Outsourcing Transcription of Disciplinary Meetings

Disciplinary hearings are becoming a minefield for companies to negotiate, with the risk of being sued for defamatory remarks or discrimination an ever present threat. This is why many companies are resorting to having all disciplinary meetings transcribed by an independent and unbiased agency, not related to the company or the individual under disciplinary review in any way. If you are planning to outsource transcription of disciplinary reviews, meetings or hearings, here are some pointers to help you get the best results.

Please see our website or some of other articles for general tips on how to get the best results for transcription. These pointers are specifically for disciplinary hearings.

First and foremost it is vitally important to explain to the person in the hearing that you want to record the meeting, and get their permission to record. In some cases they may also wish to record the meeting, and you may be able to agree to make one recording and have it transcribed by an independent outsourced transcription agency, who then sends a copy back to both parties. Such an agreement may actually help to start to repair what has seemed like an irrevocable communication breakdown between the two parties.

It is also important to make the best quality recording possible, because as a rule a verbatim transcription (in which every um, er, laugh, cough etc. is transcribed) is required. This is because it helps to appreciate the finer nuances of what's being said; it may also help to distinguish truth from lies, and will clearly indicate any hesitations and faltering. In order to have your transcript as complete as possible you will need a good quality recording, because where the recording is poor quality the transcriptionist will be unable to hear all the words. If words are missing in areas that could be significant, the whole point of creating a transcript will have been defeated.

In order to produce a good quality recording I would strongly recommend using a digital recording method. Please see our website or some of the other articles I have written for full information on digital recording, why it is the best method and how to get started.

It is very useful to start the meeting in a formal way, stating who is present and their roles in the meeting. An example might be: ' The purpose of the disciplinary hearing is to discuss the incident of the 12 July 2007, which may have constituted a breach of the disciplinary procedure. Present at the meeting are: June Clements, Chief Executive, MyCompany; John Doe, General Manager; Jane Smith, PA to the Chief Executive and note taker; Mark Alumbi, observer and representative for John Doe.'

Assuming everyone knows each other then you clearly don't want to start a disciplinary procedure by asking everyone round the table to introduce themselves, in the same way as you might in a more informal situation, so this introduction helps the transcriptionist to clarify who's speaking. It can also be helpful to include a note when you send your recording on the lines of 'the person who has had the hearing brought against them is John Doe. He and the Chief Executive, June Clements, do most of the talking. Jane Smith only makes the occasional comment to clarify an issue and Mark Alumbi only speaks twice near the end.'

Confidentiality is obviously a major issue with disciplinary procedures. Most outsourced transcription companies will have their own policy on confidentiality, but will also be happy to sign a specific confidentiality agreement with you.

Make sure you agree a specific turnaround time with the outsourcing agency - bearing in mind that it might cost you more if you need a very fast turnaround time, and also that verbatim transcription will cost more than otherwise. You may choose to have what we call 'intelligent verbatim' instead, but please make sure you discuss this with your chosen agency so that they know what is required.

And finally, if you have started to build bridges in a small way by agreeing to send the transcript to the person in the hearing, make sure that you do it - or you'll be in worse position than when you started!

About the Author
Anne Hickley has many years experience in a wide variety of administrative posts. Roles have included provision of secretarial services, PA work, project management and administration, academic and business report writing and editing, and recruitment. She runs Penguin Office Services (http://www.penguinofficeservices.co.uk)and Penguin Transcription (http://www.penguin-transcription.co.uk)
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