Enterprise Transcription Services: A Complete Guide (2023)

Find out why law enforcement agencies, legal services, and corporations turn to enterprise transcription services for high-volume and recurring projects.

Does your organization rely heavily on transcription in its day-to-day operations? 

Finding a transcription service that can manage the kind of volume you need while adhering to specific formatting or style requirements can be tricky. For instance, if you’re in law enforcement, you already know how crucial it is for transcripts to be as accurate as possible. 

While traditional transcription solutions may work for some, your organization has specific requirements for transcripts—and has probably outgrown standard methods of producing them. 

It might be time to look into enterprise transcription services if that sounds familiar.

What Is Custom Enterprise Transcription?

Custom enterprise transcription refers to the conversion of audio files or video content into written text tailored to the specific needs of a business or organization. 

For example, legal professionals often use transcription to document interviews, depositions, court proceedings, and client consultations. 

However, a generic transcription service might not be able to accommodate legal jargon, heavy accents, multilingual content, or specific formatting and style preferences. 

Custom enterprise transcription, however, ensures that the transcribed content meets the needs and standards of legal professionals. 

Who Needs Custom Enterprise Transcription?

Essentially, custom enterprise transcription allows you to tailor the transcription process to your needs and specifications. 

This is invaluable in many sectors and professions, including:

These types of industries tend to have specific requirements for formatting and transcription style. 

For example, law enforcement typically needs verbatim transcripts for procedures like interrogation or witness statements. Verbatim transcription captures every single word exactly as spoken, including fillers like “um, “uh,” and “you know.” 

Use Cases For Enterprise Transcription

Professional transcription services are used across a wide range of industries for numerous purposes. Here are some common uses of transcription software and services in the enterprise sector:

Meetings and Conference Calls

In the corporate world, transcripts of meetings and conference calls are invaluable for maintaining accurate records. This practice ensures that all discussions and decisions are documented for future reference, aiding in accountability and progress tracking. 

It’s particularly beneficial for those who couldn’t attend the meeting, as they can easily catch up by reading the transcript. Additionally, these transcripts can be translated into multiple languages for international corporations, facilitating seamless communication across different regions.

Legal Proceedings

The legal sector heavily relies on transcription services for documenting trials, depositions, and other legal proceedings. The accuracy of these transcripts is paramount, as they serve as official records that can be referred to in future legal processes, appeals, and compliance checks. 

Lawyers and judges often use these transcripts for case analysis and preparation, making them indispensable to the legal system.

Training Sessions and Webinars

Transcribing training sessions and webinars offers a significant advantage in corporate learning and development. Employees who missed the live sessions can access these transcripts to stay updated. 

This practice also supports inclusivity, catering to those who have hearing disabilities or prefer reading. Moreover, these transcripts can be incorporated into training manuals or e-learning modules, enhancing the organization’s educational resources.

Corporate Communications

Transcription plays a crucial role in corporate communications, such as executive speeches, virtual meetings, and corporate announcements. Companies ensure that all stakeholders, irrespective of their attendance at the actual event, have access to the same information. 

This practice aids in maintaining consistency in communication and serves as a valuable archive for historical reference and orientation of new employees.

Content Creation

Transcribing podcasts, interviews, and videos is a strategic tool in marketing and public relations. These transcripts can be repurposed into various formats like blog posts, social media updates, and articles, thereby extending the reach and lifespan of the original content. 

Additionally, transcripts contribute to enhanced search engine optimization (SEO), making the content more discoverable online.

Financial Reporting

For financial reporting, such as earnings calls and analyst briefings, transcription services are essential. They provide a clear and accurate record of financial discussions, ensuring transparency and clarity for stakeholders.

In many industries, documenting these financial interactions is also a regulatory requirement, making transcription an essential part of compliance.

Insurance Claims

In the insurance industry, transcription is crucial for documenting claims, investigations, and client interactions. These detailed transcripts aid in processing claims accurately and efficiently. They also serve as a legal record, which can be critical in dispute resolutions and claim verifications.

Benefits Of Human Enterprise Transcription Services

With custom enterprise transcription, you can send your audio or video file off into the ether and get a fully-formed, super-accurate transcription that adheres to industry standards.

That means details like speaker identification, timestamps, headers and footers, redactions to be incorporated into your transcript, and anything else you might require. 

Custom transcription also allows flexibility for different transcription types, like verbatim, edited, or intelligent verbatim. How, you might ask, is that possible?

Compared to AI, human transcriptionists can accommodate custom specifications, including all those little idiosyncrasies that AI wasn’t built for, like industry-specific jargon, unique accents, and verbatim transcription. 

Key Features to Look For in Enterprise Transcription Services

Not all enterprise transcription services are created equal. 

Reputable transcription services work with trained transcriptionists who have experience with formatting, jargon and language nuances, and industry protocols like cybersecurity and HIPAA. 

A few other features to look out for: 

Look for high accuracy rates. 

Opt for services that guarantee a high level of accuracy. For enterprise transcription, 98% or above is considered industry standard. This will likely disqualify most AI transcription services.

Look for fast turnaround times. 

Time is money, and established transcription services should have the bandwidth to handle large volumes of content without compromising on speed.

Check for robust security and on-shore data management. 

Particularly in the case of legal and medical transcription, data security is paramount. Look for a service that uses multi-level security standards and encryption protocols to ensure data confidentiality and integrity.

Select a service with some customizability if needed. 

Go with a service that allows you to request elements like timestamps, speaker identification, and specific formatting. This can save you a ton of time on the back end.

Pick a service with a customer support department. 

Responsive customer service can be a game-changer. Whether you have a question or need to make a change to an order, partnering with a service that values a great customer experience can pay off in spades.

Make sure the service is within your budget. 

While premium transcription services might cost more upfront than AI, many services offer volume discounts—plus, the cost savings from freeing up employee time often make it a more economical choice in the long run.

Tips For Optimal Performance From Your Transcription Service

While professional transcriptionists can work quickly and accurately, there are some steps you can take to prevent inaccuracies and unnecessary delays. 

Tip #1 – Make your audio as clear as possible. 

As a rule of thumb, a transcript can only be as good as the source—even the most experienced transcriber won’t be able to decipher muffled or distant voices, overlapping conversations, or words drowned out by background noise. 

Tip #2 – Opt for professional recording equipment. 

High-quality audio is ideal, so it may be worth investing in good microphones with voice isolation. If you’re recording on a smartphone, be sure to enable any noise-reduction or voice-enhancement features.

Tip #3 – Provide a list of technical terms or names. 

If your audio includes specialized terminology, names, or acronyms that are uncommon, provide a list of these terms to the transcription service. This can significantly reduce the chances of misinterpretation.

Tip #4 – ​​Use of identifiers for multiple speakers. 

If there are multiple speakers, use a system to identify them, such as having them state their names before speaking. This helps in accurately attributing dialogue in the transcript.

Tip #5 – Use clear instructions to explain how you want the final product to look. 

In addition to a clear recording, clear instructions are vital. If you require any special transcription formatting or annotations in your transcripts, communicate this with the transcription service. 

Time stamps, headers and section breaks, and transcription style are examples of specifications you may want to make note of in your instructions.

How To Choose The Right Enterprise Transcription Service For Your Needs

Choosing the right enterprise transcription service is crucial for ensuring high-quality, accurate speech-to-text, and secure transcription that meets your specific business needs.

  1. Look for a service that guarantees high accuracy rates, especially for industry-specific terminology.
  2. Determine if you need the precision of human transcriptionists, the speed of automatic transcription services, or a blend of both.
  3. Consider how quickly you need the transcriptions completed. Some services offer rapid turnaround transcription times, while others may take longer but cost less.
  4. Ensure the service has stringent security measures for data protection, especially if handling sensitive or confidential information. Check for compliance with relevant data protection regulations like HIPAA.
  5. Choose a service that can handle the volume of work you need, whether it’s large-scale or smaller, occasional projects.
  6. Understand their pricing model (per minute/hour, flat rate) and ensure there are no hidden costs. Understand their pricing model (per minute/hour, flat rate) and ensure there are no hidden costs.
  7. If your business requires transcription in multiple languages, ensure the service can accommodate this.
  8. Good customer support can be crucial, especially for resolving issues quickly. Check their availability and the channels through which you can reach them (phone, email, chat).
  9. A trial period or demo allows you to evaluate their service in a real-world scenario before making a long-term commitment.

Using SpeakWrite'sSpeakWrite's Professional Services For Custom Enterprise Transcription

SpeakWrite is an industry leader in transcription and dictation, specializing in fully human, fully custom transcription for law enforcement, legal services, business, and more. 

Get accurate transcriptions. 

SpeakWrite’sSpeakWrite’s professional transcriptionists are specially trained to create accurate transcripts the first time around, averaging 99-100% transcription accuracy. 

Customize your transcriptions. 

You benefit from full customizability to suit your business’s needs—no matter the formatting or style you require, you’ll get a ready-to-go script that meets your exact specifications. 

Easily navigate the platform. 

Your SpeakWrite dashboard is simple and easy to navigate, allowing you to upload files, check status updates, and retrieve your completed transcripts in any file format you need.

Don’t wait for your transcripts. 

SpeakWrite works with a team of experienced transcriptionists to ensure your transcripts are ready ASAP—often in as little as three hours

What’s more, SpeakWrite offers 24/7 availability, meaning you can drop submissions at any time of the day or night and have a finished transcript in no time. 

Get Started With Custom Enterprise Transcription Today

If your line of work requires accurate, professionally produced transcripts at scale, SpeakWrite can help. With more than twenty years of experience, we understand the intricacies of transcribing legal, investigative, and financial content. 

Get started with custom enterprise transcription here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does automated transcription work for enterprise? 

If you’ve been using AI transcription services, you’ve likely already encountered some of its limitations. Automated transcription typically produces an edited verbatim transcript, which removes natural speech subtleties. 

While a “cleaned up” transcript might be appropriate in other industries, these nuances are vital for professionals dealing with legally sensitive information. 

How much do online transcription companies charge?

General transcription services usually cost between $1.50 and $5.00 per audio minute. Factors like audio quality, number of speakers, and turnaround time can affect the price.

How long does it take to transcribe 1 hour of audio?

For a professional transcriber, it typically takes about 4 to 6 hours to transcribe one hour of clear audio. The ratio can be 1:4 or higher, meaning one hour of audio takes four hours or more to transcribe. 

This transcription time can increase if the audio quality is poor, if there are multiple speakers, or if the subject matter is technical or filled with jargon. SpeakWrite transcribes audio in 3 hours or less. 

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