As a transcription business we strive to produce high quality transcripts, the most accurate transcript of a conversation possible. To enter [INAUDIBLE] into a transcript is something no transcription typist ever wants to do but if audio quality is poor, then it unfortunately cannot be avoided. Recently the Australian Minister for Families, Jenny Macklin raised the profile of inaudible early into 2013 when new reforms reduced the welfare payments to some individuals. When pressed by a journalist if she could actually live on the welfare payments Miss Macklin...

Well another year has passed and thankfully (and gratefully) the TTP business continues to grow and prosper. There were highs and many lows throughout 2012 both personally and professionally but as I get older, I am starting to understand that the lows in particular are necessary to continue the cycle of growth. The main highs in 2012 for TTP were: Sixty-eight (68) new clients utilised our transcription service in 2012; some one-off projects and others have become regular clients; We welcomed Claire, our Accounts Administrator to our team and Kristy successfully...

Most businesses strive to provide the best possible service to their customers – it’s what keeps them coming back to do more business with you. On a day to day basis though, the sheer volume of work, meeting deadlines and returning quality finished work to the client’s satisfaction means that you could lose track of whether you’re meeting client’s expectations. So it was with great delight this week when, completely unprompted, we received two great compliments from clients. The first one made the team blush: “Just...

I recently conducted a survey for my TTP Transcription Team.The intention was to get their honest feedback about the things that were important to them and to gauge that I had a happy team! For me, an important part of asking people to take time out of their day to complete an opinion survey is to circle back the results so they know that their views have been heard. It also gives me an opportunity to respond to some of the “big issues” raised (if any) and provide both perspective and expectation management. In the latest survey, the most interesting...

In this blog post we focus on one of our larger corporate clients, AMP Australia. We have been working with AMP for the last three years and although the work we do for AMP is “high pressure”, they are one of our most interesting clients to work with. We transcribe AMP’s quarterly financial announcements and Annual General Meetings which usually involves transcription of both the media and analyst briefings and occasionally closed door wires meetings. AMP is one of the few clients that we regularly go onsite to audio record their meetings...

This is a very topical question especially since the release of the latest iPhone 4S with its built in personal assistant Siri which has firmly thrust voice recognition technology in the face of the masses. The answer has to eventually be yes but in my opinion not for a very long time for all types of audio/video transcription. Already we are seeing single speaker audio move away from a traditional typist and into the domain of Dragon – NaturallySpeaking on Windows, Dictate on Mac. Where Dragon currently falls flat and where traditional outsourced transcription...

Most people think of outsourcing for menial, repetitive or procedure-driven tasks. For a growing SMB this can also apply to more hands on roles too, one example of this for my business is Human Resources. Employing a couple of onsite full time staff and managing a large number of onsite and offsite contractors, HR is an essential part of my business but one that I detest and am not experienced in. However, it does not quite justify a single full time role and as Director I do not have the time or skills to manage all aspects of HR for my business. This is...

I have just come off the phone from yet another frustrating phone call with the Australian Taxation Office. I can get over the fact that I have to wait an excessive amount of time every time I call, but what I can’t get over is the lack of respect and understanding shown to Australian small businesses by the random ATO phone operator I speak to every time about my business. Like most small businesses times are tough. For me in particular my business has been greatly affected over the last 12 months by a whole range of factors which have restricted my...

My company as you will likely know offers transcription services, that is we take digitally recorded audio of people speaking (e.g. meetings, interviews, focus groups, company announcements, the list goes on) and we convert that to written text. Sounds easy right? To do this we employ a team split in two, we have the transcription typists, the people who actually listen and type and the proofreaders, the people who QA the completed document. In this post I am going to focus on the role of a transcription proofreader to give you an idea of what exactly they...

Quality is everything … isn’t that how the saying goes? Well, it does if the quality pertains to audio for the purposes of transcription! Too many times we receive audio files for transcription where the quality doesn’t come close to being of excellent quality let alone audible, like it could or should with today’s technology and extensive range of digital voice recorders. Unfortunately, when we advise a client that due to the audio quality, we will only be able to achieve 50% of the dialogue, they ask us to “go ahead”....