When it comes to working in Human Resources, dealing with sensitive matters comes with the job. Occasionally, disciplinary hearings are necessary, and it’s essential to approach these events carefully. Discussing a problem with an employee can have a variety of outcomes. The legal risk inherent in disciplinary actions means that controlling the surrounding environment is essential. Creating a transcription of disciplinary hearings is one way that companies can protect themselves.
Recording all disciplinary hearings means that there is a ‘matter of fact’ answer to any disputes about what participants said. Transcripts help businesses keep those records. Using transcription services to produce important transcripts delivers credibility and third-party neutrality. When it comes to disciplinary hearings, transcription services should be part of your company’s legal risk mitigation strategy.
However, what if your use of transcription services could go even further and help defuse volatile situations before they occur?
Here, we will discuss how transcription services help HR teams, what kinds of transcription services work best for your disciplinary hearings and what you need to know to increase your chances of a positive outcome.
Protect your HR team’s reputation with an accurate account: Why transcription services are a must!
Disciplinary hearings can be tense affairs. An unhappy employee can create a more volatile situation. If an incident does happen, you’ll need the protection of careful, accurate records. Transcripts can play this role, but only if they’re accurate.
A lot of businesses find the low-price points of speech-to-text software enticing. It’s true that automatic speech recognition (ASR) is an ever-improving technology. However, this tool can’t yet deliver real accuracy. Today’s ASR often achieves rates of just 80% accuracy. That number rapidly deteriorates in the face of poor audio quality, cross talk or slurred speech. All these complications are likely to occur in a heated exchange.
If you need a transcript for legal purposes, you need human transcriptionists who can accurately identify speakers, proofread the results and deliver high accuracy guarantees.
Make it clear that you’re recording the meeting
By simply stating that you will be recording the meeting, you will put participants on their best behavior. Instantly, by recording the session, everything feels more official and serious. People understand that there will be an ‘official’ record and will act accordingly.
It’s also important from a legal standpoint to make people aware that they’re being recorded. If you start by stating that you’re recording and transcribing the meeting, employees can’t complain about that fact afterwards. By making it clear, and getting consent at the outset, you can prevent later complications.
Ultimately, the presence of recording equipment and promise of a full transcript is often enough to make a disciplinary hearing go smoothly. With verbatim transcripts for HR teams, you get a document that will have legal relevance.
Make sure your security is a priority
Data leaks from internal disciplinary hearings could cost your company’s reputation. It’s crucial that the transcription service you use takes data protection as seriously as possible.
There are a few main things to look out for when hiring a transcription company. The first thing to request is an NDA. It’s vital that your transcription provider signs a non-disclosure agreement to protect your information and prevent the transcriber from sharing it with anyone else.
Next, look for encryption policies. First, look out for an HTTPS web address. Following on from this, you want a transcription service that uses secure log-in portals with SSL or TLS encryption. These measures add a layer of security that keeps your private information private.
Finally, check the company’s ISO 27001 & 9001 accreditations, which indicate that they’re trustworthy and take customer security seriously.
If you want the most secure service, look for those that keep their transcriptions in-house and don’t engage with an offshore workforce. These measures help the provider enforce their privacy and security policies.
Use a live notetaker
With everyone’s smartphone doubling as a recording device, many people assume they can use these recordings and send them to their transcription services. However, the old ways are sometimes the best ways.
Transcription services that specialize in catering to the needs of HR teams still deliver live notetaking services. Live transcriptionists are professionals capable of typing 100+ words per minute. A transcription service can send one of these professionals to your door to transcribe your meeting live. The pricing is generally competitive with comparable recorded services. This service is ideal for disciplinary hearings.
While the recording of a meeting increases the seriousness of the occasion, the presence of a transcriptionist multiplies it by ten. A professional transcriptionist makes the hearing feel more official and knows how to record everything the parties say. When using transcription services to proactively deescalate volatile situations, this is your best choice.
Live notetakers also deliver added legal protections. You not only have a transcript, you also have a neutral, third-party witness to everything that occurred. That person can therefore testify to the events if there is a dispute.
Lastly, live notetakers take security to another level. Rather than having to send your data off-site, everything stays within your control. In fact, you have almost as much control as having your transcript made in-house, but without potential claims of ‘bias’ or ‘contamination.’ If you want to be extra sure of the security measures, you could even provide them with an air-gapped computer. These machines are physically isolated from any unsecure networks.
The right transcription service will provide legal protections and prevent escalation
If you’re concerned about disciplinary hearings, transcription services will deliver smoother outcomes and legal protections. You just need to make sure that you choose a service that provides accurate transcripts and security guarantees.
While many are moving towards inaccurate machine learning led ASR solutions transcription, the best solution for HR teams is still the traditional one. Having a transcriptionist onsite puts everyone on their best behavior, maximizes your control over your data and provides a third-party witness to events.
Recording disciplinary hearings will also deescalate the situation. If you don’t have time to plan ahead and get a notetaker onsite, recording the hearing and then transcribing it is your next best bet. Just make sure that any transcription service you send your recording to takes security seriously and respects your data. Striking partnerships with trustworthy transcription service firms like Verbit is a great way to build up trust and know that you’re getting a quality service. Reach out to Verbit today for more information about transcription for disciplinary hearings.