Transcribing Interviews: Why it Can Enhance Your Recruitment, HR and Marketing

Interviews may happen with surprising frequency across your business, from those being conducted to fill vacancies to those being done to complete the latest piece of company news.

What may also be surprising is the inaccuracy of some of the information being collected. For example, if an interviewer is armed only with pen and paper or a laptop, would they manage to accurately document every word that was said? Missing out just one or two words could alter the tone or answer significantly. This could have a profound effect on the outcome of the interview when the notes are read back.

This is why many businesses now rely on audio transcription services to help streamline their interviews and enhance their HR offering.

In this edition of our blog, we look at why transcribing interviews brings a benefit to both your recruitment and HR departments.

Should I transcribe interviews?

If your current go-to is pen and paper (or your laptop), it might be time to turn to a more efficient way of conducting your face-to-face or online interviews.

Whilst making notes allows you to refer back to comments made during the interview and double-check the questions you wish to ask, this can also lead to inconsistencies during the interview. Of course, you should always take notes during an interview and have some questions prepared so the time is adequately filled, but once the interview is over, what if you can’t fully understand your notes or you’ve documented an answer incorrectly? Alternatively, what if there was a disturbance or technical issue during the interview?

Having an interview transcribed is the way to avoid these potential hiccups, ensuring you obtain the complete set of information and sidestep the risk of misquoting interviewees. Not only that, but a transcription helps you remain compliant when tackling HR issues, providing accuracy for relaying important company messages and allowing for full transparency when assessing applicants.

When should I consider interview transcription?

There are a number of times when an interview situation may arise, and some such cases could benefit from the introduction of interview transcribing. You could choose to implement interview transcribing for any of the following:

• Job interviews
• HR meetings
• Marketing
• Academic interviews
• Research
• Training

How can interview transcription services enhance my interviewing techniques?

We took the top three from our list above to demonstrate why interview transcriptions can refine your best practices and ensure you give your interviewee more focus, helping to prevent any oversight of miss vital information.

Job interviews

Perhaps the first type of interview that comes to mind is the one to fill vacancies within a business. These are the ideal situations for interview transcribing, as HR teams or members of management can focus on listening to answers and asking questions without being bogged down in endless notetaking and typing.

You guarantee better engagement with the candidate and can work off their answers in the moment, rather than sticking to a stiff script that may cover subjects already spoken about. It also means that when it comes to reviewing the candidates, you have an exact record of everything that was said by both parties.

HR interviews

Alongside job interviews, HR meetings and interviews are another ideal situation for transcription services to be utilised. The subject matter of HR interviews can sometimes be delicate and require exact documentation. Failing to have a perfect record of what was said could result in outcomes that are unfavourable for the business, or the individual concerned, and could even see legal action being taken.

Whilst HR meetings tend to be confidential, there are some occasions where they do not need to be. If transcribed, they can then be used as training materials to help improve the workplace.

Marketing

In today’s digital world, more and more events are being held online. Whether it’s interviews with senior management, roadshows that showcase new elements of the business or a promotional video to push a product, if it can be shared far and wide, it will be.

Transcription can be an extremely valuable tool here, especially when senior members of the team or guest speakers are being interviewed about something the company may be announcing or promoting. With a transcription of the interview, additional marketing materials can be quickly prepared without the need to skim through notes or try and remember certain parts of what was said. This can then be added to company intranets, social media platforms, websites or emails for quick consumption by the target audience.

What are the benefits of using transcription in interviews?

We’ve touched upon some key benefits already – accuracy, compliance and transparency are key. Transcribing an interview delivers multiple benefits, which include:

1.      Accurate records of the conversation

As mentioned earlier, an interview transcription gives you an accurate record of what took place. With the ability to check it back rather than having to memorise it, you gain a clearer understanding of the interview and how it went. This documentation can be used as valid evidence should things head down a legal route, which is especially poignant when it comes to HR involvement.

2.      Time saving

Interviews can be lengthy. Employment agency Reed tells us you can expect an interview to last 45 minutes to 1 hour. This could mean a huge volume of notes to read through, as well as potentially listening to a recording for much longer than necessary as you try to find the vital part of the interview required. With a transcription ready to read, you can find the parts you require quickly and return your focus to other aspects of your job much faster.

3.      Easily repurpose content

Should the interview be for marketing purposes, you may want it to be used on multiple platforms. You could take snippets from the transcribed text or add the complete transcription to run alongside the video file. This can be particularly useful for your SEO efforts as Google will be able to see exactly what the content is about and rank you accordingly.

You may also want to add it to social media or write a blog – with a transcribed interview, you’ll be able to do both without having to listen through the entire interview to find the parts you need.

4.      Ease of translation

Whilst many transcription services also offer translation services, it may not be something you initially consider. However, it could be incredibly beneficial, especially if you require information to send to colleagues overseas.

If you don’t opt for a translation service but do choose to have interviews transcribed, you could run the transcription through a translation tool yourself. It is worth being aware that some tools are better than others, and so the accuracy of translations could vary. Choosing a translation company will likely provide you with a more accurate document.

5.      Increased accessibility

With a complete interview transcription, you can rest assured that all who need access to it will have it. Whether it’s non-native speakers, or colleagues with hearing impairments who may find audio files difficult, you help to provide access where otherwise it may have been restricted. These five benefits of transcribing interviews may have given you some inspiration. If so, contact our friendly team at McGowan Transcriptions. We have more than thirty years of experience transcribing files from a host of industries. Whether you require interview transcriptions, legal transcriptions, medical transcriptions or even complete translations, you can rely on McGowan Transcriptions for complete accuracy and a speedy process.