Braille transcription, do you need it?
June 3, 2009
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) of 1995, legally obliges companies to provide auxiliary aids or services to make it easier for people with a disability to make use of any services that it offers to the public.Through the work of charity, Vision Support, VST has had contact with a number of individuals who have been unclear as to their rights and been unsure as to the process of obtaining alternative formats.
VST’s services assist companies in making alternative formats more available to the Visually Impaired. This is not just a legal requirement but is of a real help to the end user who may have to go to unreasonable or uncomfortable lengths to be able to access the information that is sent to them. It provides a barrier to accepting and using new services. If a Visually Impaired person feels wrongly excluded from provision of goods or services they have recourse to the courts and can claim damages, not only for financial loss, but also for injury to feelings, and there is no limit to damages that can be awarded for the latter.
David Scott, Managing Director of VST says:
In our work with companies two of the more common questions are:
”What are the limits on the materials that we have to produce?” and
“What is a reasonable adjustment?”
The answer to the first is that service providers are required, by the DDA, to be proactive rather than reactive. There is a duty to consider all the ways in which you provide information and make sure that is accessible to everyone. In short any materials that you produce and send out to customers existing or potential must include those with a Visual Impairment. Special offers, adverts, or general update materials must be available and sent out in the format of the customer’s choice. The Act does not limit the communication spectrum.
In terms of reasonable adjustment there are no hard and fast rules, no single solution. However, the production and availability of materials in the format selected by the customer and available across all communications is a good start.
As a general rule the more important the information the more vital that it is available quickly in alternative formats. For example:
- A change to an existing service which some or all customers will need to be aware of in order to take action.
- Essential information such a labeling, safety notices, evacuation procedures.
- Information from which important decisions will be made.
Contracts.- Confidential of personal information.
If the information concerns a product, offer or service that is only available for a limited period, and customers must respond quickly to take advantage of it, you will need to ensure that Visually Impaired customers are not disadvantaged by delays in the production of alternative formats.
However, since the DDA became law additional legislation and regulatory guidelines have come into effect.
In December 2007 the Disability Equality Duty became law. The main aim of the Disability Equality Duty is to get public authorities to think and act proactively on disability equality issues from the start. This will help them to identify from the beginning, where and how, unnecessary barriers are created to the equal participation of disabled users of their services as well as current and potential employees. This is not just about physical/sensory barriers but also barriers which are created by the way services, policies or practices are designed. Understanding these barriers will help ensure the public sector plays its full roll in enabling disabled people to participate in all aspects of society as equal citizens.
This duty is therefore aimed at ensuring, for the first time ever, that public authorities take responsibility for tackling institutional disability-related discrimination. This is a really exciting step-change compared to the individual rights focus of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). It is not about more individual rights; instead it is about improving public authorities’ policies and services as a whole for all disabled people.
The general duty applies to all public authorities (with a handful of specialised exceptions). This includes government departments, local authorities and schools. Voluntary and private sector organisations are also subject to the general duty where they are delivering services commissioned by public authorities.
This includes access to alternative formats.
The Financial Services Authority published guidelines under the heading “treating customers fairly.” Outcome 3 of this guidance was to ensure that “Consumers are provided with clear information and are kept appropriately informed before, during and after the point of sale.” The FSA argue the clear information is crucial to ensuring that consumers are treated fairly. In particular where consumers do not take advice and must rely on the clarity of information when making decisions. It states that “a firm must pay due regard to the information needs of its clients, and communicate information to them in a way which is clear, fair and not misleading.
This incorporates the provision of accessible formats.
When considering your current and future policies, procedures and practices, seeking merely to comply with the letter of the law is a high risk approach as the DDA is difficult to interpret. For example, working practices may be challenged in the courts and, until a body of case law is established, it would be imprudent to quibble over whether a customer is covered by the Act. Best practice is not only the most prudent option but it serves all of your customers to the best possible standard and does not discriminate between them. To work within the spirit of the Act is not only the best option for an individual company but for the end user who will remain loyal to you and recommend you to family and friends. The argument for adopting a best policy approach is not limited to the obeying the law but has its roots in commercial benefits and social responsibility.
Contact VST if you would like to know more about transcribing your documents into Braille or alternative formats.
Are you living your dream?
May 19, 2009
Marmite. Either love it or hate it. The same can be said for IT (that’s “information technology” before you get the wrong idea).
Just a few years ago I never thought I would have my dream job where I could work when I wanted (and needed) to, from wherever I was. Our technology really does help with a work/life balance. In this Computer Weekly article I share my “living the dream” experience.
Would flexible working times and places suit you? Would you like to be able to work remotely from your office, perhaps whilst mobile, and have a secretarial support service available 24 hours a day so you’re free to take the day off knowing you can ”catch up” in the evenings?
I’m interested to learn you views. Please leave a comment below.
Jayne
Widows and orphans can ruin your presentation
April 24, 2009
Widows and orphans are the terms used to describe a heading left on its own at the bottom of a page or a single line of a paragraph appearing at the top of a new page. Using widow/orphan control and Keep With Next codes ensures your documents are professional presented.
The Keep With Next code is a little known feature of Microsoft Word. The code is applied to a paragraph and used mainly for headings in a document to prevent them appearing on their own at the bottom of a page. Using the Keep With Next code means the document can flow without having to insert page breaks or empty line spaces, it will be less prone to errors in formatting and speeds up the process of producing professionally presented documents.
Word 2007: On the Home ribbon, click on the button to show the Paragraph dialogue box.
Word 2003: Click on Format-Paragraph
The option to choose Keep With Next appears on the Line and Page Breaks tab (pictured).
Increase your speed and use shortcut keys.
Press and hold the Alt key then press letters O, P, X.
If you use the show/hide feature (¶ button), you will see the small square dot at the beginning of your paragraph which means Keep With Next is applied.
If you liked this tip please leave a comment in the box at the bottom of this page.
Recession-busting advice from Britain’s Sales Trainer of the Year
February 19, 2009
One of our clients – Andy Bounds (we helped type his best-selling book The Jelly Effect for him) – has won the prestigious title of Britain’s Sales Trainer of the Year 2008/9.
One of the key reasons for his success is his unparalleled ability to help organisations sell more, especially in these troubled times (his clients won £3 billion last year!).
I asked him for some top tips on how to sell more in a recession. This is what he said:
- More than ever, it is imperative to deliver a significant, measurable return on investment (ROI) for your clients. They just will not spend unless they can see they will be in a better place after buying from you.
- This means, of course, that traditional selling messages – “about us”, “our credentials”, “why we are great” – won’t work any more, because they don’t highlight ROI.
- Instead, when talking to potential customers, our sole focus must be on them – not us – and the future value they want us to bring. To do this, simply ask lots of future-based questions, to find what’s crucial to them, such as:
- What are you looking to achieve here?
- How will you know it’s worked?
- How would you judge our working relationship to be a success? etc.
- Clarity on their desired future state will guide your ensuing discussions. After all, which legal practice would you buy from:
- Practice A: who said “We are experts in X, X and X, have X partners in X locations and are specialists in X”; or,
- Practice B: “When we spoke last week, you said that – in the current climate – your key focus has to be on your core business. You want to give all your time and energy to it. We can help you do that, by removing the current time you’re spending on certain legal issues, freeing you up to …”
It’s an obvious choice. Notice how the Practice B repeatedly used the word “you”. If you’re talking about the client, you’re helping them. If you keep talking about yourself, you’re selling. And nobody wants to be sold to these days.
It’s good advice, isn’t it? Simple, obvious and practical. Andy has lots of other free advice about wining business on his Resource centre – click here to take a look.
Or, if you feel your practice could do with an immediate injection of new business, go straight to the man himself on andy@andybounds.com.
Do you want to know how outsourcing works?
February 5, 2009
Outsourcing typing must be one of the simplest and quickest ways of increasing efficiency, controlling overhead costs whilst at the same time, improving your lifestyle. Work is produced faster, pay as you use means costs are controlled and outsourcing removes the headaches of recruiting, training, re-training, finding holiday/sickness cover and, if staffing is reduced too, it also reduces the amount of management time needed in running your business.
So with all of the free trials on offer, promises of a value added services from template production and superfast turnaround times, what is stopping you from having a go?
This article is lengthy and it contains detail of our processes.
- Do you use a digital dictation system already? If no, go to question 2. If yes, then skip number 2 and go directly to question 3.
- Every firm is set up slightly differently and each individual has their preference to how they work with dictation. Below are questions we ask you, to find out which is the best dictation system for you to use.
- Do you sit at your desk and work at your computer? If so, we will offer you our Winscribe Author dictation program, at no cost to you, which can be installed on your computer or laptop. This program works with a Philips Speechmike which plugs into your PC. Creating a new dictation is as simple as creating a new email. You can type notes to your dictation and also attach documents, if, for example, you needed to send us a specific template or perhaps a document which needs copy typing or amending.
- Are you on the move? If you dictate away from the office, prefer walking around and generally don’t like wires, then my favourite, the Philips Pocket Memo, is a good choice for you. Instead of using tapes, the Pocket Memo has a memory card and the device has the familiar slide control. Once you’ve dictated onto your Pocket Memo, the sound files need to be transferred to the Document Direct typists.
- No software needs to be installed and you can send your dictation from any computer connected to the internet. Simply go to our website to upload your dictations direct from your device. Our help guide is available here.
- If you’re dictating a lot of small jobs then uploading onto the website might be a little time consuming and fiddly for you. Winscribe’s Importer program can be installed on your computer. The Importer program is constantly scanning your PC for new dictations, so when you connect your Pocket Memo to your computer it copies them and sends them across the internet direct to the Document Direct typists.
- Do you work with your mobile phone? Winscribe’s dictation software for Blackberry is now available from Document Direct. Using your Blackberry as an all-in-one device means you can send your dictation from anywhere, receiving your work back to your phone too with mobile email.
- All of the above options are subject to your company IT infrastructure (if any) but are cost effective and require very little capital outlay.
- You already have a dictation system and depending on which type you have there are a number of solutions for you.
- If you use Winscribe we will liaise with your software assurance provider to configure your system so that Document Direct appears as an additional typist group. You may also be interested in Winscribe’s 360 Degree product which tracks the progress of each dictation which is outsourced.
- If you use the BigHand dictation system then we can arrange for the BigHand Outsource Module to be installed onto your system, at no cost to you. The Outsource Module adds Document Direct as an additional typist to your company. Your fee earners can choose to send dictations direct to us or an administrator can choose which dictations to drag/drop to the Document Direct typist. The progress of the outsourced dictations can be tracked and will show on the screen when the dictation is finished and the fee earner should expect their work to be in their system.
- Philips/Olympus systems have their own proprietary software but the sound files are produced in the DSS format which is compatible with the Document Direct system. As each firm is set up differently and has unique needs we will liaise with your IT department to install and configure Winscribe’s Importer program (see above).
- If you have any other dictation system then we would ask that you email a sample sound file to us so that we can check compatibility with the Document Direct system.
- So now the dictation system has been chosen the next stage is telling us what documents you need typing.
- If you have a bank of standard documents, templates and precedents then simply transfer them over to us.
- If you have some standard templates but are not happy with them, tell us. We will modernise them, add word processing features such as automatic numbering, page numbering, headers and footers - at no added cost to you. A sample of our templates is the Particulars of Claim template.
- If you have a house style, or would like one, tell us. We will build up a knowledge base on your preferred style of documents so they’re produced just the way you like them.
- What happens after the dictation is typed? How do you collect your finished work? Again, each firm and individual will have their own preferred method.
- We can email documents to a preferred email address.
- This can be direct to a fee earner, or to an appointed secretary. In many cases it’s the secretaries that we’re helping as they are far too busy with their PA duties, being an unqualified fee earner, and they prefer to choose which dictations to outsource.
- Each individual author can have the work sent to as many email addresses as required and can be changed at any point. It’s useful for any users who have mobile email, are not always connected to a company network and perhaps want copies to be sent to an administrator.
- The completed documents can be collected from our website and downloaded. Whilst this system cuts down email traffic it is necessary to have a computer connected to the internet.
- Work can be completed within the firm’s case management system. We will liaise with your IT department to discuss your infrastructure and requirements for us to connect remotely to your systems.
- We can email documents to a preferred email address.
- How much does it all cost? Once you’ve decided out which dictation system you’re using the cost of outsourcing to Document Direct is based purely on the amount of dictation sent to us. We base our charges on the length of the recordings and have just one standard rate, regardless of priority or urgency. We produce a report which totals your dictations and forms the basis of our invoice. Our reports can be as detailed as you wish and can even include a client reference so you can assign your typing charges as a disbursement to client files.
Cost = number of minutes x £1.30
You may have lots of questions still unanswered in which case don’t hesitate to drop me an email or give us a call.
Thinking of becoming an author?
January 19, 2009
After our success in helping Andy Bounds produce his number 1 best selling business book on Amazon, The Jelly Effect, I’m being asked by budding authors how to get started. Well I’m not the expert - just the typist - so I’ve spoken to Fiona Shaw who is a publisher. Here’s what she has to say on the matter …
People may well have the ability to write - or dictate - a book, but getting it down on paper’s the easy part. Thousands of new titles are published every week, and a good percentage of those books have tiny print runs, or end up being pulped, as they’re just not what the public are looking for. There’s no point in putting hours and hours of work into something that noboby else is interested in reading - that’s just vanity publishing. But if you’ve established a strong marketing base, and are clear about why you want to write a book, then we can help. Non-fiction’s a good starting point, especially in the business field - these questions might help you clarify a few things first:
- Why do you want to write a book? Do you want to establish yourself as an ‘expert’ in your field, or have people asked you for information or advice you’ve given them in written form? Do you want to make lots of money from it, or do you want to use it as a tool to promote your business or skills?
- Who’s your audience? Where’s the market for it? There are thousands and thousands of books on sale in every bookshop - let alone online - so the chances of the average customer finding you there are pretty slim. But - if you’re aiming for a specific market that can be targeted by a mailing list, or through an event - the chance of producing a good quality, in-demand book increases rapidly.
- What’s the competition? What else is out there in the field you want to enter, and how successful are they? Why is your idea or product unique?
- Have you thought about structure? Before you try and get everything down on paper, come up with a synopsis, and a chapter by chapter breakdown of what you want to cover, and what will fall in each category. Where are the gaps? Do you homework, and fill in as much detail as possible.
- How will your book work? Pages and pages of text aren’t going to appeal. Can you supply images to illustrate it? It’s by no means compulsory, but you need to give some thought as to the sort of illustrations that might bring it to life, and whether you’ll have to pay royalties to use or commission an illustrator or photographer.
Is your subject matter broad enough to make a book? You might have a very specific skill or interest, but how useful is it to anyone else? Is there a big enough audience to make it worth doing?
If you would like more information about publishing then contact Fiona Shaw at www.3662008.co.uk
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