28 Oct 2021
eDecree Response
4yWe are an administrative services company that does transcription (listen to audios and turn them into written transcripts) for the legal and insurance sectors. This means that there isn’t much social interaction outside of the break times, as it is disruptive to everyone else in the work area if staff is engaged in verbal conversation.
We have staff that have been with us for over 10 years and find that this work environment fits perfectly with their personality. We also have students that work for us all through their university period, sometimes for four to six years at a stretch, switching schedules every four months depending on their school schedules, because we are flexible in terms of working with their school schedules.
However, we have also had people work with us for very short stretches of anywhere from two weeks to six months, where they find that such a structured and quiet work environment is not for them. They require ongoing social interaction to keep them engaged, and find our office environment challenging to work in.
We have very clear expectations regarding staff breaks. Staff are able to take as long as they want for their unpaid lunch break as we realize some staff might have errands/personal appointments they would like to handle during that break. In addition, a total of 15 minutes of paid breaks are covered during an eight hour period. All production staff, including transcriptionists, are paid hourly, and paid for their entire workday, even if they work beyond their eight hours if needed, for any reason. This is managed using a time tracking system that staff are expected to track their time through.
We have always provided staff with the ability to take personal time to manage other commitments or health issues, sometimes for two to three months, depending on their circumstances. However, we do expect that when they are at work, they are meeting the expectations of their role. Every role has very clearly defined expectations, and if staff isn’t able to manage their time to meet expectations, they are provided tools and training to help them with managing their time effectively. This is the same as any other work environment where you have job expectations and a ramp-up time by which you are expected to meet those expectations.