About Ison Harrison

Ison Harrison Solicitors is a regional law firm based in Yorkshire. Their growth from one office in Leeds to over 15 offices within the county has given them their title as “The Yorkshire Law Firm.”

Over the past 40 years, the firm has grown from a single solicitor to what is now a business employing over 200 staff specialising in criminal, family, employment, and immigration law to name a few!

We caught up with IT Manager, Adrian Baker, to talk about their transition to their Philips SpeechLive dictation system.

The Old “Clunky” Workflow Just Wasn’t Working

Before they reached out to VoicePower Ltd, Ison Harrison was using a software-based system to process their documentation.

The software was meant to help their fee earners and typists exchange and process dictation files, instead, it created problems, as Adrian explains:

“It became an issue because dictation authors had to come to the office to dock their recording devices and submit work, and the same happened to the transcribers.” – Adrian Baker – IT Manager

Furthermore, Adrian expressed that the old system often didn’t do as it was meant to:

“The previous setup was very clunky, involving the emailing of dictations, ensuring that traces of the dictation were removed from sent items, deleting items, and recycle bins on the users’ remote machines, which introduced large processing delays and limitations on who could use the service.” – Adrian Baker – IT Manager

Lastly, the legal firm found that this workflow was limiting their flexibility as it didn’t allow them to work from home – As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the team knew they had to do something, and quickly!

“We needed a new solution that could accommodate users working from home, with the ability to log on remotely for extended periods of time, in some cases, permanently; it had to allow for people using their own hardware such as Macs; and it had to be able to be set up quickly.” – Adrian Baker – IT Manager

Swapping to SpeechLive Dictation

After identifying that they needed a new workflow solution, Ison Harrison approached digital dictation experts: VoicePower Ltd. Having worked alongside the legal sector for over 20 years, VoicePower were able to offer workflow consultancy based on the firm’s requirements.

After a workflow assessment and meetings to understand Ison Harrisons as a whole, VoicePower recommended the SpeechLive dictation system by Philips.

SpeechLive is a web-based dictation hub whereby users can capture and upload dictation files to be reviewed and processed by their colleagues.

Being cloud-based meant that SpeechLive was perfect for Ison Harrison as it could be accessed anywhere, solving their remote-working dilemma with their old solution.

All staff members can check the status of work at any time, allowing them to better communicate with their clients, and improve customer responsiveness.

What’s more, thanks to the Philips SpeechLive app, the firm saved money on microphones and dictaphones for capturing their notes as they could simply use their smartphone.

As an additional on-demand functionality, both authors and transcriptionists can use SpeechLive’s speech recognition service, where the audio files are automatically converted into text with near-perfect accuracy, saving even more time.

“After a friendly initial telephone call with VoicePower Ltd, a SpeechLive trial was successfully installed with dictations submitted and accessible for transcription only two hours later!” – Adrian Baker – IT Manager

Reaping The Benefits

All of Ison Harrison’s dictation users are now using SpeechLive, with the previous desk-bound software solution completely retired. The need for email recordings, which posed an issue for data protection, has been removed.

Most authors are using the smartphone app, allowing them to work from wherever they happen to be, plus a handful of users who have opted for a handheld device. Like the authors, transcription staff can work remotely from any location.

As for which functionalities of SpeechLive have led to the most positive feedback from staff, Adrian points out:

“For authors, it’s the mobile app, which means not having to carry another device – or manage it and keep it charged. The app also offers a level of security not found on handheld devices. For the transcribers, it’s the ability to work from home. They are able to use the same transcription hardware that they always have and are confident that the dictations are appearing as they would if they were physically in the office.” – Adrian Baker – IT Manager

Ison Harrison is now benefiting from an effective cloud dictation solution that supports remote working and best-in-class virtual collaboration.SpeechLive is GDPR compliant, as all data stored in its platform is encrypted, backed up, secure and available to the firm’s staff at all times.

Philips Partner VoicePower provided great support to Ison Harrison with a fast setup and usage advice.

“Lockdown prompted the change, but the versatility offered by SpeechLive is something we didn’t know we were missing. In fact, I can easily see that the base SpeechLive has is something which indicates the end of desktop-based solutions.” – Adrian Baker – IT Manager