Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-03-10
What is a Stenographer
Worth to Her Employer


=. ,...-..,,,o account OF the Standardization OF
a sborthand ana typewriting work in an othce
contributed 20 system by George n iNe'e
stenographers and employers. Mr. flcAe. 'un,' "a
equally ignorant Of their speed In taxing oe'auOu
In tvpowritinR They do not know how many pNSo
~ sbor+band notes correspond to a typed page, hor
do they have any idea Of what average speeo ous ~
be expected One operator lie PAID twice a. MN 80
the same amount Of work as announcer . 49,.
realization OF either employer or employed MT SCR
,,,,,re. out the average number OF words In type
written line the average number OF lines 10 pas
the average number OF stenographic pages 10 VT
mage the average number Of words to minute IN
typewrtting and the average nuinOer VI "'''N
auired 70 typewrite one page
This method OF reckoning is now standard ~ gu.
offices" he says and proves satisfactory 10 ourse
and our stenographers It Is like railroad time tao'e
.,.nos,a nbsrs have SO much ground 60 cover ct
fixed speed and they schedule the time OF tneiF
arrival This Is convenience TO ourse'Ves, an -,
source OF considerable satisfaction to the
in maintaining certain standard OF pronolenoy'
"Tbe tabulation OF typewTitng speeds for various
senographers led naturally TO the question; when 's
a stenographer proficient?
1--WE have two fixed requirements for our stenoS-
rapbers: first they pens instead OF penc's'
for pencn ia poor substitute for the eversharp pen
point secondly they must operate the typewriter oy
the touch system for this adds much TO their speed
ITO de,errnIne when a stenoErapher II proficient.
I had first 70 establish a standard OF 100 per cent
proficiency No better standard appealed TO me then
the test requiring sixty words per minute Tor teen
consecutive minutes without error. established
writing speed Of sixty words minute, therefore.
as my standard of proficiency
81 had often observed that stenographers handle
certain kinds OF material quickly than others.
For instance II seemed to take them longer 20 tran
scribe entirely new matter than something they were
familiar with This Interestingly proved TO be
tho case from the varying typewrtng speeds on the
following tests
srood vbile tvnevritInR from stenographio notes
speed while typewrlting from straight printed
Speed while typewriting the special sentences
Now Is the time for all good men to come to the ala
"A fair comparison Of the variations is shown.
stenographer b made this record which may be too
high. however. for average;
l. Thirty words per minute.
one YhTSdre G0 and Fifteen Words per minute
| I'VE have now established a system Of records
and curves on the proficiency OF stenographers
applicants for stenographc positions are given the
three tests. Then their records are filed We thus
know how proficient stenographers are at the begin
ming OF their service; and have basis for observ
ing whether they getting better as time goes on
THE curves just referred to represent the records
OF two applicants. A brief study shows the follow
| ing facts
Il. stenographer "A is 100 per cent proficient
! 80 Stenogrspher b is only 30 per cent efficient
as senographer. but is 80 per cent effective as
typist. II would therefore, be more economical 10
use 81 on copy work than Transcription. because
Of her difficulty in reading her notes
"a stenogrs pher b is capable OF greater ultimate
maximum efficiency than A. This is indicated by
this greater speed test B.
"Our three tests furnish measure of the pro-
| ductve effectiveness of s.enographers Periodical
tests enable to observe increased proficiency For
the standard 100 per cent proficiency pay tis
| a week,
81 had occasion time ago because OF some
additional copying work. to employ an extra stenog.
| rapher young very much in need OF employ
ment sent to by friend. with the request
that n possible give him work
| The applicant said he could use typewriter.
offered 70 pay him at the rate OF ! per minute
for his services, the basis OF forty words pc
minute. At the end OF the day counted the words in
the report which he had been copying Multiplyins
the number OF words a page by the number OF
pages he had Transcribed. calculated he had earned
instead Of $3.50 for the days work, only $40 He was
we'll pleased and thanked for the opportunity 10
work. Since the amount OF work he turned out was
worth only tLiO to me- both satisfied. For
several days he kept busy but he earned more
than Sle0.
This IL simply typical 1t shows how our
Standardization OF the stenographic department re-
suits in economical operation 1t completely satsflos
our stenogrsphers, who paid for what they do
and know it,"