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SR pay methods/standards - PetLove
Posted: Nov 05, 2009
My hospital is transitioning into SR using APEX. We're being told that they want to base our expect standards on VBC (visual black characters), saying this is "the industry standard". Are the rest of you on SR/VR paid by VBC, lines, or minutes? What were the justifications given? We've been paid for the last 10 years by minutes so aren't thinking this is a good change. Any feedback would be helpful. We are a union shop so would love to hear from other union shops who have dealt with this. Thanks!
Daily expects - PetLove
[ In Reply To ..]If you are working in VR/SR, what is your daily expect for 8 hrs? We've seen all kinds of numbers thrown around, but would like to know what people are really expected to do once they've been on the system for a few months.
Anyone? - PetLove
[ In Reply To ..]30 views and no one has anything to say about how their pay is determined? Just trying to get a ballpark on what your situation is. Thanks for any replies.
VR pay - sa
[ In Reply To ..]it's paid by line, varies by company 3, 3.5, 4.5, 5, sometimes more
at my company must do 12,000 in a pay period. I would starve if I did only that.
Not paid for spaces, huh? - VR person
[ In Reply To ..]If doing VR alone and not paid for spaces, might be others do not know about answering because they are not paid like that, I am not. I make 4 cents per line for VR but have some straight, very little but still have some. Yesterday for my 8 hours I did $150 and a little over for the day but with no spaces and donĂ¢€™t think you quoted a price per line, would be difficult to figure that one out. Does not sound like I would care to do though. That thing about the standard, I do not think that is the standard - yet- though might be going that way.
The offers I have had for VR are from 3 CPL to 6 CPL for a 65 character line. - ndmt
[ In Reply To ..]Pay is determined pretty much by how low they can go and still get people to work, and the minimums don't really count because you can't make a living on that anyway. You have to pull about 2000 lines a day to be over minimum wage and 3500 to 4000 to make a nice living. Most places I have talked with recently are requesting 1000 to 1350 lines as a minimum at an average rate of 4.5 cpl.
I don't know if I have run across anyone who is in a union posting on this board, and I don't even think being paid by the minute is very common anymore, so I don't know if you will find the comparisons you want. I didn't post originally because I didn't think I could provide a valid comparison for you and what your situation is now, but I do know that a VBC offer is very rare in the job postings and is NOT well received by MTs looking for work.
VR wants 2500 per day and text 1200 per day - wordlady
[ In Reply To ..]I used to make 9.5 cpl at my job that ended in June. It was SO easy and all clinic (boring actually) but very good money for straight typing.
I just started a job mid September and it is mostly VR (which I love now) but did not in the beginning. I make 4.20 cpl and am climbing up but still only about 1600 lines per day. SO, basically I am working full-time for part-time wages. Today was my 1st paycheck where I averaged over $9 an hour, before that if I did make it they had to pay me $7.50 an hour, but my production is going up. It's really an insult to our profession for our skills, but I need to work to supplement my low SS widow benefit. I am just glad to pay my bills right now, but I am damn tired that's for sure. Straight typing here is 7.90 per line of which I hardly get any of and that is just fine by me. Doing lots of OP notes which are my favorite. Good luck!
Are you saying you are supposed to do 3700 per day? - VR lover
[ In Reply To ..]If that is the case, this is getting really ridiculous. I think when companies say this, they are going by the sale talk the VR companies gave them stating we could do 2 or 3 x what we normally do.
VR pay - PetLove
[ In Reply To ..]Thanks for all your posts, especially how often VBC is brought up in job offers or upgrades. I think this must be something touted by the software people. The finance officer at our facility is trying to save $1 million/year from our dept, which is not just transcription, but the savings are trying to be made from us going onto VR. I know minutes aren't common, but was why I took the job years ago - much more fair than lines. It's really helpful to get a sense from you who are working for services what they expect so we can respond to the "this is industry standard" assertions. As far as union people not posting, they may not mention they're union, but have never understood why MTs have not unionized, especially when we see pay going continually down. Am glad I found a union shop as we are on salary with full benefits. I wish this were industry standard as doing 1450 lines at 4.5 is only $60! That's WAY too low.
I donĂ¢€™t worry about being unionized myself, you see - VR here
[ In Reply To ..]my husband is so I can reap the benefits of his. I think you posted this because you know most on here not in a union. What is your point, anyway? I would think you should find someone who fits into your MT union job situation who might be able to answer your questions.
Benefits - PetLove
[ In Reply To ..]Well, that's great that you have a husband whose benefits you can use. But your job should provide benefits so you don't need to use your husban's. Most MTs I know aren't married, nor should they have to be to have benefits. I don't see being in a union as a separate situation. As far as that goes, if we'd all unionized a long time ago, our industry wouldn't be in the state it is today. Each MT negotiating their own separate contract with companies works best for the companies as they can just wait til they get someone willing to take their low offers.
Sounds to me - VR person
[ In Reply To ..]You are a little on the bragging side because of your bringing up the union deal. I paid for my own way for years before marrying this husband so now I use his, no problem in this household. I have no issues with my work, my home life, nothing really. If others are not able to make in this line of work, they should try something else.
VR - PetLove
[ In Reply To ..]I simply mentioned the union by way of explanation of how we negotiate with our facility. I don't think that's bragging, it's just reality. Guess we can agree to disagree on how hard someone should have to work to just have health care. I prefer to keep this on topic, which is how your organization pays for VR.
Gawd, I hope not or my goose is cooked!! - lindawordlady
[ In Reply To ..]I think they look at an average of the whole thing. Basically it is 125 lpm for test and 250 lpm for voice. I will be happy to get up to 2000 lines period.
Straight vs VR - PetLove
[ In Reply To ..]I'm seeing about 15% of jobs coming through that need to be transcribed straight. We're being told, as usual, that things are "luck of the draw". I have never felt this was an equitable way to do things. Does your company compensate somehow for straight versus VR?
more for text obviously than VR, but not good - lindawordlady
[ In Reply To ..]Straight typing is 0.790 per line and VR is 4.20 per line. I hardly get any text, maybe 10% in a day, but I find I can actually go faster with VR. I am just really focused the whole shift, hardly any breaks. I have accummulated lots of samples of the difficult dictators which helps if you get lots of the same docs that are bad. Like I saw, I am working full time for part-time money. Bad news!
Straight vs VR pay - PetLove
[ In Reply To ..]Interesting, Lindawordlady, that there is a differential between text and VR. So the software can keep track of this for you or do you have to send in a tally? My place acts like the software can't do any differentiating that would affect pay, yet they know if we're keyboarding or not every second. I find that unbelievable. I'm sorry to hear you're having to work so hard and few breaks - I used to do that as an IC, which was why I finally gave in and went in-house, but now that's tightening way up too. Can understand the bad dictators, they just take longer with their self-editing, mumbling, stream of consciousness dictation style, etc.
Software does keep track of everything... - lindawordlady
[ In Reply To ..]I work for a company that uses Dictaphone with extext... have you heard of it? Yes, they know when you sign in, how long it takes for a report, and I mean every second. This is what frustrates me, is that I have to work a 9-hour day but sometimes it shows 7 hours which really irritates me. I do get 1 hour (my hour, not their's) but if I get up to get a cup of coffee, bathroom, too much time searhing it knows it. I have only been there since mid-September and it is getting easier and faster, but I feel pretty tensed up all the time.
I print out my pay stubs and keep track of my lines myself as I go along, but on the payroll stub, it has now many lines for text and how many for speech, and how many lines per hour. Today was just my 3rd paycheck and like I say, it is going up, but quite fast enough.
Then today, when I was supposed to work there was something wrong with the software, in that it froze my PC all the time so I could not send a report or work. Called the owner of the company and she streamed in on my PC to fix. Long story short, I got on at 5:45 pm and I was supposed to be typing from noon to 9:00. So, I lost all that typing time. Then tonite, when I ended my last report at 9 p.m. I got this same error again. So, all this cuts into my time, my paycheck. I resent that terribly but I just do not have a choice right now. I tell you, if I could find a job at Walgreens I would go there, just to get out of the house, see people and not feel like I am so powerless over this situation. On well, what can you do eh!
What the software knows - PetLove
[ In Reply To ..]Wow, Linda, what a terrible day. Can you work as an employee for this company so you get paid for downtime? If you're getting faster with the software, it would seem to be worth giving up some freedom to get paid when there are the inevitable software issues. I've used Dictaphones ages ago, but not familiar with Extext. The software we use shows the same things when you log off, but also the Visual Black Character (VBC) count that my supervisor is pushing as what she's going to base our pay and incentive on. I don't see it showing text and sr separately, but she may have turned that off at our end so we think it can't do that. I'd say more, but not on the net. Suffice it to say, in-house jobs are just as affected by the pressures as ICs are now, though this is more recent for us, mostly in the last year. I'm with you about wanting to get out of the house. This job worked while I was a single parent, but my child is long grown up now and I'd rather work with people again, not to mention not having my every minute monitored.
VR/straight - sa
[ In Reply To ..]I do VR for 3 companies (all on Escription).
Each has a little straight (10%, approximately).
One pays 4.5/8.5
One pays 4.5/9
One pays 3.5/7 - but on this account I can go the fastest(least editing) so often comes out to same or better per hour than the others. maybe $14-18
software tracks it. I can pull up the report and tells me how much I did of VR versus. straight
let's set the record straight - Snow Bunny
[ In Reply To ..]using visual black characters is not "the industry standard." Those three little words are the brainchild of the former AAMT, and also the biggest con job that ever hit this business. The original "industry standard" was 65 KEYSTROKES per line. And keystroke meant anything that you achieve with the motion of your hand (space, tab, return, bold, underline, italics). It didn't matter if it was in the body of the report or in the headers and footers. That all changed over time. Eventually, it reached the point that all that would be paid if for what you actually see. Which is okay, but,
thereisnowayIwillnotgetpaidforspaces,ortheycandinsertthespacesontheirend.
SR pay methods/standards - PetLove
[ In Reply To ..]Right now, in-house, it appears we're currently being paid for a 550character line in VBC, which, if not counting all characters, is 8.5% less plus another 10-15% less from a regular 65-character line. We're seeing what we can do about this.
sorry about typo, that's 55-character line - hate this MS keyboard nm - PetLove
[ In Reply To ..]nm
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