VR, $$ and Greed
Posted By: Cece on 2005-08-13
In Reply to: There are a lot of smaller companies out there - sm
You have put the situation into words better than I have seen before. I will definitely post my resume now in hopes of getting on with a smaller company. I worked for a large national and everything was about what was best for them, not the MTs. Regarding VR, I ultimatly lost my job because of it. Strange as it may seem, the system actually picked up foreign accents better than good English. Also, to keep from having to admit that the top exec goofed in paying a fortune for the system, they said it was working just fine. The end product was not from the VR system, it was from MTs deleting the VR dictation and transcribing from scratch. All this said, they were able to cut roughly 2/3 of the transcriptionists. This was a large clinic and they lost a number of doctors who refused to use the VR because of risks associated with it. Such a mess!
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Yep. It's the greed of the suits and the greed of the
x
Exactly!! It is greed!
nm
To Cece regarding VR, $$, and greed.
Thanks for posting your experience. This is what I've been saying to people of Transcend regarding VR for a while now. Your statement about "strange as it may seem, VR picked up foreign accents better" was very interesting. When we think about it, it shouldn't really seem that strange because after all WE are teaching the VR system what the ESLs are saying. Every single time the system got it wrong, we had to replace it until the system actually "recognized" it on it's own and started typing it automatically. It wasn't the machine picking it up on it's own and doing well, it was the skill of the MTs constantly correcting the same thing over and over and over until the machine finally "got it". Once the MTs poured all their sweat and tears into correcting it, they were no longer needed as much on that account and were switched to others that needed the training. Slowly, but surely we became less valuable. Kind of like the production management team Transcend just let go.
I'm starting to see why so many new people are hired on at 10 cpl now, why the "policy" as far as raises had changed, and why the new direction for team leaders. If the plan had been to transition all accounts to VR all along, they wouldn't be able to get many people to accept new jobs by coming right out and telling them they were being hired for 5 or 6 cpl. They had to offer some sort of enticement. By making the new base rate higher and doing away with annual increases, they would save money realizing that the rates would be cut to 60% in the long run with editing. They must have realized that a lot of the people there for years who had started at 8 cpl or less would be upset with the changes and the problems - and would need to be replaced as they left. Just my opinion, but maybe this was also the reason for the cut-throat approach to promoting "get work while you can" when it's low and not taking an active role in remedying the situation. As long as they didn't have to come right out and say we need to cut back, the MLSs would do it on our own because we couldn't afford to wait for work to miraculously appear.
I'm quite confident, and actually know for a fact, that some who had been working there for a while were told of the team leader positions before they were even announced - otherwise how would I have gotten that inside information about the PMs that I had posted on the Forum before it was announced?. Also just my opinion, but what a convenient way to keep the "cheerleaders" who started at less than 10 cpl happy. Offer them an hourly position because the management knows for a fact they would never stick around for 5 or 6 cpl just editing if they are producing 400 lines per hour while typing. The rest of the MLSs would eventually get sick of scraping and clawing for work and would leave on their own. A whole new labor force with a whole fresh set of people not aware of the problems brewing just under the surface or even close to a clue of what will hit them in the future. A whole new work force that won't be eligible for raises for 3 years and most likely won't stay on anyway when they see what is going to happen.
Cece, you're living proof regarding what I had been saying about needing less people for VR in the long. Someone emailed me the other day and said that it was told to them by management that at this point 60% of the work will still need to be typed. I wonder what that percentage will be once the VR system is fully operational and running at peak performance, and the usual "slow times" roll around. If we thought it was cut-throat before, imagine it when only 10 people are needed to edit a huge account like the one BT started out with on ERs, which actually happened at Transcend. Now just imagine the quality of that work when people are scrambling to do as much as they can as fast as they can to supplement the 40% reduction in rate. Quality won't be as important as making their usual paycheck to pay their bills OR they will be hiring brand-spanking new MTs fresh out of school or new to at-home work that think they've won the lottery at 10 cpl. They won't be paying for quality, they'll be paying for quantity.
see? greed IS good. NM
x
Whatever. You obviously support greed,
n
It's that 'ol GREED factor, again! - no/msg.
x
Mr. You-Lose-Ski is posterchild for GREED.
X
Greed is good? That is EXACTLY what capitalism
is all about. Make no mistake I am NOT defending certain MTSO's - I am simply pointing out to you that THIS (greed and corruption) is EXACTLY what you get with a capitalistic society.
This DOES NOT mean we have to give up freedoms, only that we have to demand Congress level the playing field - After all THEY gave the corporations the power and the rights they have... starting in the late 1800s
WHY ARE SO MANY WILLING TO just scream bloody murder at a system THEY support?
If you want do change things, roll up your sleeves and get to work, otherwise, give this company willing to PAY you for work a try - before you wish you had.
It's called greed and most companies are starting to become
guilty of that. They are not the only one.
to make sure the accounts are over-covered -- greed
FN is so very greedy. Keep 'em over-covered for TAT. Keep the gals scraping for bits. They would rather have way too many MTs than have just enough. I see things have certainly not changed...
Corporate greed is driving it right out of existence
can afford to live in the United States and stay in MT. More & more of us are getting out. Some, like me, are trapped... been at it for too long (30+ years), and most of us are now what you would call the Working Poor. Back in my 20's when I came to that 'crossroads', I should've gone with my friend and learned court-reporting. So far their jobs haven't been teetering on the brink of extinction (yet), like ours are in MT.
That was a couple of years ago. Greed, India, not enough
QA, lies, lies, and more lies. They lost a couple of accounts and they lost a major account, what little was left wasn't much. I've heard L started another company and M is still her slave. Don't know any other details.
That was a couple of years ago. Greed, India, not enough
QA, lies, lies, and more lies. They lost a couple of accounts and then they lost a major account, what little was left wasn't much. Owners divorced. I've heard L started another company and M is still her slave. Don't know any other details.
Until about the last year it was a great place to work and it took a lot of adjusting going from gross lines to 65 lines.
hmm..be careful of your confidence among such greed... who will the team leader be?
nm
Yep, greed. The love of money is the root of all evil. NM
xx
You can call it greed, I call it feeling like
I am back in the 80s with the money I am pulling in. SS, retirement check and my paycheck, cha-ching. Not planning on taking it with me, never. Love to travel and have 4 places planned for this year. High maintenance lady here. Ta-Ta.
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