According to Grand View Research, the U.S. transcription market size, which was valued at USD 25.98 billion in 2022 is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8% from 2023 to 2030. Transcripts have become an essential element of sectors such as healthcare, legal, corporate, education, insurance, media, and entertainment. Utilizing business transcription services to document audio recordings of meetings, conferences, interviews, podcasts, and other key events, allow companies to gain insights from the data and utilize it for informed decision making and strategic planning.
Choosing a reliable service provider is essential for accurate and timely documentation. Let’s take a look at the dos and don’ts you should keep in mind while choosing a transcription service.
Important Considerations When Choosing a Business Transcription Service
Dos
- Consider accuracy and timeliness: Make sure the company has an established track record in consistently providing precise and error-free transcriptions. Such companies employ skilled transcriptionists, have stringent quality control processes in place, and can ensure accuracy rates of 99% with good audio. See if they can deliver transcripts within agreed-upon deadlines, and also offer options for expedited services if needed. In the absence of an established track record or quality certification, review their portfolios or speak with previous clients to assess the accuracy and turnaround time of their service. Clearly communicate your speed and precision requirements and choose a service that can deliver on these needs. Leading companies offer a free trial to help potential clients vet services quality, so take advantage of this.
- Check for Industry expertise and customization: Check whether the service has a proven track record in your industry. Leading companies employ experienced transcriptionists who are knowledgeable in various fields or industries and understand their specialized terminology. Different industries have different transcription needs, and transcriptionists with industry expertise understand the context of the audio or video being transcribed. Industry expertise helps ensure accurate and relevant transcripts. For example, a transcriptionist who is an expert in research on AI technology would be best able to transcribe a business presentation about AI in research. Industry expertise can ensure customized, well-organized, and easily readable transcripts with clear formatting that meet client requirements.
- Analyze your requirements: To find a transcription service that meets your specific needs, it’s crucial to categorize the media you need transcribed. Whether you require efficient video transcription, precise legal transcription, or another specialized service such as business transcription, audio transcription, or video transcription. Identifying your content type in advance will save you time and money. Additionally, understand the type of transcript you need:
- Verbatim transcription captures everything in the audio or video file, including verbal fillers, hesitations, repeated phrases, and background noises, providing a complete and detailed account.
- Non-verbatim transcription produces a clean, readable text that conveys the essential meaning of the spoken content by removing repetitions, false starts, and non-verbal utterances, resulting in a more polished document.
By specifying these details, you can identify professionals that can tailor their services to your exact needs.
- Prioritize confidentiality and data security: Businesses frequently manage sensitive information that demands the highest level of confidentiality. To ensure the service aligns with your company’s security standards, review their privacy policy and the measures they use to protect data. Consider things like:
- Compliance: Whether the service complies with data privacy laws, such as GDPR
- Security measures: Whether they use encryption, secure storage, and secure file transfer protocols
- Confidentiality agreements: Whether the company has strong confidentiality agreements and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)
- Access controls: Whether the service has robust client access controls
- Security audits: Whether they conduct regular security audits
Understanding these aspects is vital before outsourcing the transcription of your sensitive audio and video content.
Other criteria to consider when seeking a transcription service include flexibility to accommodate different needs, such as various file formats, languages, and turnaround times, and responsive and helpful customer support.
Don’ts
- Don’t choose a service based pricing: Choosing a transcription service based solely on pricing can lead to several problems that may affect the quality, accuracy, and overall success of your project. Lower-cost services may not be able to handle complex or technical transcription. Budget services may have less experienced or unqualified transcriptionists and may not include proofreading or editing. This can result in transcripts full of errors and inconsistencies. Opting for a reputable transcription service will ensure value for money and peace of mind.
- Don’t forget to check turnaround time: Fast delivery is crucial, but don’t just assume every service offers the same timeline. When you need audio and video files transcribed quickly, promised turnaround times matter. Make sure their turnaround times match your needs. Look for a reliable audio transcription company that will deliver your transcripts within the specified turnaround time with compromising on accuracy.
- Don’t skip reviewing testimonials and reviews: Neglecting to research customer feedback can leave you with an unreliable service, wasted time, poor-quality transcripts, and additional costs. Always check for online reviews or request references from previous clients to get a sense of their reputation and quality of work.
- Don’t Forget Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA): Never hire a transcription service that overlooks or skips the implementation of a non-disclosure agreement. An NDA is a critical legal contract that ensures the confidentiality of sensitive information shared between the client and the transcription provider. It is essential for protecting confidential information, establishing trust and accountability, compliance with industry-specific confidentiality requirements, and reducing data breach risks The NDA protects not only the client, but also safeguards the transcription provider by specifying how they should handle sensitive information, preventing misunderstandings or liability issues.
Do Your Research
A modern business transcription company typically has a range of features to meet the needs of today’s dynamic business environment. However, there are thousands of transcription services available today. Doing some serious research is essential to choose the right provider. Shortlist a few companies, evaluate their services based on the above guidelines, and choose a service that can best meet your requirements.
Ensure accurate and timely documentation of your audio and video content!
