A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Do you communicate with other MTs within your company or on the same acct? - Just wondering

Posted: Mar 25, 2011

I was just wondering because I have worked for companies that basically encourage communication via email or IM amongst their MTs and then I have worked at companies that discourage communication with other MTs, there's only communication with your immediate supervisor and QA personnel.

I was just wondering what everyone's preference is? The companies that discourage communication tend to give reasons such as one MT might become a pest and cause others to not get their work done which I can understand, but I tend to think the reason a company would discourage communication among the ranks may be more self-serving than just simply looking out for their MTs and their production.

Would you be suspicious of a company that discourages communication?

Without a doubt - With constructive thoughts

[ In Reply To ..]
you are wise to be skeptical. Softscript example.

Yes, I can. Not allowing is a BAD sign if extreme. - Been there.

[ In Reply To ..]
Of course, almost all companies do try to control at least somewhat--for good reasons, sadly. My current company is pretty open as they go and encourages work-related communication within accounts through group e-mails, which I'm sure they realize identifies coworkers who could then e-mail each other directly. The big company-wide forums are fairly moribund, probably because of unnecessarily controlling (IMO) monitoring.

BTW, my company does anonymously publish everyone's line production each pay period, speed, # of hours worked, so we can all figure out how we ourselves are performing compared to others, and that openness is extremely valuable.

My last company kept how I was doing compared to others secret and wouldn't tell me, even though I asked a number of times over the period I was there. BAD sign, and I actually ended up leaving because of suspicious and questionable happenings related to line counts, also irregular work availability that might not have been tolerated as long as it was if I could see others were being better taken care of.

Communication - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Our company has Instant Messenger and we are certainly allowed to communicate with other MTs via IM.

We also have an e-mail newsgroup that the company monitors, and they have no problem with us asking work questions of each other, bouncing ideas around, sending dictator samples, etc. It is not for complaining about our job, complaining about the the field, etc., or anything else personal. They do not discourage personal e-mailing, exchanging phone numbers, etc.

I would be suspect of any company who flat out discouraged communication with other MTs. It is not their requirement to set up a way to do it, I suppose, but to flat out discouarge it is quite odd to me.

not at TransTech - mushroom

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We are kept in the dark for almost everything. I have no idea how many MTs are on my account or who they are. For that matter, I don't even know how many MTs or accounts we actually have!

TransTech, I believe, is quite paranoid. People have gotten fired for talking about their line rate. We used to have a group, but the owner pretty much insisted on joining and then the group just disappeared one day.

I would love to meet the other MTs at TransTech. This job is so isolating to begin with, it just makes it worse when we are treated like mushrooms.

I have worked at TT for 3 years and I don't know anybody... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
who works on my account. Like the above poster said, I don't even know how many accounts TT has. I have no idea what goes on with this company. I just log-in each day, do my work, and log off and that's it. It's kind of weird because other placed I have worked at kept their employees in the loop with everything.

Huh. I've heard mostly positive stuff about TT, so this - is a whole different side. Not a good one. NM

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x

What exactly does "in the loop" mean? You're - job is

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to sign in, work, make you lines and quit for the day...what more do you want?

Exactly! That's the way I see it anyway. It isn't a club - nm

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nm

Well, you do need to be kept "in the loop" about your work and how they want you to do it - Goes without saying

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Of course you need to be in the loop about your work and how they want you to do it. You need to be in the loop about what to do if you need help.

Um, have you ever thought to ask your Manager how many acc'ts there are? - sm

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You are allowed to ask questions you know. You seem like the paranoid one.

paranoid - mushroom

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I've asked all of those questions and more. The answers are always vague. I'm not paranoid. TransTech is secretive and that's a fact.

To answer your question, yes, I've asked the manager how many accounts there are and yes, I know I'm allowed to asked questions. The sarcasm you throw around is not flattering.

Not sarcasm, just a flat out question. I can't believe - sm

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that no one in your company would answer your question. Ever thought of going higher up and asking???

answers - mushroom

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Yes, I've gone as high as I could go. Those emails get forwarded to the lower management, and then they send the answers.

It's not that they don't answer the question or that we get ignored, it's just the answer is not specific.

For example, I've asked how many MTs are in the company. It goes like this (actual text of part of the email):
Me: How many MTs do you have right now?
Management: We might get to 300 by the end of the year.

Really?! What the heck does that mean? Do you have 150 now and plan to double by the end of the year? Or maybe you have 299 and plan to add 1 more by the end of the year? It drives me nuts.

But why - mymt

[ In Reply To ..]
do you need to know that? What does it have to do with your job description or your ability to do your job?

I'm not being snarky, I'm just confused as to why that information means anything to you at all.

You have to work at TT to really understand it. To me there is a cloak... - MushroomToo

[ In Reply To ..]
of secrecy covered up by a lot of nice southern manners. I am not sure why a simple question like how many people work there doesn't merit a direct answer, but that is just how it is.

Maybe you want to know how many people work there because they are always advertising for help. Is the turnover that high or is the company growing? Are they getting new accounts? Maybe you would like to change accounts or want to add a new one. Maybe you have worked one of the accounts in a prior job and would be a huge asset to it. Maybe you just want to have a factoid about where you work if someone asks.

I have had a person in the office tell me they didn't announce "XXX" because they didn't want to deal with a lot of questions. Well, "XXX" happened to directly affect my job and my job description, so while you were given a general example, there are specific examples of people being less than informed there. Many e-mails give the distinct impression that they don't want you e-mailing back on the topic at all.

And yes, I just shut up and work like I am supposed to because I really don't need my hand held. However, I don't have the loyalty to the company that I would if I felt like I was a part of it some how, some way.

For my part, needing is not the issue. The issue is why - they will not give basic information all their

[ In Reply To ..]
customers, for instance, would be well aware of. Basic courtesy if you will. Pointless secrecy draws a line--company on one side, MTS on other side, and that attitude brings its own questions to which answers are definitely needed.

If not having proprietary info puts you on the "other side", you need to change jobs - Common Sense

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If you are uncomfortable not knowing information, you need to move on. That's a strong sign that you aren't happy there or you wouldn't care. It really is none of your busines, but if you have the feeling that it is, it's time to move on. You will never be happy there. It's just a bad match.

That kind of information is not necessarily released to customers either - nm

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If I were an MTSO, I wouldn't reveal all of the information about the operation of my company.

I think I said the same thing in almost the same words before I read your message - Also wondering exactly why this info is so importa

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Maybe this isn't just an innocent curiosity after all. Maybe it's something else entirely. Whether innocent or not, it's nobody's business but the employer.

If an MT is angry at a former employer, they could use that info against them - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Their answer to your question was the same I got - no longer TTr

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2 years ago. Must be a lot of people being replaced each year. LOL

What earthly business is it of yours how many MTs they have? - That just sounds nosy to me

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I don't really mean to be harsh about it, but that kind of information is only the business of the business.

I can see that you might want to know how many other MTs are on the same account with you. Other than that, the information your asking for would be very valuable...to your employer's competitors.

Isn't that proprietary information that most companies do not release? - I would think so

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I wouldn't want to release all information about my company. In a perfect world it would be fine to let the MTs know, but when you do that, it is likely to go straight to your competitors as well. Maybe that isn't a big thing and wouldn't do any harm, but most companies don't do that, and MT is no exception.

info - sm

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Who said anything about releasing all information about a company? No one is asking for that. How is the number of employees proprietary information and how would that help the competitor?

If you have worked for a company outside of the MT work-at-home business, then I think you would understand the question. If you worked for a company, you would likely know how many people were employed at that company. You would know the people. You would know the clients. You would know the competitors. And no, not all employees are out to destroy their own company by giving information to their competitors. That's just ridiculous.

Click any one of these 500 companies, and you can find out how many they employ. Not a big deal for them. Who's the one being paranoid now?
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2010/full_list/401_500.html

In the MT industry there has always been a problem with MTs leaving and - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
There has always been a problem with MTs leaving a company and taking other MTs and their accounts with them. This is similar to what happens in other businesses where someone leaves and takes the account they were working on with them. Companies in any industry try to keep those things from happening. That's one good reason why it isn't smart to put all of your business out there when there is no actual reason for the person who is asking to know that information.

For one thing, the nunber of accounts probably changes from day to day - and what does that have to do with your work?

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What does the number of accounts have to do with your ability to get your work done? That number probably changes from day to day, so I doubt that anyone can give you an exact number on any day, and why should they? That's proprietary information.

There are things that make sense for you to know. What do I do if I get stuck and can't understand parts of a report? Who do I call if I have technical issues? What do I do if my computer goes down? Who do I contact if I need to call in sick? Are there others on my account who will be able to do the work if I am sick?

Your need to know ends with the questions that affect how and when you do that work. Your employer doesn't owe you answers to proprietary questions.

Why is it necessary to know how many accounts there are? - Need To Know Basis

[ In Reply To ..]
The people who need to know how many accounts there are would be the people who deal with the accounts, right? The MTs get their assignments, due their work, send it back, and enjoy their life. They don't have to worry about bringing in more accounts. That should be on a need-to-know basis.

I remember a group of MTs once that spent all their time trashing their company - which is why I would not participate

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nm

No, because it isn't a social organization. It's a job - No problem for me either way

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I have never had an MT job where I socialized with the other MTs. That's fine, because I find my social life elsewhere. My job is my job. I think it's wise to keep it that way. It's okay with me if others have a different policy. I still wouldn't socialize because I like to leave my job behind after work and I don't have time to socialize during work. I like to do my work myself and if I need help, I like to get it from someone in authority. I don't like "Group" transcription. In other words, I don't like asking someone for help, etc.

Never...why would you even want to - see message

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I do my job I was hired to do. I don't need to talk to people who work at the same company. I don't know them and I don't want them to know me. I do the job I was hired to do. I was not hired to socialize. If I have a QA issue I address it to the QA. If I have a personnel issue I address it to my supervisor. There is never a reason why people should be in contact with other coworkers of their company. Just not right.

BRAINWASHED MUCH; Yes, I am shouting, WAKE UP - Stop drinking their Kool-Aid

[ In Reply To ..]

Boy have you guys been brainwashed by your companies that “its proprietary information” and “competitors can use that against us.”

For years, magazines such as Fortune and Forbes have been putting together lists of various “BEST” companies.

Here is a link to another one done by Working Mother of the 2010 Working Mother 100 Best Companies.

http://www.workingmother.com/BestCompanies/node/7818/list

If you click on the name of the company, it will link to more information about that company. The information provided includes exactly how many total employees there are AND what percentage are women.

Interesting fact: Although there are several hospitals in the Top 100 – there is not a single MTSO. That speaks volumes about the type of industry we are in. It is not the business world that wants to keep us in the dark – it is the MTSOs.

WAKE UP

If the company is traded on Wall Street, they do have to release that info - Otherwise not

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If they are a publically-traded company, of course they have to release that information. If they choose to stay private, they are...drum roll...PRIVATE!

not at all - sm

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I've been there a year, and I know a couple of QA people, a secretary, and the boss. That's it. We can't see what others in the company do, yet there are apparently a couple of employees who email their favorite QA people to tattle every time they suspect another MT has done something wrong. Meanwhile, only 2 QA people ever respond to me and the rest ignore me.

If emails are sent to everyone else on an account, the company uses blind CCs so we have no idea who has gotten the email. The secretary who is supposed to organize us is confused and frankly wrong a lot of the time, so having a pool of other MTs to bounce things off of would be VERY handy, but it's just not gonna happen.

and I forgot to mention... - sm

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I was put on 4 accounts when I started at this company. I never saw a single job for 2 of these accounts. Last month purely by accident, I discovered we lost those 2 accounts back in August. No one ever told me.

Lack of communication is a big problem. The longer I'm with this company, the more I realize it, but I'm a newbie with only 14 months experience, and my options for work are extremely limited.

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