If you are in the process of choosing a transcription provider, (or looking to change providers), you may not know how to find one that suits your needs. In this blog post, we aim to give you some advice on what to look for. Also, what questions to ask when choosing a transcription provider.
Outsourcing
Charging
Transcription providers charge in varying ways. These include:
- Charging on a per minute of dictation basis; and
- Charging by character count (on a per-line basis).
Most UK based transcription companies charge on a per minute of dictation basis. This is because this is the most transparent charging structure. It, therefore, allows customers to know the costs before submitting the work. This helps office managers or practice managers keep tabs on budgets and spending.
If a transcription provider charges £1.30 plus VAT per minute of dictation, it follows that a 20-minute file will cost the company £26 plus VAT. However, what you must bear in mind, if you are to compare this to employment (for comparison purposes), is that it will not take a typist 20 minutes to type a 20-minute file! This is simply because we can all talk faster than even the fastest typist. So for comparison purposes, it will take somewhere in the region of an hour and 20 minutes to type the documents, save and name the files on a 20-minute dictation file. Simplest put, the time taken would be four times the dictated sound file length.
Where transcription is offered on a character count (on a per-line basis) these transcription companies are more often than not based outside of the UK. Different providers may include spaces as characters, whilst others do not. Therefore, it is important, that if you are comparing prices you understand how the line count is calculated as some often include spaces within the count.
If you are comparing transcription providers that deploy both of these charging methods, they should be able to tell you how their quote would compare to either charging model.
Hidden Costs
When researching your transcription providers, be vigilant about hidden costs. Some transcription companies charge:
- Set up costs;
- Require you to enter a contract;
- Management fees; and
- Have minimum spends per month.
It is also a good idea to seek clarity in terms of charging. For example, is there a cheaper charging rating based on a longer turnaround time? Will you be charged a premium for the next day or solely for the same-day turnaround?
In-House
If you go for an in-house option, recruitment, therefore, is typically expensive and time-consuming. It requires adverts to be placed, time spent selecting candidates, and time is taken out for interviews to take place. When you have recruited your successful candidate, you have induction and training before an employee can stand on their own two feet.
When you employ staff you must pay: monthly salaries, PAYE costs, National Insurance contributions, offer a pension scheme and pay a certain percentage of tax per employee. You also have other fixed costs such as desk space and office costs per employee, and the costs of infrastructure like computers, telephones, workspaces etc. However, there are other costs such as:
1. Unproductive Time
What most employers forget is the indirect costs of employment such as “unproductive” time. Recent research suggests that: “In an eight hour day, the average worker is only productive for two hours 53 minutes”.
2. Office Space Costs
According to Business Matters Magazine: “The average cost to rent an office space per person, per month is between £650 and £1,500” in London. This means that the cost of desk space in London is therefore somewhere between £7,800 to £18,000 per annum.
3. Sickness Absence
According to the National Office of Statistics, “an estimated 185.6 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in 2022”. This worked out at 5.7 days per worker. The most common reasons for sicknesses were:
- Minor illnesses;
- Mental health conditions;
- Musculoskeletal problems.
4. Holiday Pay
Whilst statutory paid holiday entitlement in the UK is 28 paid holiday days, most employers in the UK give considerably more holidays to their employees.
Clearly, by outsourcing, you would not have these additional costs (that are in addition to your hourly rate salary).
Outsourcing v In-House
If a transcription company, therefore, charges £1.30 per minute plus VAT, the comparison hourly rate against employment would be £19.50 per hour. However, when comparing the two fairly, you do need to factor in the additional overheads that come with employment (as stated above).
So, if you are interested in understanding precisely how much employing staff costs per hour based on salary, NI contributions, pension contributions, desk space etc, please check out our Cost Calculator created independently by Stanbridge Associates.
Confidentiality, Data Security and Data Protection
When choosing a transcription provider, the most important considerations are confidentiality, data security and data protection. Any transcription service offering a price that seems too good to be true they are likely to be based outside of the UK.
So, What Questions Should You Ask Of Any Transcription Provider?
Here are the questions you should ask when choosing a transcription provider.
- How is the quote calculated? Is it rate per minute of dictation or is it on a character basis (per line of text)? Could they provide a list of all their charges?
- How can I work out how the outsourcing cost compares to the cost of my current resource or other providers?
- Is the company based in the United Kingdom?
- Are there any costs for:
- Set up
- Management fees?
- Is there a minimum spend?
- Does the company have specialist transcriptionists who have worked in your field and know the terminology?
- How work is allocated to typists? Does it go to a bank? Or will your work be conducted by a small number of typists that will get used to your style of work over time?
About OutSec
OutSec is the UK’s leading online transcription company whose business has grown substantially since 2002. We are one of the most successful transcription companies in the United Kingdom.
OutSec provides secure outsourced transcription services to the medical, legal, property and surveying, universities, media and interviews, advisory boards, conferences & seminars, inventories, financial, corporate, HR, recruitment and Executive Search sectors.
Why is Dictation More Efficient than Typing?
Well, the simple fact is that we can all speak considerably faster than we can physically type:
“The average person types between 38 and 40 words per minute”.
A “good rate of speech ranges between 140 -160 words per minute.”
In other words, dictation is up to four times faster than we can type. Therefore, simply dictating a document is more cost-efficient, giving you more time to dedicate your efforts elsewhere in your business.
Therefore why not add OutSec as a business continuity option for your business? Accounts are free, you pay on a per-minute basis (rounded to the nearest minute) on a pay-as-you-go basis, with no contracts or minimum spend. What do you have to lose? Why not open an account today!
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Picture Attribution:
Image by Freepik
