diff --git a/server/reflector/hatchet/workflows/topic_chunk_processing.py b/server/reflector/hatchet/workflows/topic_chunk_processing.py
index c199e7a1..d8592872 100644
--- a/server/reflector/hatchet/workflows/topic_chunk_processing.py
+++ b/server/reflector/hatchet/workflows/topic_chunk_processing.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ Spawned dynamically by detect_topics via aio_run_many() for parallel processing.
 
 from datetime import timedelta
 
-from hatchet_sdk import ConcurrencyExpression, Context
+from hatchet_sdk import ConcurrencyExpression, ConcurrencyLimitStrategy, Context
 from hatchet_sdk.rate_limit import RateLimit
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ topic_chunk_workflow = hatchet.workflow(
     concurrency=ConcurrencyExpression(
         expression="true",  # constant CEL expression = global limit
         max_runs=20,
+        limit_strategy=ConcurrencyLimitStrategy.GROUP_ROUND_ROBIN,
     ),
 )
 
diff --git a/server/reflector/services/transcript_process.py b/server/reflector/services/transcript_process.py
index 1c36d0e9..0e0ebc7c 100644
--- a/server/reflector/services/transcript_process.py
+++ b/server/reflector/services/transcript_process.py
@@ -188,8 +188,8 @@ async def dispatch_transcript_processing(
             room_forces_hatchet = room.use_hatchet if room else False
 
         # Start durable workflow if enabled (Hatchet)
-        # or if room has use_hatchet=True
-        use_hatchet = settings.HATCHET_ENABLED or room_forces_hatchet
+        # and if room has use_hatchet=True
+        use_hatchet = settings.HATCHET_ENABLED and room_forces_hatchet
 
         if room_forces_hatchet:
             logger.info(
diff --git a/server/reflector/worker/process.py b/server/reflector/worker/process.py
index 95a75464..466cdef0 100644
--- a/server/reflector/worker/process.py
+++ b/server/reflector/worker/process.py
@@ -287,9 +287,7 @@ async def _process_multitrack_recording_inner(
             room_id=room.id,
         )
 
-    # Start durable workflow if enabled (Hatchet) or room overrides it
-    durable_started = False
-    use_hatchet = settings.HATCHET_ENABLED or (room and room.use_hatchet)
+    use_hatchet = settings.HATCHET_ENABLED and room and room.use_hatchet
 
     if room and room.use_hatchet and not settings.HATCHET_ENABLED:
         logger.info(
@@ -836,7 +834,7 @@ async def reprocess_failed_daily_recordings():
                 )
                 continue
 
-            use_hatchet = settings.HATCHET_ENABLED or (room and room.use_hatchet)
+            use_hatchet = settings.HATCHET_ENABLED and room and room.use_hatchet
 
             if use_hatchet:
                 # Hatchet requires a transcript for workflow_run_id tracking