GC Proofing Policies
- Sam Tipton
- Anonymous
Receiving a Partial Group Conversation
When you receive a partial GC, look over the job and ensure it follows GC formatting policies and has correct speaker labeling. If no major issues are present, go ahead and begin typing where the last person left off. Do not try to re-listen to the entire beginning of the GC just to pick out a few additional words a typist may have missed. If you notice errors that you believe may require correction, follow the procedures listed below.
Proofing a Group Conversation
In some cases, a GC that you receive as a partial may contain errors. Use the following chart to decide when proofing pay is warranted and when it is not. Note that some items under "Does Not Warrant Proofing Pay" should still be corrected, but the correction is quick and easy, so no proofing pay is required. Other items in this column state that they do not require correction because they are more minor in nature, so you should just get started on typing your portion.
Help Ticket
Please make sure you open a Job-Related Help Ticket before proofing a GC to let the Help Desk know the reason you believe proofing is needed. Provide an explanation of the specific types of errors that you feel need to be corrected. If proofing pay is warranted, then this ticket will be forwarded to the payroll manager as your Payroll Ticket.
Warrants Proofing Pay: | Does Not Warrant Proofing Pay: |
|---|---|
Speaker labeling issues that cannot be corrected using a simple Find & Replace All Ex. Previous typist used Speaker/Next Speaker labeling when interview labeling should have been used Ex. Previous typist labeled the wrong speakers in a job with 3+ speakers | Speaker labeling issues that can be corrected using a simple Find & Replace All. (These must be corrected, but do not warrant proofing pay.) Ex. Speaker 2 needs to be changed to Paul Smith |
Formatting issues that require a significant amount of time to correct Ex. Previous typist forced a hanging indent on every paragraph by using a tab (the tab then will have to be removed manually from each paragraph) Ex. Previous typist indented speaker labels (indent on each line needs to be removed individually) Ex. Previous typist used hyphens/incorrect dashes throughout the document that cannot be fixed with Find & Replace All | Formatting issues that can be corrected easily in one step. (These must be corrected, but do not warrant proofing pay.) Ex. Previous typist used a hanging indent (can be corrected by highlighting the whole document and removing the hanging indent setting.) Ex. Previous typist used incorrect font (can be corrected by highlighting the whole document and setting correct font). |
Client Instructions that should have been followed but were not (and are not easy to fix). Ex. Instructions say to use periods in place of dashes. Ex. Instructions explain who to label but wrong speakers were labeled | Client Instruction errors that are easy to fix. (These must be corrected, but do not warrant proofing pay.) Ex. Instructions say to fill Speaker Names into top of template Ex. Instructions give spelling of speaker name, and previous typist spelled it differently (use Find & Replace All to fix). |
Text Conversion Issues that are not easily fixed. Ex. Job was typed in all caps but should not have been. Replacing all caps with sentence case would result in the need to visually proofread the entire job. (This may warrant rejecting back to typing. Open a Help Ticket to confirm whether you should proof or reject back to typing, and include a detailed explanation of the time and effort it would take to correct the job.) | Converting text to all caps due to a client instruction. (This must be corrected but does not warrant proofing pay.) Ex. Instructions say to type in all caps but previous typist has not done so. Select all text using Ctrl + A, and convert to UPPERCASE using the Font options in your Word ribbon (Home tab). |
Client Instructions that shouldn’t have been followed in GCs but were followed (any client instruction that makes the job non-verbatim) Ex. Instructions say No Contractions Ex. Instructions say leave out pause words (ums, uhs, etc.) | Occasional missed words (especially if the audio isn’t clear). (These are not required to be corrected.) Ex. You can hear a few words here and there that a previous typist missed, but it doesn’t significantly affect the final outcome of the job. |
Significant errors in punctuation Ex. Excessive missing punctuation (especially periods at ends of sentences, dashes that affect readability of the document, etc.) | Occasional punctuation issues (These are not required to be corrected.) Ex. Some missed commas Ex. Some run-on sentences |
A large number of misunderstood/missing words that affects the meaning of the document Ex. Entire sentences left out, many important words missing, many words that do not make any sense in context | Typing policies that do not significantly affect the final document (These are not required to be corrected.) Ex. Some incorrect number formats, two spaces after periods at the end of a paragraph, missed hyphenating words, etc. |
Even though certain items are not required to be fixed, it does not mean that you shouldn't do them correctly in your portion of the job. If you receive a partial GC with errors that are designated as not requiring correction in the chart above, you can still report the job number to proofreader.support@speakwrite.com so management can address the errors with the typist who made them.
After Help Desk Hours
If you receive a partial GC with errors when the Help Desk is closed, it will be up to your best judgment to decide if the errors warrant proofing or not. Always consult the chart above before deciding how to proceed.
Once you determine the errors warrant proofing pay, open a Help Ticket even though the Help Desk is closed. You do not need to wait for an answer. In the ticket, note the following:
- The specific types of errors you believe need correcting (according to the proofing chart above)
- What portion of the document needs to be corrected (either the whole document or specific portions that contain the errors)
When the Help Desk reopens in the morning, they will review the ticket and forward it as your payroll ticket to request proofing pay, if your changes qualify according to the chart on this page.
To further document your reasoning for proofing, you should also leave a brief comment to proof explaining what errors were present and why you chose to correct them (even if you are submitting the job as complete). These comments are saved with the job so management can refer to them if needed.
Pay for GC proofing is at management’s discretion. If it is later discovered that changes were made in error (i.e. the previous typist’s version was correct and it was changed inappropriately) or the changes made did not fall under the "Warrants Proofing Pay" column of the chart above, payment for proofing may not be approved. Be sure you are well versed in GC policies and procedures to help you decide whether the proofing is warranted or not.
Printable Version of GC Proofing Chart:
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