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It’s really an HR department’s dream to hire a person with more than one skill set – two employees for the price of one.

But when you’re ready to hire a technical writer, are there certain skills they should have in order to be most effective?

What Should Technical Writers Be Doing?

Technical writers are meant to be performing a certain set of tasks, mainly the construction of informational documents, courses and instructional guides.  Now, this doesn’t mean their skills can’t branch out to other writing tasks, but since many businesses now have websites to address, it makes sense that if the technical writer is handling copy for the website, that they might be able to handle the website as well.

Is this really the case?  For many businesses, the website was created by an outside company, who then launched the site and maintains it.  This is an arrangement that allows you to keep the web management separate from the daily routine of work – and it’s an arrangement that should stay in place.  Having an outside firm is much more efficient than simply putting an hourly employee on the task.

The Skills the Technical Writer Needs

However, this doesn’t mean the technical writer should be completely without the skills to understand a website.  Having some basic HTML knowledge as well as CSS will help them to better understand how their text will look on a website.  When they understand this, it will help them to layout the text in a certain style that will show up best.

And in a pinch, they can help the IT department with their text placement on the website.

That said, if you find a technical writer with web design skills, HIRE THEM.  Hire them quickly.   That is a person who can be more valuable to the company than most people who are assigned the writing you need.

What are your thoughts? What skills make a technical writer more valuable?

Related topics
Technical Writer: Which Skill Sets are Important?
Considerations When Hiring a Technical Writer

At one time, technical writers used to be something of an enigma – and still are.  These writers were called in for special projects and were often contract technical writers rather than full time staff.  As a result, they seemed to work in a fly by night fashion, helping only when needed and not sticking around for the long haul.

But is this the best scenario?

In times when communication matters more than ever, technical writers should be a part of writing decisions, from start to finish.  And having a team of writers is considered to be the best arrangement.  Not only will you have the collective wisdom of these professionals, but you will also find you are able to get things done much more quickly.

Even if a technical writer is an hourly employee, the more you have, the fewer hours they will need to work.  Together in the team, they can look at past projects to decide the tone and format, create the structure, write the project, and then review it for errors.  A trained technical writer can get all of these things done quickly when they have the support of a full time (or at least regular) technical writing team.

Businesses benefit with a more efficient technical writing team.  They can not only see their ideas become reality more quickly, but they will find the documentation is not only helpful, but more consistent than when a business brings in a new writer for each project.  In addition, a strong writing team will be able to see what other documents are necessary in order to build a concrete library of texts, instructional manuals, etc.

Is this always possible?  Is it always possible to have a team of technical writers?  Probably not.  But when a company relies on technical writing to train and to inform, it’s not a bad idea to stop looking at layoffs and start looking into hiring.

Related topics
Common Myths and Misconceptions About Layoffs
How to Justify Hiring Technical Writers During Hard Economic Times

HR policy writing is not always simple.  First, you need to condense a lot of information into a small space – no easy task.  At the same time, the text needs to be as clear as possible so as to educate the reading audience.  But even before you get started, you need to think about what tone to use with the reading audience. 

Perhaps the stodgy ways of the past aren’t the ways of the future anymore.

When writing for the everyday employee, the technical writer should be focused on writing in a more conversational tone.  Not only will this help express ideas in a more compelling manner, it will make the many policies easier to read, easier to digest, and easier to remember.

While some Human Resources technical writing might focus on the lecture tone, this can actually do a disservice to those who read it.  It can often lead to a reading audience that is less than receptive to the ideas presented since they may feel they are being talked down to.

Though there are some policies which can not be explained in layman’s terms or in slang, having a technical writer who can write in a more loose style may be just what the policy manual needs to become less of a paperweight and more of a useful reference tool for employees.

Conversational writing is something that may not come easily for some technical writers, so looking at a wide variety of candidates helps ensure that the desired tone for the HR policy manual can be achieved.  It might take a few tries to get the tone just right, but when accomplished, it makes it much easier for Human Resources to show new employees what they need to know.

Related:
Communicating for Diversity
Hiring Contract Technical Writers

It makes sense that the Human Resources department might want to write up the policies for each department.  But since many companies are more than willing to hand over this sort of work to the department in which the policies will be used, it seems that policy manuals have become less than accurate – or helpful.

Choosing to create a more effective policy requires technical writing to be at least supported by the Human Resources department of the company, along with the help of the management team in the affected department.  This combination of talent will help to create a policy, which will cover the issues the department might face, while also helping to create a standard for future employees and Human Resources personnel.

Here are some tips for ensuring the policy is drafted to be helpful as well as accurate:

• Answer questions – The policy should offer answers to the following questions: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.  When these questions are answered, the policy covers anything a reader might ask.
• Grammar police needed – When a policy isn’t grammatically accurate, it can be difficult to read and to understand.  Employing a technical writer with grammar skills is the best way to ensure grammar usage is appropriate.
• Know the reader – If the reading audience is not kept in mind, the writing will not be effective.  The technical writer should always know who the audience is in order to create text which will help the reader, rather than confuse them. Additional, some consideration needs to be given to the diversity of the audience.
• Short and sweet – The long policies that are often included in Human Resources handbooks might have the best of intentions, but they can also be confusing and difficult on the reader.  When you need a policy to be followed, make it as simple (and as short) as possible.
• Use another set of eyes before publication – By asking someone else to read the text, you will ensure you are able to convey the ideas you need to convey before you print out the new policy manual. As a rule, technical writers are especially appreciative of the value of a second set of eyes.

Creating new policies, with the help of a technical writer, makes sense.  Combining the experience of HR with the skills of a professional writer allow everyone to win.

While the 2010 MadCap Software Roadshow might be winding down for the year, the lessons it’s passed on to those who attended continue to inspire and to educate businesses, HR departments and even those who are looking to begin a career in technical writing.

The writing world has changed in recent times.  With the innovations in technology, not only are people able to reach out to more audiences, but businesses which were never meant to be global now are – whether they are prepared or not.

With the proper technical writers, a business will be able to create a strong presence on the Internet as well as in publications designed to educate, inform, and to boost the reputation of a business.

Some of the highlights of the MadCap stopovers include:

• Reusing content as often as possible – Reusing content used to be a no-no in the business world, but now content can be used and reused in order to market and to inform.  While content is only written once, it can be used multiple times to reach a wider audience.
• Creating content for different publishing platforms – When creating a single piece of technical content, making sure it can be viewed and used over email, mobile applications, and the Web is of the utmost importance for maximum effectiveness.
• Measuring document effectiveness – If you’re sending out documents, you need to make sure they continue to be effective over the long term.
• Working together as a team – Though one article might only attribute one person as its author, this doesn’t mean that multiple people weren’t involved in creating it.  By creating a cooperative team, technical writing becomes easier and more efficient from start to finish.

Though other subjects were also explored at MadCap events, just knowing what others are concerned about can help you to begin to investigate issues which will support your technical writing needs, both now and in the future.

Learning more about technical writing and how to implement it in a business is crucial for businesses of all sizes.  When the discussion of technical writing arises, it helps to obtain as many facts as possible before making decisions about how technical writing can influence a business as well as how it can be implemented effectively.

Lionbridge is offering a one hour webinar on July 22, 2010 which will help to educate business managers and marketing employees.  In doing so, businesses will learn when technical writing is necessary, how it is necessary and what steps need to be taken once a decision has been made.

When: Thursday July 22, 2010, 12:00PM – 1:00PM EDT

Website:       http://bit.ly/ContentDevWebinar

Industry: Information technology and services

Intended audience:  Technical writers, documentation managers, authors, localization managers, product managers, vice presidents, CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, CTOs, marketing managers, directors of marketing, webmasters, globalization directors.

Host/Sponsor: Lionbridge

This one-hour live webcast will teach HR reps how to determine their organization’s needs and readiness if the organization is contemplating the move to a structured approach for writing and translating documentation.

Discussion points will include:

• The benefits of structured documentation
• Key considerations when evaluating a move to structured documentation
• Best practices for implementation
• Live question and answer session

Using the live question and answer session, attendees of the webinar can custom tailor the information to their needs and begin to see how technical writing not only influences them, but also how this specialized writing will allow for more structured documentation.

Attendees can register for the webinar here: https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=215665&sessionid=1&key=DA687BC6CD4ACF6447578B3005B493F4&sourcepage=register

With more open source technologies available today, technical writing can be streamlined, but only when a company keeps up with new developments.

Event: Online Seminar – Adobe RoboHelp as the tool of choice for Policy & Procedure Documentation
Hosts: Adobe.com and Lightext
When: Tuesday, July 27, 2010, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM US/Pacific

Adobe has announced it will be offering a free online seminar on using RoboHelp for policy and procedures documentation. The webinar will feature experts from both Lightext and Adobe and is expected to address:

• Project Management
• Search & Retrieval
• Creating Consistency
• Content Reuse

To register for the webinar, you’ll need an Adobe.com membership login and password. If you don’t already have an Adobe.com membership, you can register for one on Adobe’s Sign-In Page

Adobe’s webinar information page more information on the event as well as system requirements needed to participate in the session.

More Upcoming Adobe Online Events

Communicating Policies and Procedures for the 21st Century Organization (August 17, 2010)
Integrating Adobe FrameMaker 9 and Vasont Content Management Software to maximize XML content reuse(August 5, 2010)

Over the past few years, blogger Cammy Bean has conducted an open survey of her instructional designer readers asking whether they have a degree in instructional design.

The latest survey results indicate:

• 61.45% responded that they do not have a degree in Instructional Design
• 36.92% indicated they have a graduate degreein Instructional Design
• 1.64% indicate that they have a non-graduate degree in Instructional Design

The results may suggest that employers typically do not make having a degree in Instructional Design a top priority for learning professionals they hire. Those that do have a degree requirement are more likely to stress a graduate degree in the field than a Bachelor’s degree.

Connie Malamed, of The eLearning Coach, has compiled a top 10 list of what she believes are the qualities, knowledge and skills the ideal instructional designer should possess or develop. Her list focuses on instructional design for eLearning.

10 Qualities of the Ideal Instructional Designer

What do you think are the most important skills an instructional designer should have to be an effective in an elearning position? Leave a comment.

Find an Instructional Designer through WAI

Editor’s Note: This was the feature article in this month’s TechCom Manager newsletter, reprinted here with permission. Click the previous link to subscribe to the newsletter.

by Kerri Barber

For years we have complained about having to sit through boring meetings full of inept presenters with their nicely prepared slide presentations, where meaningful information is buried in copious amounts of text. We’ve rolled our eyes, entertained ourselves with Meeting Bingo, and even took bets on who would fall asleep during staff meetings. We were not really listening anyway. How could we when the presenter made it nearly impossible to do so? For all our angst, we have often been just as guilty as those horrible presenters we are so loathe to endure.

Any repentant presenters can find thousands of good resources to help improve their skills and help them craft award-winning slides. Still, the problem persists and is even becoming ubiquitous in every company and across every industry. Why do we continue to torture ourselves and others? The problem may be simpler than you think. The two deadliest communication killers for presenters are Fear and Apathy.

Read the rest of this entry »

The eighth annual LavaCon conference on professional development will be held at the Omni Hotel in San Diego, CA from Sept. 29–Oct. 2, 2010. This year’s theme is:

How to develop, manage and publish digital content that enhances the customer experience, reduces production costs and promotes your online brand.

The conference’s Program page includes a voting system where you can rate your interest in each scheduled conference session. The sessions with the most votes will be assigned the largest meeting rooms available.

At press time, the session popularity leader was far and away “Generations: Digital Divide and Conquer”, which will be presented by Jenny Schmitt, Founder of CloudSpark.

LavaCon 2010 Official Website
LavaCon 2010 Registration Info
Conference Hotel Information (Omni, San Diego)

Related:
How Technical Documentation Professionals Can Use Twitter
Social Media: Are You Missing Out?
How to Justify Conference Attendance