3 Reasons That Live Notetakers Make A Great Alternative to Traditional Transcription Services
Traditional transcription services offer varying kinds of transcripts, but did you know you that many services also provide live notetakers?
The benefits of live notetaking might not be immediately obvious, but there are many reasons to use the service. This is our quick list of three reasons you should consider live notetakers as a great alternative to traditional transcription services.
You Get a Transcript Right Away
Traditional transcription services usually offer a turnaround time under 24 hours, but that’s often only possible if you’re willing to pay a bit extra. If you want even results faster, live notetakers offer a faster alternative!
Besides being able to offer a faster turnaround when you send an audio file, live note takers can be made available to work with you as and when they are needed. Holding a meeting, disciplinary hearing, or talk and want someone there to transcribe it live? They’re there to make it happen.
Professional transcriptionists are able to type in speeds of up to 100+ words per minute, more than 1.5 words per second. As such, they are able to produce a draft of the transcript immediately after the meeting, presentation, talk, etc. They can then go on to reproduce the final transcript in a clear, more legible form if you want them to, as well.
Live note takers are trained to record meetings, talks, and hearings as accurately as possible. In a live setting, where they don’t have the opportunity to listen over what has been said time and time again, 100% accuracy isn’t guaranteed, but high-quality note taking services type near-verbatim with speaker identification, ensuring you can have comprehensive, detailed notes at the end. Generally, they will go away and deliver you a touched up transcript the next day. But, if you want a rough draft, that will be available right away.
Ensuring your data security
When you’re dealing with very sensitive information, such as creating records for a disciplinary meeting, it’s only natural that you want to ensure that discretion is a priority and that the details won’t fall into the wrong hands.
While trustworthy, independently verified transcriptionist services will put a lot of effort into securing your data (such as encrypting it, hosting it on secure servers, and following the best data protection management policies possible), there is always a risk. You can never be entirely certain who has access to that information.
With live notetakers, you know exactly who has access to it: you and the transcriptionist. There are no audio recordings to be sent off, no online apps that you have to use. You can even have your notetaker sign a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA, and provide them with an air-gapped computer to be beyond a doubt of any chance of those details falling into the wrong hands.
Whether or not your data has to go off-site, you should ensure that the transcription services you work with take as much care to ensure security as you do. You need secure, quality transcription services. Investigate their website to see that they’re using encrypted storage protocols and that they’re ISO accredited. Certifications like ISO 9001 & 27001 indicated that the company has successfully gone through a third-party assessment of their general practice and information security management practices, respectively
Want to add a layer of professionalism to a meeting?
Having a live notetaker in a meeting can add a level of seriousness or professionalism. This is especially useful if there is a disciplinary hearing and you want to ensure it goes smoothly — everyone will be on their best behaviour, knowing everything is being noted down
Having a third-party witness not only ensures a meeting or hearing goes smoothly, but it also adds a layer of legal protection if at legal risk. Everyone knows exactly what was said and when.
Live note takers working with local UK-based companies are trained to represent their team with true professionalism, too. Punctual, well presented and suitably dressed, they come with their own laptops but can work with any equipment you might want to provide and stay relatively out of the way with a single task on their mind: typing up your meeting.
When are live note takers an option worth considering?
When you need someone there on the scene to transcribe text immediately, to ensure that your data isn’t being sent somewhere beyond your control, or to simply give a meeting the importance that it needs, live note takers are a great alternative to traditional transcription services.
As mentioned, live note taking is usually more expensive than traditional transcription. As with outsourcing all services, you have to consider what your priorities are. Do you have a relatively small budget, and can you afford to wait some time for your transcription? It’s wise to stick with a traditional transcriptionist team, providing they still provide a high quality, secure service. Do you need your transcription immediately and is security of the greatest performance? Then you might benefit from working with a live note taker.
You have been reading about how live note takers can be a great alternative to transcription services. If you want to learn more about transcription services, including standard rates, types of transcription services and more, we have written the Ultimate Guide to Transcription Services just for you!
