A common argument among companies and HR departments is whether the technical writers they hire should be well versed in many projects or just in a particular set of projects.  And there are good arguments for both sides of this discussion.

Why Specialization Helps with Technical Writers

Technical writers are already specialists of sorts, helping to create technical documentation for any number of departments.  They are able to create manuals, handbooks and other forms of documentation, such as online help, that instruct readers how to perform certain tasks.

This work is detailed, specific and needs to be well organized.  The technical writer needs to be able to organize not only the material, but also the way the material is presented in order to be utilized to its full intent.  Choosing technical writers who specialize in certain departments (e.g. IT) can be helpful as there is already a base of knowledge from which to write.  They may already understand how certain information needs to be presented and how it will likely be used.

The More Skills the Merrier Argument

On the other side of the coin, technical writers who specialize in only one field or functional department might be limiting their ability to help a company that has more diverse needs and lacks the budget to engage multiple writers.  For example, if the IT department and the marketing department need materials, technical writers who only have backgrounds in IT might have a harder time transferring those skills to another department like marketing.  Certainly, marketing writers have different skill sets from technical writers, especially those technical writers who do not have a broad background of writing experience. Technical writers who have a varied writing background and the ability to shift tone and fully appreciate the needs of diverse audiences can serve multiple purposes in an organization, and thereby offer greater potential value to the organization. 

Specialized or not, technical writers are a valuable part of a company.  By understanding if you need a versatile writer or specialized writer, you’ll be able to choose the best writer for your company’s specific needs, and you will never be “at a loss for words”, so to speak.

What are your thoughts on specialists vs. generalists when it comes to technical writers? Please leave a comment.

Choosing a new employee is one thing, but finding the right technical writer to hire can be a daunting task.

While you might be up to your ears in resumes, the technical writer who is going to best fit a company’s needs isn’t always clear.  While a person might be trained and available to begin work on Monday, there are certain skills that are especially valuable in technical writers to assure they will meet your needs.

3 Key Considerations for a Technical Writer

• Experience
• Efficiency
• Versatility (Can produce a wide variety of documents in various output formats.)

If your company is ready to take on a new technical writer, you need to know that the writer you select will not only produce the work you need to get done, but will do so with skill, expertise, and efficiency.

Their resume should begin with a list of past employers who have already seen the writer in action.  The jobs performed for those employers might include documentation work while on staff contracting as a writer, and even working as a freelancer in the technical writing market.

Efficiency is the one skill that may be most difficult to judge.  However, if the resume indicates your candidate has been able to retain clients over a longer period of time, that’s one potential indicator. Having a demonstrated history of being able to multi-task, especially in juggling multiple projects simultaneously is another.  If prior and current employers have kept the writer coming back for follow-on projects, it’s generally for a good reason.

Demonstrated evidence of versatility is especially important if you plan to use the technical writer’s skills on multiple projects or occasionally ask the writer to contribute to knowledge base, marketing or website content in addition to his or her documentation tasks. Hiring a technical writer who has demonstrated versatility will allow you to entrust the writer with various projects, with fewer rewrites, restructuring, and reworking of the content.

Of course, it goes without saying that if the technical writer you are considering is already knowledgeable in your industry and has experience with the tools you use everyday to produce documents, he or she might seem like the ideal hire. However, a truly adept technical writer has probably had to learn a variety of new tools throughout his or her career, so tool skills alone should not be an overriding factor in making a decision, especially not in a decision whether to offer an interview to the candidate.

Related articles:
Hiring Technical Writers
What to Consider When Hiring Technical Writers

We’d love to hear your thoughts on choosing the right technical writer. Please leave a comment.

When a manual or online help system needs to be reworked or rewritten because it’s not working well for the users, completing the project might seem simple on the surface. After all, the past writer(s) who wrote the documentation already know the information inside and out, so refining and reworking the text should be simple. Right?

Maybe not.

The problem with using the same writers to describe software they’ve documented in the past is that they can often write the material from their own point of view, and they might not be considering the users in the audience, whose needs may have changed since the original material was first written.

It’s similar to an HR manager’s description of a job versus a worker’s description of the same position. Both descriptions may be technically correct, but they might not seem the same to someone who’s not familiar with that position.

When documentation needs to be rewritten, there are two important considerations for who will be tasked with the chore of completing the project:

1. The chosen writer needs to be fully familiar with the product – It goes without saying that a new writer will have to become familiar with the product. But if the original writer is available and hasn’t actually used the product or its documentation lately, he or she should spend time learning more about it using a fresh perspective. This perspective should be form the point of view of a new user. Rewrites and updates also present a cross-training opportunity for a writer who has never used the product before. Having both the new and the old writers working collaboratively can sometimes provide the best end result because you get to combine the knowledge and experience of the original writer with the inexperience of the new writer and they can help keep each other in check.
2. The writer needs to have a good understanding of today’s audience – This is common sense, of course, but is sometimes overlooked. If customers aren’t satisfied with the documentation it may be time to get better insight on today’s actual audience for the material. Not every technical writer has a strong grasp of the needs of their audience, so it may be that the original writer missed the mark in this area. It may also be that the original assumptions about the audience were incorrect. In that case, a fresh writer may be the best solution. The writer who is not familiar with the product will be looking for information, and during that process can learn a lot about what is available, what isn’t available, what could be organized better and what is confusing to a new user.

On the whole, technical writers are very good at explanations: It’s what they do. But their explanations need to be written for the audience, not for themselves. Even if the descriptions are technically accurate, they may be confusing to users, especially new users, who are likely to get bored, get confused, or both.

What often happens is that users get to the point where they become so frustrated with the documentation they stop turning to it for information.

Getting, and fully incorporating, user feedback is important. That said, when it’s time to rework or rewrite the documentation, it’s not about getting rid of the seasoned tech writers, having a fresh point of view can have a substantial benefit, not only for end users, but for everyone on the team.

What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment.

With the economy struggling to regain a foothold, many employers are reluctant to hire permanent staff. However, as business picks up, the need for additional workers, such as technical writers, instructional designers, medical writers and other hihgly skilled and experienced professionals also picks up.

Working with a specializied staffing company like Writing Assistance can help you solve your specialized staffing needs without having to commit to the overhead of a permanent employee until you’re sure the employee will work out, your budget can handle it and the economic recovery is on solid ground.

A specialized staffing company offers several advantages through Contract to Hire positions. Here are the top 5:

1. Rent expertise – Bring in an expert that can “hit the ground running” and provide exceptional skills and experience. In addition to the contractor’s expertise, you have access to staffing experts who will offer insight to the writing world including salary expectations, hot or cold market, experience level required to complete the job and current tools being used to complete tasks.
2. Limit your company’s liability – By working with a third party staffing company you limit your co-employment liabilities. The staffing company providing the consultant assumes the employee’s liability and will manage payroll (including unemployment), taxes and benefits.
3. Gain immediate access – Using a specialty staffing firm you access the “best of the best”. Niche staffing firms have large networks of consultants for any industry, location or specialty and recruiters are always networking to build their connections in the industry. They work with the specialty day in and day out and typically can provide qualified candidates within a couple days.
4. Try before you buy – By bringing in a contractor on a Contract to Hire basis you will learn the individual’s work habits and decide if they have the technical knowledge and personality fit to be an employee. There is no obligation to hire or keep a contractor. If you decide they are not a good fit, you end the contract.
5. Thaw the hiring freeze – Instead of delaying a project or having the timeline fall apart while waiting for the hiring freeze to be lifted you can bring in a contractor as a Contract to Hire. This will keep the project going and when hiring is approved you have an expert ready to go.

   What are your thoughts on adding Contract-to-Hire staff? Have you tried it before? If you need contract or contract-to-hire workers in our niche specialty areas, contact us to get started.

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.

This post on Tech Tav talks about how new technical writers can stand out in a crowded field of job applicants.

While the advice is geared toward technical writers in Israel, it certainly applies to the U.S. and Canada, too.

The other aspect of this that seems important is that it not only applies to new technical writing graduates, but to those who are unemployed and competing in today’s tough job market. For that matter, it also seems to apply to those who are comfortably situated in a technical writing who think they are secure in their jobs.

The advice?

The advice given in the article includes these five ideas:

• Learn a New Skill
• Get Creative
• Find an Internship
• Do Some Volunteer Work
• Get Involved with Social Media

Lets’ face it: There’s just very little job security anymore. If and when the time comes for your company to cut staff, what are you doing/have you done that might give even the slightest advantage when it comes time to decide who gets let go? Sure, the internship part of the advice doesn’t apply to everyone. But in today’s economy, it seems that you need to be mindful of your qualifications and what differentiates you from the competition every day.

Independent, self-employed and contract technical writers already know that’s true. They need to bring value to the table. And the more they can differentiate themselves from their competition (in a good way), the better.

When’s the last time you learned a new skill? When’s the last time you did something really creative, like a video resume or a demo on using Camtasia, Captivate or Flash? Are you thinking about how you can stand out in the crowd and what are you doing to prevent getting trapped in a career dead end?

What are your thoughts? In today’s marketplace, what are some of the things technical writers can do to stand out in the crowd and get noticed?

Since WAI has recently joined Twitter, I really hadn’t had time to think much about how technical documentation professionals like technical writers and others could really make the most of having a Twitter presence.

This post by Anne Gentle published on Twittip certainly stirs the imagination. While her post applies mainly to staff tech writers, she first discusses how technical writers can get started with Twitter:

• Monitor and listen first
• Play your part
• Give more than you get
• Measure

These steps apply to pretty much anyone who uses social media in general and Twitter specifically, but it’s the suggestions she has for how members of a company’s technical documentation team can help provide information on products and applications they document through Twitter that caught my eye, such as the idea of using Twitter as a medium for release notes.

I’m sure with the ingenuity and creativity many in the technical documentation community enjoy, it’s just a matter of time that this method of keeping customers advised really takes hold.

In what ways are your technical communications and tech support staff using Twitter or other forms of social media to get the word out about your products, latest releases, etc.? Have you given it consideration?