Why should you outsource transcription services?

Today, transcription is one of the most commonly outsourced services as it is time-consuming and works demanding which requires great attentiveness. Transcription outsourcing companies hire well-trained professionals having expertise in their field of transcription. Outsourcing transcription services allow businesses to have quality transcripts on time at a low cost. This allows businesses to focus on their core business activities. There are various types of transcription such as medical transcription, academic transcription, legal transcription, podcast transcription, business transcription, etc.

What is transcription outsourcing?

Transcription was invented in the mid-60s, in order to assist the manufacturing process. It is kind of a business service where audio or video, live or recorded is converted into a text-based file. In simple terms, the transcription process takes the spoken parts of the file and put them down on paper. Generally, transcription outsourcing is for businesses, academic institutions, the entertainment industry, and many other fields. The most popular type of transcription outsourcing service is from spoken word to text, such as an audio file being typed into a text format document.

Why do businesses use transcription services?

Precisely, transcribed data is important for the smooth functioning of any business. Companies use transcription services for a variety of purposes. Suppose a business demands a video interpretation and if it doesn’t already have a written translated script ready, in such a scenario, transcription will be needed. Businesses need mandatory transcriptions to escape disputes and lawsuits and other legal disruptions later on. Likewise, audio transcriptions are frequently adopted for court cases. Among all, medical transcription services are popular and frequently outsourced. According to a report, the global medical transcription services market will reach $69.8 billion by 2027. (Source)

What are the commonly outsourced transcription services?

Depending on the client’s requirement, transcription services are outsourced mainly in four ways.

Let’s find out more in detail.

Verbatim transcription

Where in verbatim transcription, every word spoken, noise mumbled, garbled word, emotion, laugh, and so on; is transcribed and time-coded in a text format. This is the most difficult, expensive, and time-consuming process as it needs to be accurate despite unclear noise or sentences. It is generally used in commercials, movies, and legal proceedings. The process requires a lot of skill along with advanced software in order to provide a precise transcription.

Edited transcription

In this, transcribers have more freedom. With edited transcription, it makes the transcript more fluent and concise by taking out all fillers, fixing all grammatical mistakes, and restructuring paragraphs. This type of transcription is commonly used for speeches, seminars, conferences, classes, etc. The transcription process demands a better understanding of the transcriber the content in order to eliminate clutter in the form of background noise and unclear sentences. It is also important to preserve the integrity of the recording.

Intelligent transcription

Intelligent transcription demands analytical skills, an understanding of the content, more editing, and less transcription. The transcribers take out all unnecessary noises and words to make it seem more professional. The output doesn’t require capturing every noise, word, or sentence on record, but it has to read intelligently.

Phonetic Transcription

It aims to capture the way the uttered words are pronounced, by using alphabets of phonetic symbols, like the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Basically, each and every sound in the word is represented by a symbol. The process can annotate when the voice tone rises and falls, also overlapping different sounds within the audio.

Why outsource transcription services?

Transcription is a complex task as it takes a lot of time and attentiveness. It is better to outsource it to industry experts or otherwise you might have the risk of failing to achieve your business desires. That is why; we have discussed why businesses should outsource transcription services below.

Save time, effort, and money

You don’t have to pay fixed salaries and benefits to employees once you hire a transcription service provider. Also, you don’t have to invest a single penny in training, electricity, office space, furniture, computer, etc. Besides, an in-house transcriber will be underused once the transcription work is over, so it is better to get outsourcing done from professionals.

Awesome turnaround times for transcribed reports

Suppose your in-house transcriber falls sick or is on vacation, your transcription work will get stuck and will keep piling up. That is why; it is better for businesses to hire a reliable transcription service provider that will always provide it on-time delivery efficiently.

This allows businesses to not worry about any backlog or pending reports due to a shortage of material in your office.

Reduce HR headaches

Once you outsource your transcription services, it reduces a lot of burden from your HR department. It becomes easier for them to focus on their core activities and not to worry about hiring and training full-time transcriptionist staff.

Access to skilled and experienced transcriptionists

Transcription outsourcing companies hire experts, skilled and well- trained transcriptionists who have good experience working with various clients in this field. This results in the consistent delivery of high-quality accurate transcription. It is tough to achieve the same amount of results from in-house transcriptionists, regularly.

Brings flexibility

The volume of the transcription task demanded by a business usually faces inconsistency and fluctuation in productivity in other core business activities. A transcription outsourcing company can easily tackle an unexpected inflow of work. In order to meet the deadline of the huge amount of transcription, service providers hire retainers for a short period and take off during quiet periods. It is much harder to deal with in-house employees in both scenarios.

This flexibility of the outsourcing partners saves extra expenses and helps to meet the decided deadline.

How to choose the right transcription outsourcing partner?

Cost

While outsourcing transcription services, do not go for companies charging at an unbelievably cheap per-minute rate. This way your quality will get compromised. Also, avoid unrealistic prices and go for good quality.

Reliable Sources

The outsourcing providers should have enough resources to handle larger volumes of transcription when required. Also, be mindful of the quality of the transcription. With a sample project or credential requests, you can verify the skills like command over the language, listening and typing skills, etc. Make sure there are options available in the transcription process, such as automated transcription and manual transcription. It will help you to channelize the workload in rush hours.

Quality and accuracy

Quality is the most important concern in a transcription project. With the advancement of technology, there are several automated transcription services available but its quality and accuracy totally depend on the audio file quality. In this case, manual transcription still beats an automated one, in terms of delivering the highest quality of transcripts. You must ensure to review the quality while choosing the right transcription outsourcing provider.

Data Security

Data security of the transcription files is a topmost priority. These files usually contain sensitive data such as private business meetings, legal commentary, medical records and other proprietary information. Thoroughly go through the security policies and technology in place in order to keep your projects confidential while choosing your business partner.

Choosing the right outsourcing destination and the right transcription outsourcing provider is crucial for quality and accuracy context. A reliable outsourcing partner guarantees the security of your data and your intellectual property. With a professional transcription outsourcing company like Maxicus, businesses can save themselves resources, money, and get quality results on time.