Nowadays, with the emergence of new technologies, we not only use new tools, but more importantly, we are witnessing a real digital transformation in the professional world. With these changes in models, we are implementing new ways of working. Especially in teleworking. So we are going to look at the issues of teleworking, of remote work, with the support of new technologies such as automatic speech recognition.

Teleworking and remote work

Teleworking – or remote in English – is a professional activity carried out at a distance, thanks to telecommunication tools. Indeed, teleworking is possible thanks to the web and new technologies. Today, many jobs are carried out mainly with a computer and an Internet connection.

In an article of May 2019, Le Monde and the Labour Code clearly specify this concept: “a form of organisation in which work that could also have been carried out on the employer’s premises is carried out by an employee outside these premises on a voluntary basis using information and communication technologies“.

What is interesting is that the specific form of organisation that is teleworking can respond to many different activity sectors and needs. For companies and self-employed persons.

In itself, there are not many differences. The work, the mission remains the same. The different tasks and steps do not change, the operational aspect remains the same. The main parameter that changes is the distance. And with the distance, the organization – some adjustments for objectives and results – for the work.

In fact, tele/remote working raises several questions and is still under discussion. In particular, the productivity associated with this form of work.

Remote work productivity

Fortunately, this one is proving more and more. According to an Opinionway survey, “49% of employees would like to benefit from this scheme“. Indeed, remote work is attracting interest from all generations.

According to Maximilien Fleury – head of social relations at Renault France – remote work meets the aspirations of young people who have a perfect expertise of digital tools. But also for mid-career employees, who want greater organizational flexibility. The feedback is very positive.

The same observation applies to Viseo, a digital services company: the company director has a loyalty rate twice as high among remote workers! In addition, there are many advantages to teleworking and remote work:

• Time saving and less pollution because less time spent in transports.
• The professional can concentrate better
• The professional is more committed
• The teleworker learns to adapt and to become more autonomous.
• The professional can better balance his or her professional and personal life

Nevertheless, as with any form of organization, let us keep in mind some disadvantages:

• The professional is “dependent” on the proper functioning of new technologies…
• The professional can sometimes miss the benefits of human contact in physical and face-to-face situations.
• The teleworker sometimes has less access to internal training and learning within a company.

However, these last points can easily be resolved. In particular by putting in place certain devices, habits… Having the right tools and let’s go!

Automatic speech recognition and remote working

Now, we will focus more on technologies that allow us to work better with distance. In particular voice recognition, or rather automatic speech recognition. This is a technology using artificial intelligence to analyze speech picked up by means of a microphone. An audio recording can ask for a special request, be transformed into text… The range of possibilities with speech recognition is wide.

Here are the main speech recognition tools used today:

• SIRI
• ALEXA
• Google
• Microsoft

Why it’s especially useful remotely

In telecommuting and remote work, tools and applications that automatically recognize speech can completely change practices. For example by using a “simple” microphone to dictate, create mass content… from anywhere! So, even if the professional is not “sitting” at a desk, he can dictate notes, ideas, articles, reports, etc. to his smartphone. And then he doesn’t have to transform these audios into usable text – because the tools do it automatically! He saves time and concentrates solely on his professional and human added value! Moreover, just by using his voice, the professional can access multiple informations.

Authôt is a specialist in speech recognition and automatic speech transcription. In particular thanks to the “Speech to text” technology, i.e. transforming a speech into text. We have set up an automatic online application for this purpose.

Even remotely it’s very easy: you send your audio or video file to the application. You have quick access to the transcript. Then you can directly view the rendering and make any corrections. Finally, all you have to do is export it to the desired format – .doc, .txt, html, etc. – and you’re ready to go.

Since you can work from anywhere and at any time use these tools, you may be tempted to multiply your productivity and fall into extremes. Either in a certain “passivity”, too much dependence on the tools, or to work too much and risk a “burn-out”. It is therefore fundamental to find a work-life balance with telework, remote work.

To do this, we advise you to put in place certain rules:

• Sometimes limit yourself as far as the technology is concerned
• Set hours/time slots dedicated to work only
• Set time periods that are dedicated to your personal life only

In fact, in this context of hyper-connectivity, the boundary between private and professional life – and especially also in teleworking – often becomes thin and blurred. Whereas before technology was “only present in the office”, today it is all mixed up.

As the professional has access to everything from anywhere, he tends for example to check his professional emails in the evening, on weekends… Telework is beneficial in terms of autonomy, efficiency, and a better balance… when you keep a good organization!

Indeed, when for some people teleworking is an excellent way to find a balance, for others it is more difficult. It is therefore essential to establish boundaries. Once a way of working is found, everyone can benefit from the best of telework and supporting technologies!

In short, with the emergence of telework and the importance of new voice recognition technologies, this theme should continue to evolve…to benefit from our services in this area, do not hesitate to contact us!

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