It is fair to say that Chartered Surveyors firms have started to move with the times and are adapting and embracing different ways of working. This includes outsourcing work to businesses that support them. When you think of outsourcing work, we often only think about the savings that will be achieved by getting the work done at a lower cost. However, most firms overlook the fact they benefit from a wealth of other factors. So, what are the benefits of outsourcing dictation for Chartered Surveyors firms?
1. Helps You Increase Productivity
Why is Dictation More Efficient than Typing?
The simple fact is that we can all speak considerably faster than we can physically type, as demonstrated by these stats:
“The average person types between 38 and 40 words per minute”.
A “good rate of speech ranges between 140 -160 words per minute.”
This means that dictation is up to four times faster than we can type. Therefore, simply dictating a document is more cost-efficient, giving Chartered Surveyors more time to be working on other projects and bringing in more revenue.
2. Gives You Access to Highly Experienced Transcriptionists When You Need them
At OutSec we believe in having highly experienced financial services sector transcriptionists who have worked in Chartered Surveyors firms. Indeed, we have been providing transcription services to this niche market since 2002. Our transcriptionists truly understand the importance of client confidentiality and accuracy in their work. This makes OutSec’s Property and Surveying Transcription Team, one of the best in the industry and they are available to you at the touch of a button. Are you:
- having issues recruiting in your area?
- finding it difficult to hire a transcriptionist with the right experience?
- struggling with a backlog of work?
Then why not use OutSec for all your transcription needs?
3. Reduces Costs
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.
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”.
Clearly, by outsourcing your transcription needs, you eliminate any unproductive time. By using OutSec, you pay per minute of recorded dictation (rounded up to the nearest minute) which means you are not paying for any unproductive time. Therefore, you are not paying for your transcriptionist to make a cup of tea or coffee, to have or make a snack or lunch, or indeed have an office chat – all of that is eliminated!
Reduces Expensive Office Space
Obviously, by outsourcing your transcription needs, you can reduce the amount of office space you need. According to Business Matters Magazine:
Cate Hudson leads the developer experience team for Automattic, a large multi-national company where every single one of the 930 staff work remotely. In an interview to the BBC she states:
According to Business Matters Magazine:
The cost of desk space in London is therefore somewhere between £7,800 to £18,000 per annum. Just on this cost alone, you could approximately have somewhere between 6,500 and 15,000 minutes of dictation typed up by OutSec instead!
Reduces HR Costs
Hiring, training and supervising your firm’s secretarial staff can require an investment of your HR Manager’s time. There are costs involved in advertising for qualified transcriptionists. By outsourcing, you never have to worry about any of these HR-related costs.
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 to be 5.7 working days per worker. The most common reasons for sicknesses were:
- Minor illnesses;
- Mental health conditions;
- Musculoskeletal problems.
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 your transcription needs, you eliminate this cost to your firm.
Changes a Fixed Cost into a Flexible Cost
Many Chartered Surveyors firms recognise that replacing a static fixed cost with a flexible skilled outsourced provider has many positives. If your typing requirements are low, then the costs are low. This also enables upscaling support as the firm grows or in times when workloads are high. Consequently, OutSec can offer support by either acting as a complete, secure, outsourced solution. Or as an overflow, allowing your Chartered Surveyors firm to keep up with the demands of your business.
4. Business Continuity Planning
In 2020, businesses around the world had their business continuity plans truly put to the test, as Covid-19 swept the globe. Whilst some businesses were forced to close their doors when lockdowns came into effect, OutSec continued to operate as normal. OutSec continued to be able to support our clients and those that needed our help, during this difficult time. As one of our clients stated:
“We are so glad that we have you as it certainly makes it less stressful not having to worry about getting typing completed. I know some firms are struggling if staff cannot get in”.
Using OutSec affords your firm a business continuity solution to enable your business to access typing support, that expands (or contracts) with your firm’s specific needs. You can also use OutSec for upscaling support as the firm grows. This eliminates the need for employing additional typing staff (or indeed, any of the employment costs or risks thereof).
5. Eliminate the Need for Temporary Staff
As any manager knows, the need for temporary transcriptionists or secretaries can easily fluctuate over time. We know that staff are likely to take the majority of their holiday entitlement in the summer months. Unfortunately, it is harder for firms to predict unexpected illnesses. We can, of course, predict that in the winter months, someone may come to work with a cold (and in a matter of days, everyone has come down with it!). This is especially true for those who work in open-plan offices. Environmental factors such as snow, or other extreme weather events, can also result in staff being unable to make it into the office. By using OutSec, you can access typists in times of absence, whether it is through illness or extreme weather, reducing the need for using expensive temporary staff to bridge the gap at a cheaper cost.
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.
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