Regardless of your industry, the chances are that interviews play a large part in what you do. Employers regularly interview applicants, while researchers conduct interviews with experts, test subjects, and more. You may even be a journalist who needs to interview different kinds of people on a regular basis. For each interview, a reliable transcript that you can return to time and again is fundamental for making sure you have an accurate record of the information you need.
That’s why many companies now consider interview transcription either in-house or, if time is a priority, from expert audio transcription providers. If you’re on the fence about whether you should join them, consider the following six advantages of transcribing interviews.
# 1 – A consistent way
to capture accuracy
If you intend to quote interview subjects during a research paper or similar, then word-for-word accuracy is fundamental. Fail to take care of this, and you could land yourself in liable legal issues, or even struggling to garner reliable interview sources in the future.
A transcript can ensure you never face this dilemma, especially if you consider the type of transcript you need ahead of time. Verbatim reporting, for example, captures interviews word for word, ensuring you remain on the right side of the law at all times.
Even in interview applications where quoting isn’t necessary, detailed note transcripts that focus more on crucial details and the context in which they’re stated can be a huge help. After all, trying to remember an interview by memory can see you confusing sentences and meanings in no time. That’s something you never need to worry about with an easy-to-follow detailed notes transcript or similar on-hand at all times.
# 2 – Fully engage
in an interview
When interviewing someone, it can take a lot of mental juggling. You’re not only asking relevant questions, you’re also trying to listen to the answers, paying attention to the details so that you can consider the next questions you want to ask. You also don’t want to miss anything, so you’ll even need to note everything down at the same time!
Transcribing an interview can actually make it easier to balance all of this. By recording the interview, you won’t need to rush to scribble down your notes. Instead, you can engage fully in what’s happening, ensuring you don’t miss anything important. And once you get a transcript, you can rest easy that you have an accurate record of everything that was said, especially if you use a professional transcription service.
Furthermore, while you may have pre-planned questions prepared, it is vital that you’re ready to get the most out of the interviewee in the moment, which means that you need to think of great follow up questions on the spot. Again, recording the interview and getting it transcribed will allow you to be present throughout the interview and get all the information you need without worry.
# 3 – A sure way
to save time
Attempting to record a one-hour interview in-house could take as long as eight hours. This is time you can’t afford to spare, and it’s a commitment you can skip by turning to transcription services. Using automated processes and the capabilities of expert transcribers, a reliable company will be able to get high-quality interview transcripts back with you easily.
What’s more, transcripts themselves can save you a great deal of time when it comes to revisiting what interviewees said, especially when you’re using easy-to-read detailed notes. By removing necessary breaks, pauses and digressions, options like these are an incredibly efficient choice for helping you to pinpoint critical information or revisit specific discussions points as you need to.
As simple as that, you can shave hours off your interview processes, making for increased efficiency elsewhere in your workplace, and guaranteeing that every interview reaps the results you’re after.
# 4 – An easy way to collaborate
across the workplace
Often, interviews and the findings discovered within require observation from more than one person. In fact, entire workplace departments often need access to each completed interview at a moment’s notice. Luckily, transcription offers an incredibly easy way to make that happen.
By removing the need for the sharing of the large audio or video files that you may have relied on until now, text transcription stands to make life easier for everyone. One small text document that you can store within your cloud software will be all it takes to make this work. Just make sure that you’re storing that information according to data compliance for fail-proof interview sharing moving forward.
A detailed transcript that removes superfluous content will also make it easier for even outside parties to understand the general gist of your findings. And, of course, verbatim undertakings guarantee that even colleagues that didn’t conduct an interview themselves can quote accurately, and within the context intended by your interviewee at all times.
# 5 – Lasting records
you can trust
Obviously, interview findings of any kind are most relevant during the direct aftermath of the interview itself. Recruitment usually occurs within a few weeks, and most researchers will put their findings together in no more than a year. Still, that’s not to say you shouldn’t always keep hold of easy-to-access interview transcripts for records you can trust even in five-ten years.
The reality is that you never know when you’ll need to return to even seemingly resolved interview processes. It may, for instance, emerge that an applicant lied about a qualification or previous job. In this instance, a recruiter would need to return to their interview to address and also prove the lie in question. Equally, a test subject may dispute a quote years down the line that you need to corroborate with the relevant evidence. On a far less dramatic note, you may also just want to return to certain studies to see whether you’re able to discover any new findings as you do.
Interview transcripts can always make this possible, especially when stored on computer files that don’t take up office space. With these to hand, you’ll find yourself in the ideal position to access interviews from years previous at the click of a button.
# 6 – A chance for
self-reflection
If interviews play a large part in your working life, then self-reflection is as crucial here as it would be for, say, your performance during meetings. More so, in some cases, considering that you’ll often be the only person in the interview room at the time, only by revisiting and evaluating your questions and general manner can you ever hope to improve.
Of course, memory is imperfect, especially when it comes to our own performances. You certainly wouldn’t be alone in recalling that an interview, or at least your side of it, went a lot better than it did. That’s no way to improve your processes, and it could see your interviews revealing limited insight, even moving forward.
A recorded and detailed transcript can make sure that doesn’t happen by providing an undeniable record of exactly how your interview progressed. As well as being able to assess your performance, this will allow you to gain critical insights regarding question quality and more from outside parties. It’s these external insights that could, ultimately, lead to improved question techniques and unrivalled revelations in future interviews. And, none of it would be possible without taking the time for transcription.
Interview transcription
isn’t a question
If you conduct interviews for fundamental business purposes, then it’s fair to say that interview transcription really isn’t a question. The benefits are plain to see, and they stand to make near enough every interview assessment process easier for you moving forward.
The key lies in understanding the transcription formats available and the different naming conventions that you’ll need to get your head around to identify which is best for you. Pair this with a knowledge of how you’re going to use transcripts for success moving forward, and you can bet the rest will soon follow.