Companies hold board meetings for their board of directors to meet, discuss different company-related matters (for example, financial performance, current operations, growth strategies and other underlying issues) and make decisions regarding the future of the company. If smaller companies hold a board meeting quarterly or even once in a year, larger companies are likely to hold a board meeting at least once a month or whenever it is required to discuss policies or resolve issues. In both cases, it is very important to keep the records of the proceedings in a meeting correctly and accurate conference transcription is essential to achieve this goal with maximum efficiency. Let’s see why.
Minutes of Meetings and Their Drawbacks
Usually, companies maintain minutes of their board meetings. Minutes are tangible records of what was said during the meeting, which act as a source of information for both participants and members who missed the meeting. Company secretaries present at the board meeting take notes to create a record that reflects the key points or the essence of the meeting. Minutes typically include the details of:
- Decisions made during the meeting
- Next steps planned
- Identification and monitoring of action items
Taking minutes is not a big deal when it comes to the board meetings of very small companies having only two or three board directors present at the meeting. There would be a rather informal chat and a few decisions will be made, which makes it easier for secretaries to capture key points. However, this is not the case with larger companies or bigger corporates as there would be more members, longer discussions and many things to decide. Thus, there is more chance for making mistakes while listening to what each member is saying and making notes. The secretary may not get all the pertinent information or may misunderstand a word or a whole point of discussion and finally inaccurate information is prepared. This is where the importance of recording entire conversations and creating a word-for-word transcript or simply verbatim transcription of the meeting comes in.
Advantages of Conference Transcription
- Nothing Important is Lost – As the transcripts include word for word account of everything that was said during the board meeting, you won’t miss any important points. While reviewing the transcript, you can thus get a better idea about the meeting. When difficult decisions are being made, you can refer to the detailed record to check what was said in case of a subsequent disagreement. However, you can eliminate unnecessary expressions like er, hmm and other sounds to create intelligent verbatim transcripts.
- Avoid Wrong Interpretations – As you are transcribing the entire conversation of each and every member in the meeting, there is very less chance for misinterpretations. Also, the transcriptionists can play the recording again and again to clarify their doubts and transcribe the conversation correctly.
- Identify the Speakers – With the help of transcriptionists, you can specify the speakers’ names as well as their lines. This will help you to understand who said what and clarify any details later.
- Easier to Disseminate Information – With a detailed transcription, you can prepare related press materials or other information to the employees regarding the board meeting in a better manner. You can include important points, quotations or conclusions to facilitate easy and accurate preparation.
However, the transcription task will not be that easy, especially when there is a lot of background noise. You must use quality recording devices. Also, utilize business transcription services, if needed. A lot of time can be saved and more accurate transcripts can be created with the help of experts in this field.
