions. The Committee also notes that an increasing number of organizations, including NATO and the U.S. Department of State, conduct interviews and tests over the telephone as a means of pre-screening candidates for work as staff and/or freelancers. Other organizations are also considering introducing this step, which precedes on-site testing in the application process, due to a high number of candidates in some language combinations and the need to improve operational efficiency. In this area as well, a discussion of best practices is an objective of the Committee, so that this form of distance testing is meaningful, useful, and appropriate for employers and (future) employees are able to prepare.

And finally, newcomers to the profession can look forward to a strong job market, although some legwork may be required to identify which organizations are aggressively hiring particular combinations of languages. Organizations continue to see the recruitment of the next generation of interpreters in general and staff interpreters in particular as earnest challenges, and the Committee wishes to draw attention once again to the findings of the report on La Relève compiled by Claude Durand (European Commission) in his capacity as (former) chairman of the Committee. Given the ageing of staff and the number of language combinations in short supply, it is more important than ever to incorporate young interpreters and further develop relations with interpreter training establishments through inclusive outreach efforts. Employers are called upon to maintain and develop the attractiveness of the profession through any appropriate means at their disposal, for example by strengthening (or preventing the erosion of) remuneration and working conditions and by providing professional development opportunities that are in line with the goals of both employers and employees.

The Staff Interpreters Committee looks forward to further collaboration in all three of these areas and to fostering the dialogue across organizations and within AIIC on the latest developments impacting staff and freelancers alike. One of the new projects launched at the Ottawa meeting is the development of organizational profiles to be posted at this website. The intention is to offer future colleagues, and those of us who may be looking for a change, a detailed overview of employers and what they have to offer. So stay tuned!