The quiet revolution: changing working practices for typists in the Public Sector
By Richard Phillips, Operations Director, OutSec
Outsourcing of operations within the public sector is slowly gaining in popularity and is being driven by two main factors:
- cost savings
- Flexibility and ease of access to private sector contractors
It is quite practical to use private companies to run areas as diverse as call centres and IT support. This is nothing new and has been used by authorities large and small for many years, particularly when finances are tight. The internet has taken this to a whole new level, thanks mainly to its integration with existing office practices.
A common area for successful outsourcing in the public sector has been the conventional role of the typist. Digital recorders enable sound files to be sent instantly and safely to remote internet workers, whereas before tapes could take days through the post.
The initial benefits of sending dictation out of the office are clear:
- Frees up of existing staff
- Frees up space
- Variable rather than a fixed cost
Less obvious are:
- Improvement in quality
- Better turnaround times
- Access to a highly skilled specialist and dedicated workforce
- Flexible capacity during busy and quiet periods .
Online outsourcing of typing has been a practical proposition for at least 8 years since the rollout of Broadband. OutSec (http://www.outsec.co.uk/) , a UK-based company with British secretaries, has been there since the beginning of this new market and has developed its own award-winning software to enable the secure encrypted transfer of files.
OutSec supplements existing in-house typing facilities for many in the public sector , from NHS trusts to local councils. Fraud offices are particularly keen to use OutSec’s experienced secretaries for the complicated and highly skilled art of legally admissible interview transcription.
OutSec Operations Director Richard Phillips makes the observation that “Just 3 years ago, outsourcing was an alternative and slightly off-the-wall option. It is now, as a result of the economic downtown, a mainstream choice. We are finding that more and more in the public sector are seeing the value of using a flexible off-site British typing resource that matches the ebbs and flows of their own operations. The question we get now is no longer “Should I outsource?” but “How can I use your services?”.
As more in the public sector make the move from analogue to digital voice recorders, the next logical step is to utilise the services of an online typing service. For more information call OutSec on 0870 243 0294 or go online to http://www.outsec.co.uk/.