This is a guest post from Louise Harper
When you have your own business, being able to access services which offer a speedy turnaround can be very useful.
However, as Confucius, the famous Chinese philosopher once said: When things are done hastily, they are not done thoroughly.
Whilst it’s great to be able to get a job done quickly, it’s essential they are not completed in haste as the chances are the quality won’t be good enough. And even if you don’t notice at first, before too long you could end up with egg on your face as a result.
Many transcription services promise to deliver your documents quickly but how many automatically include proofing as part of the process? We take a look at transcription proofing and examine just why it is so important for your business.
The transcription process
When you are looking to appoint a transcription company, you will inevitably have looked at the knowledge and experience of the transcribers to make sure they would be able to accurately work with your information.
However, no matter how well versed an individual may be in a given subject, as a human being, there can always be the occasional mistake.
In the world of transcribing, it’s easy to occasionally mishear something or struggle to pick something up, even if you are using top of the range equipment. A proofing transcriber acts as the safety net to ensure that nothing untoward can creep into the finished document.
Transcription in process
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Creating a quality record
There may be times when you want to create an accurate record of an event that is destined to be published externally, such as following a conference.
Being able to show peers and potential customers exactly how great your conference was and the quality of information included may be of huge benefit. However, collating and presenting the speeches and content could be a mammoth task and one you simply don’t have the time to complete.
By providing a professional transcription company with a recording of the event, you could very quickly receive a beautifully presented document which you would be proud to circulate to both delegates and prospective customers alike.
Of course, conferences and seminars can be noisy events and the quality of the recording may not be as high as you would have hoped. This can make it particularly challenging for transcribers to pick up everything that was said.
This is where a proofer can be a real help. They will ensure that not only is everything captured accurate, they can also ensure that nothing has been missed.
Transcription demands attention to detail
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Cost-effective
If you make the decision to use a transcription company, you wouldn’t be happy to receive a document which was full of holes or errors.
However, by using a company that charges extra for a transcription process, that is effectively what is being said. If proofing isn’t automatically part of the process and you don’t want to pay for it, you are acknowledging that quality isn’t something that’s important to you.
But it doesn’t have to be a choice. Top transcription companies will include proofing as part of the process, whether you are a regular customer or just asking for some one-off help.
Transcribers can make mistakes from time to time, or even get sloppy. By having a proofing process in place, you will never have to send work back or suffer the consequences of being handed a document which is less than perfect.
A proofer is your buffer and is the way to guarantee that when you receive the finished piece, it is everything you hoped and more.
Conclusion
Using a transcription company to fulfil all of your administrative needs when it comes to capturing and documenting important information is an efficient solution which frees you and your staff up to focus on the business.
However, don’t be tempted to accept work which hasn’t been properly checked. This should be part of the process and you shouldn’t have to pay a penny more to get the guarantee of good quality. Transcription proofers don’t just help to protect you from costly delays and errors; they are the difference between a good job and truly top notch work.
Image Credits: Neil Cummings and Ian Munroe
Louise, a hard-working writer and blogging enthusiast who enjoys the finer things in life. A recent University graduate I am still finding my feet in this big and confusing world. I hope to find my ideal job soon and then save as much as possible so I can buy my own flat.