According to a recent survey, roughly 49% of U.S. employees are experiencing virtual meeting fatigue. Virtual communication platforms grew rapidly in recent years because they made it possible for businesses to embrace hybrid and remote work arrangements. Now, people have become accustomed to this form of communication. Still, even for those who’ve been relying on Zoom for years, constant virtual meetings can pose challenges. For this reason, thought leaders across a wide range of industries recognize the value of assistive technologies like transcription.
Transcribing information from virtual meetings, conferences and calls can help to ensure more equitable messaging for both on-site and remote workers. Businesses can also incorporate transcription into their record-keeping practices to boost efficiency. Virtual transcription is an excellent option for businesses looking for a scalable transcription solution because of its cost-efficiency, accessibility and easy implementation. Let’s take a closer look at the virtual transcription process and some of the tools available for streamlining digital communications.
What is Transcription?
First things first – let’s talk about transcription. Transcription refers broadly to the process of converting audio to text. It’s possible to generate a transcript from either recorded or live audio content, which makes transcription a versatile resource for a wide range of communications.
There are two primary types of transcription: Verbatim and non-verbatim. Verbatim transcripts provide a written replica of a piece of audio content. These transcripts will account for any and all audio elements, including sound effects, pauses, cross-talk, inaudible speech and more. Certain industries and contexts require verbatim transcription because it provides the most comprehensive representation of the original content.
Non-verbatim transcripts provide a more general account of a recording or discussion. These transcripts must undergo extensive editing. Transcribers will review the text and eliminate repeated words, stammers and certain grammatical errors when creating a non-verbatim transcript to improve the readability. For this reason, some educators may choose to provide their students with non-verbatim transcripts of courses and lectures as reference and study tools. Non-verbatim transcripts are generally not suitable for legal transcription or medical transcription because these industries are highly technical and require extremely accurate records. Similarly, non-verbatim transcripts aren’t the best option for accessibility because they don’t provide an equitable account of the information and instead offer a more streamlined, pared-down version.
What is Virtual Transcription?
In a traditional transcription process, a transcriber sits down with an audio recording and manually types out every word and audio element they hear. Some transcribers use equipment like specialized keyboards and foot pedals to help them complete their projects more efficiently. Still, manual transcription can be extremely laborious and time-consuming. As a result, business leaders may find hiring a manual transcriptionist to be outside their organization’s budget or incompatible with the growing scale of their operations.
That’s where virtual transcription comes in. Virtual transcription is a form of digital transcription that you can use anywhere, any time. Rather than relying on in-house employees or costly independent contractors, business leaders can instead partner with virtual transcription providers like Verbit to complete their transcription projects more efficiently and affordably.
Verbit’s virtual transcription process combines advanced AI software with a vast network of professional virtual transcriptionists to create highly accurate final transcripts for a wide variety of purposes. With Verbit, partners also receive a searchable transcription format that enables users to easily search for specific keywords and navigate to corresponding points in a video or audio recording.
Is a Virtual Transcriptionist Accurate?
It might be tempting to assume that in-house employees would be able to transcribe audio and video content more accurately due to the hands-on nature of these projects. In practice, however, this is not often the case. Transcriptionists must achieve extremely high rates of accuracy when completing their projects. For this reason, transcriptionists must undergo extensive training to learn the best practices for accurate transcription. Those individuals without adequate training are likely to fall short of achieving the accuracy rates demanded by certain accessibility standards and guidelines and open businesses up to potentially embarrassing and costly mistakes.
Not all online transcription services are created equal when it comes to accuracy. Digital transcription platforms that rely solely upon artificial intelligence, for example, are also more likely to fall short of required accuracy rates. That’s why Verbit’s AI-produced transcripts always undergo reviews and editing by a professionally-trained human transcriber. This dual approach can help to safeguard against many of the common challenges faced by AI transcription tools and ensure that all final transcripts can be used to meet the far-ranging needs of diverse workforces.
Should I Use Virtual Transcription Services?
If you’re looking for a more efficient, cost-effective transcription solution, virtual transcription might be just what you’re looking for. Partnering with a trusted provider like Verbit can help businesses save time, money and additional resources without compromising on the quality of their final transcripts.
Verbit’s platform allows users to bulk-upload multiple files for transcription simultaneously in order to substantially cut back on lag time. Users can rely on Verbit’s software integrations for seamless workflows within a variety of digital media platforms. With Verbit, you can easily upload transcripts to support accessible content across multiple sites. Taking these steps allows for more streamlined messaging to the public and can help to support the requirements outlined in web accessibility guidelines.
Additionally, Verbit’s virtual transcription platform also makes it easy for users to request live transcription of their real-time communications. These solutions can be used for things like meeting transcription, call transcription and seminar transcription to improve real-time engagement and support community members who are tuning in from afar. Transcribing live communications can help to streamline messaging by safeguarding against challenges posed by poor audio quality, lagging internet connections, background noise and more. Virtual transcription is, therefore, a highly valuable resource for global brands and companies with hybrid workforces.
With Verbit as a partner, companies worldwide use virtual transcription to help make their internal and external communications more inclusive, accessible and engaging. If you’re interested in learning more about the many uses for virtual transcription solutions, reach out today to speak with a member of the Verbit team.