How much time can you save with speech recognition software?

A lot of people in the UK still deem speech recognition tech as a novelty.

Maybe they tell their smart speaker to play music because it’s faster than searching on their phone, or they set the occasional reminder on their smartwatch, but they’ve no idea just how much time they could save, particularly in their professional lives, by using speech recognition software.

So, how much time can you actually save with platforms like Nuance Dragon Professional Group, and Dragon Medical One (DMO)? In today’s blog, we’ll be answering that very question, before breaking down some real-world examples of how this tech can save you crucial hours in your work life.

How does speech recognition work?

There are a number of uses for speech recognition software, but the tentpole feature of Nuance products is automated transcriptions. You simply speak aloud the words you’d otherwise have had to type, and the words will appear on screen instantaneously.

If you’ve never used speech recognition software like this before, it might be because you assumed the tech isn’t accurate enough. But we’ve come a long way in recent years; Nuance now boasts 99% accuracy on their speech recognition platforms. So, even if it does make a few mistakes (or you need to make adjustments to the text for any other reason), it’ll still be far faster than if you were typing manually. Which brings us to…

How much faster are digital transcriptions than typing?

Digital transcriptions with Nuance speech recognition software are three times faster than typing. Research from Kardome has shown that while most people can manually type between 38 to 40 words per minute, speech recognition tech can typically transcribe 125 to 150 words per minute. This means that, regardless of what you’re transcribing, doing it automatically could save you collective hours in your work week. And that’s particularly important in admin-intensive jobs, and jobs where you’re required to take notes all day.

Ways to save time with speech recognition software

So, what are some of the real-world ways you can save time using speech recognition software?

• Jobs within the healthcare sector (and we’ve touched on this a lot in recent blogs) are often very admin-heavy. Physicians in particular are required to do extensive paperwork on any given day, as well as take notes throughout appointments. Speech recognition software (particularly Dragon Medical One) can dramatically trim down the time needed for paperwork and, in the context of appointments, no manual note taking is required. DMO can automatically transcribe everything the physician is saying, and everything the patient is saying as well. Naturally, this frees up a lot of time for healthcare professionals to focus fully on their patients, rather than on their notes. And, most importantly, the 99% accuracy rate will be unhindered by complex jargon, as DMO is trained on an extensive vocabulary of medical terms.
• Regardless of the sector, speech recognition software can be a crucial time-saver for anyone whose job involves writing content, whether it be news articles, blogs, or anything in between. Journalists, for example, would traditionally have no other option than to manually transcribe their recordings of interviews. But the Nuance platforms offered by Voice Technologies can remove this grind entirely.
• Another example (and this one goes for just about any office job) is meeting minutes. If you’re responsible for taking the minutes of a meeting with multiple people, it can get taxing fast. With speech recognition software, the minutes can be entirely automated.

Conclusion: how much time can you save with speech recognition software?

With speech recognition software now three times faster than typing, it’s no wonder sectors like healthcare are increasingly reliant on this tech. And, crucially, it’s only going to get faster. So why not get on board today?

We help organisations reduce the time and cost of producing correspondence via speech recognition software, information workflow apps, and digital dictation hardware & software. Think we could help you and your team? Book a consultation today.