If you are in the process of choosing a legal transcription provider, (or looking to change providers), you may not know how to find one that suits your needs. In this blog post, we look at how to choose a legal transcription provider and aim to give you some advice on what to look for. Also, we look at 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 legal 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. We like to say, it takes about four times the length of the sound file to transcribe it.
Where legal transcription is offered on a character count (on a per-line basis) these transcription companies are more likely to be based outside of the UK, which causes its own issues. 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 for your legal practice that deploy both of these charging methods, they should be able to tell you how their quote would compare to either charging model to enable you to compare like for like.
Hidden Costs
When looking at legal transcription providers, be vigilant about hidden costs. Some transcription companies dealing in legal transcription 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 rate 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. It can also be time-consuming. It requires adverts to be placed, time spent selecting candidates, as well as the time required to interview candidates. When you have recruited your successful candidate, you have induction and training before an employee can begin to 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 141.4 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in the UK in 2018, the equivalent to 4.4 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 your legal transcription, you would not have these additional costs (that are in addition to your hourly rate salary).
Outsourcing v In-House
If a transcription company that specialises in legal transcription, 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 OutSec have a Cost Calculator created independently by Stanbridge Associates.
Confidentiality, Data Security and Data Protection
When choosing a legal 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. This means they are therefore unlikely to have the following standards which relate to data security:
ISO 27001
ISO 27001 is an internationally recognised information security standard. It is designed to establish and maintain an effective systematic approach to managing data security and sensitive information. The Information Security Management System preserves data, confidentiality, integrity and availability of information by applying a risk management process.
The great thing with ISO 27001 is that it aligns so very well with GDPR.
Leigh Ronczka from Pivot Point Security was asked: Can aligning with ISO 27001 or pursuing/achieving ISO 27001 certification help you comply with the GDPR? The short answer is “Yes”.
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials is a UK government information assurance scheme, operated by the National Cyber Security Centre (a part of GCHQ). It is required for any contracting party with HM Government.
Therefore, these standards help provide some guarantee that the legal transcription company adheres to GDPR legislation when it comes to securing data. It is the responsibility of your company to ensure that the chosen provider has all the relevant data security policies and protections in place to meet GDPR legislation.
Do they Specialise in Legal Transcription?
Most transcription companies do not specialise in legal transcription work. Generally, transcription companies either have a reputation for one and tack on other sectors to gain additional business. Few, however, actually specialise solely in dealing with legal transcription. This means that digital dictation files are farmed out to banks of typists with no experience of working in the legal sectors, meaning they do not know legal terminology, jargon or indeed commonly used Latin terms.
So, What Questions Should You Ask Before You Choose A Legal Transcription Provider?
Here are the questions you should ask before you choose a legal transcription provider.
Do they specialise solely in legal transcription work? Or do they accept transcription work from all areas of business life?
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?
Does the company hold an ISO 27001 certificate?
Does the company hold a valid Cyber Essentials certificate?
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?