A discussion about translation services, translators, and translation software

Remember that we're talking about translation, not interpretation.  Everyone is familiar with the interpreters and their simultaneous rendition of the conference proceedings, but who handles the translation?  I have attended conferences with five official languages.  Comments in the plenary session were given in any of the five languages, and interpreters made them instantly available to listeners in the other languages.  But by the following morning, almost as if by magic, the previous day's activities were also available in hard copy (and in many cases, electronically as web pages or files) in all five languages.  How did it happen?

To accomplish such an amazing feat, conference organizers have to forecast how much material must be translated, using a formula to convert minutes of speech into pages of text.  (I don't know that formula offhand.  Can you provide it?)  They then have to know how much text a translator can handle in a day.  This depends on the subject matter, the equipment, and the preparation of the translator.  And finally, they have to employ the right number of translators in the right language pairs to get the job done.  And they have to plan to pay bonuses to each translators because the work will be done largely while others sleep.  It is always better to have too many translators, because it is awful to have too few.

Large organizations usually take some of their own staff translators to international conferences they sponsor.  This assures that the translators know the subject matter--and the players--well.  But it also means paying for travel and lodging.  That's why many organizations hire some, if not all their translators at the site of the conference.  The reliability of a translation service is crucial at such a time.

I invite comment from conference planners, to fill in the gaps I've left.  I'd especially like to hear your experiences with translators provided locally.  And translators, tell me whether conference planners have given you good facilities and pay.