Networking With Your Peers

The power of networking with your peers.  I have been a member of the Yahoo Association of Business Support Services International (ABSSI) group for years.  I first joined ABSSSI back in the early 90s when I first started my part time “Home-base Secretary” service.  ABSSI provided me with a lot of the information I needed to know to grow my business.  Over the years, even after the association dissolved, I kept in the loop by joining the Yahoo ABSSI group and would read the emails and find great tips and information that I could use in my business.

I love the Virtual Assistant industry because we are more like collaborators than competitors.  Basically we have each other’s back and you just can’t beat that in the business world today.

This week I received an overwhelming amount of transcription from several different companies all needing fast turnaround.  So while sitting in my office around 10pm or so I thought about ABSSI and the numerous times I have seen people post that they need help.  So of course I decided to give it a try.  Of course at this time of night I wasn’t expecting much in a response, but to my pleasant surprise I received emails and phone calls of transcriptionists offering their help.  Why didn’t I think of this sooner?

I can’t wait to see how this all works out, but tapping into your network of fellow VAs is definitely a great support system when you have occasional work overload.

Transcription: A Poem for an Undying Industry

Many times when online I come across companies and individuals who use sites like Freelancer, Guru, and Elance to post their projects for audio or video transcription.  Sometimes I laugh out loud at the audacity of some who want to pay $10 for an hour of audio to transcribe.  Unless you’ve ever sat down and actually tried transcribing just a 15 minute audio you’ll find it takes close to an hour or more to transcribe.

Each minute of speech takes 3 to 5 minutes to transcribe.  Now there are more factors included here than just the speed of the person transcribing.  The number of speakers, the accents, the background noise, speakers within mic range, mumbled voices or voices that start out loud and then go down to a whisper, all of these factors feed into the amount of time it takes to transcribe an audio or video.  If names are to be captured, that extends the time.  If time codes must appear throughout the document, that too extends the time to transcribe.  Poor audio will cost more that a clear audio to transcribe.  So here are some suggestions to getting the best results for audio or video you need transcribed:

• It is smart and cost effective to invest in high quality recording devices, preferably digital to transcribe you audio.
• Remind participants to speak loud and clear and to say their name each time they speak when there are more than two speakers and you want the names captured.
• Many times companies prefer fast turn around (24 hours or less).  The preferred turn around is 3 to 5 business days.  This is because many services that provide transcription have more than one client and they all have deadlines that seem to be rushes.  If you have 8 hours of audio, it will take up to 40 hours to transcribe (again depending on other factors, best case scenario it could take several hours less, worse case, several hours more).  You cannot expect to get 8 hours of audio back in 24 hours unless you hire a service that has a staff of at least 6 to 8 people who are not already working on other transcription projects.  You should prefer well rested transcriptionists to transcribe your audio, proof read and get it back to you without staying up all night.
• Use digital files which can be submitted via a service like YouSendIt or send via mail on a CD, DVD of flash drive.
• Provide formatting instructions.
• Provide what your preferred deadline is to give your service provider the opportunity to let you know whether or not they can meat your deadline.  Any time you need your audio transcribed in less than 3 days you should let the service provider know up front.
• Know that if your audio if poor, your final document will reflect that.  A transcriptionist can only type what they hear.  If they can’t hear it, they can’t type it.  If they can’t understand it, they can’t type it.

Luckily I’ve seen the best and worst in audio to be transcribed.  Luckily I have more good experiences than bad.  However, when I come across these posts for bids where they person lists the amount they are willing to pay and it’s actually less than minimum wage, I just really want that person to sit down and try for just 15 minutes to transcribe their own audio.  $10 per audio hour may sound good to some.  But per audio hour is actually 3 to 5 hours so you’re actually paying someone somewhere between $2 an hour to $3.33 an hour.

I wrote the poem below because honestly I couldn’t find one on the internet to express what many transcriptionists can relate to.  So for all you transcribers out there, I just want you to know I feel your pain.  I don’t have a title for this yet.

No Title Transcription Poem

Spoken words to typed text

When one dictates, transcription is next

The transcriber knows what this process will entail

That’s why electronic delivery is better than mail

Each minute of speech takes up to 5 minutes to transcribe

Matching minute for minute, the fastest of typist can’t provide

So that 1 hour audio they want to pay $10 for

Takes the most seasoned professional 3 to 5 hours or more

So many aspects will affect the time it takes

To transcribe a file and clean up mistakes

From number of speakers, audio length, and background sound

To static, time coding, and how fast they want it turned around

For quality work 3 to 5 days is desired

But for rush jobs in 2 days or less, the rate goes up higher

You get what you pay for…a saying that is true

So $10 for an hour of audio….I won’t ever work for you!!!!

Odetta Taylor