Transcription Confidential: 4 Essential Questions to Ask Your Transcription Firm
Confidentiality is of the utmost importance when it comes to your market research. Respondents share thoughtful insights that help shape the future of the product or service that your client has entrusted us all to support, evaluate and suggest the forward path for.
The research team understands what is at stake. Your transcription firm is a vital part of that team and has exposure to the insights obtained through your research. As this information is of such great value, how the audio and video are handled and kept confidential is very important. Asking your transcription provider these four questions can help you determine if you feel the security is right for your research.
Will the audio be divided into smaller parts or given to one transcriber?
For confidentiality, the brand and research team should prefer divided audio. Divided audio means that one transcriber never is exposed to all your research. Also, it is more challenging to gain context when a transcriber only types 10 or 20 minutes of the audio versus the full 2 hour group. No single transcriber should gain access to your whole research.
What system audio transfer and storage system does the firm use?
While off the shelf programs like Dropbox are convenient, security and control are not solely in the hands of the firm. Reputable transcription firms have their own audio storage and project management systems. At FFT, our clients can choose our proprietary TOPS system at no cost to the client and can also access transcripts though a dashboard if they prefer. Audio never leaves our control because we type directly into our TOPS platform, enabling us to see progress. With that being said, the contractor doesn’t control the audio, we do. Systems like this heighten confidentiality.
Are you outsourcing your transcribing and who do you use?
Who has your research and your client’s work is critical to confidentiality. If your research is passing though more than one firm, your team should be aware so you can make sure this step makes everyone comfortable. We support many clients and that means we white label some of our transcripts. Whatever brand is on the transcript, our full support team, decades of experience and very strict confidentiality exists for all our clients, both direct and indirect.
Who signs nondisclosure agreements, what does this agreement protect against and can the transcription firm enforce the agreement?
There are serious legal consequences for the violation of a non-disclosure agreement if the transcription firm has the ability to enforce the agreement. A legal team supporting your transcription is as important as the agreement itself. A small work from home transcription firm may have lower rates, but may not have the legal protection needed or the ability to actually enforce agreements. Larger, more experienced firms can both enforce the agreement and actively look for violations for the protection of their clients.
Since 2003, FFTranscription has been expertly transcribing in marketing research and for thousands of businesses across the United States. If you need transcription services for your marketing research, why don’t you give us a call at (215) 367-4040? We’re ready to handle all the details so you can focus forward!
