If your business or organisation hasn’t considered a professional audio transcription service yet, then it’s time to ask, “why not?”
You might not need it now, but the chances are you haven’t considered the scenarios in which professional transcription could save your business.
It could be the difference between winning a legal case because everything was accurately documented or losing and costing you and your business an absolute fortune.
What to Look For in an Online Audio Transcription Company?
An online transcription service should absolutely not use software to match sounds to words, nor should they use phonetics. You should not be looking for dictation, but a full service provider of digital audio transcription.
Ensure that your online transcription company has an excellent reputation for delivering accurate transcription. It saves clients’ time when your chosen service provider goes the extra mile to provide precise written records of audio files.
Audio transcription experts should absolutely understand the subject matter before they start a transcription project. Meaning, they will know the topic and terminology in advance. The research element sets the professional transcription services apart from the cowboys.
Proof Reading Your Transcription
Accuracy is everything. Your Transcription Specialists should use professional proof readers. They should embrace an ethos that believes in correcting its own errors, so clients don’t have to.
Every audio transcription document should be proof read for accuracy and you should expect nothing less. This is an important part of any transcription service and one that your provider should value. Otherwise, simply show them the door.
If you need complex or verbatim audio transcription, look for an online company with a proven track record of transcribing even the most complicated audio files. Transcribers will know how to faithfully record every utterance, if required. The true professionals can include references to ambient sounds, the pitch of a voice and emotion. Verbatim audio transcription is important for legal transcription. It is also helpful if documentation is for the hearing impaired.
Cheaping out on transcription could cost you more in court.
Sound Files That Your Transcription Provider Should Be Able to Work With
Your specialists should be able to work with a range of digital audio files. Accepting MP3, WAV and Windows Media, as well as many more file formats should be the norm.
Some of the highest quality audio transcription service providers like Alphabet Secretarial have their own established online portal where your files can be uploaded.
They use military grade encryption to protect your important data. If your transcribers can’t offer this quick, easy and safe approach to audio transcription, red flags should be going off.
Other things you should be looking for and the questions you should be asking your transcription company:
- Do they have a solid background in multi-speakers?
- Experts who know how to transcribe complex recordings?
- How many years have they been providing professional transcription and for which clients?
- Which sector do they specialise in?
Providing error-free voice to text documentation is only possible if your client is versed in many sectors.
At the end of the day, quality should be built into everything your chosen company does. If your provider is trusted by leading brands and are proven experts at turning the spoken word into text documentation, they are likely to be a good fit for you.
