Effective Writing

Having worked in corporate environment most of my life, I have seen many poor documents.  Organizations tend to expect their technical team to write the technical documents, and this does not always pay off.  Simply for this reason that having the knowledge of something does not mean you can also explain it well-enough for the layman to read and understand. 

Technical people most of the time – knowing the subject inside out – will leave the details out, because they feel everyone else would already know them and there is no need to rehash.  To me, a well-documented process, procedure or description is one that anyone off the street can read and fully understand.

Manuals that do not explain the step-by-steps in a proper manner and are not easy to follow,   are only good as a collector’s item or paper-weight.  Here I would like to offer a few hints in creating useful documents:

1.       Try not to end your sentences with adverbs; and instead use them mid-sentence.

2.      Using too many adjectives, may sound too biased.

3.      Use passive voice only when absolutely necessary.

4.      When using acronyms for the first time in the document, fully write it out and for any consecutive times that the acronym is used, have a reference glossary.

5.      Use words in their full form.  For example say, “Was not” instead of “Wasn’t”, or “Could not” instead of “Couldn’t”. 

6.      Try and make your sentences as short as you can. One description per sentence; and preferably one description per paragraph.

7.      Use simple words that are easily understood by anyone and do not require a dictionary.

8.      Especially in technical writing, try not to use pronouns like “I”.  Make your sentences in third person.

9.      Make your documentation look consistent where comma, colon, and semicolon are concerned.

10.   Have a template to follow, to make it easier for the reader to know what to expect next.  For example consider the following sections:

a.      Title page (the title of the document, the author);

b.      Revision table (who worked on the document, when, why, what did they add to it?);

c.       Table of contents;

d.      Introduction or Summary;

e.      The body of the document;

f.        Glossary of terms.

Happy Writing!

EL

Importance of the Exit Interview

“Good bye! Nice knowing you! Wish you luck in your new endeavour.” Is hardly considered an exit interview.  The most important part of an exit interview is to gain valuable information, which can prove to be quite useful in all aspects of business operation and work environment. 

Letting someone walk away, with all the knowledge they have gathered through months and years, hardly seems sane.  All organizations need to conduct an exit interview, whether the employee is being laid off or just moving on.  Organizations have become comfortable in their skin so much so that they feel public perception no longer matters.  An employee leaving a company, always has a personal perception of the company and whether or not they are competent in their operations, procedures and processes.  Getting to understand their view point can eliminate a lot of negative feedback. 

As a business owner or simply a senior manager or executive, you never really know, who your previous employees associate with and what effects they may have on your future business.  Once an employee leaves an organization, they are far more likely to open up and be honest in providing feedback in how the organization is run.

By keeping a record of outcome of these interviews, over a period of time, employers can begin to identify trends and patterns; after all most employees, very likely end up getting their career continued in another organization, which may be a major competitor.  The person’s perception of the management is one of the main concern.  Managers, even though not business owners, can make or break an organization, due to their lack of management knowledge, lack of emotional quotient, and bad decisions. 

An exit interview should classically be conducted by HR who is not directly involved with the individual. This allows for neutrality, as well as the chance for the individual to be able to voice their concerns and bellyaches, without feeling awkward or vulnerable in any way. The individual is far more likely to open up and be truthful, if they are talking to someone who is unbiased, and not someone they have been working with on a day to day basis.

This also presents an opportunity to better understand the process of hand-over of what the individual was responsible for and smooth transitioning for the sake of the organization and their clients.

It is a misconception that a person needs to go through exit interview prior to walking out.  In fact, the best time to do an exit interview is anywhere from one month to even up to a year after the person has left their position. At this point of course, it is not useful to find out what properly was or was not handed over.  In my experience, former employees are always enthusiastic to partake, and give very valued feedback. In general, people like to be asked and this may even introduce doubt in what they perceived about the manager or the organization in general. 

 

Here are some of the questions that I think may prove to be valuable:

1.        Overall, how did you find your experience working on this team?

2.       What did you like about it?

3.       What could have been better?

4.      Did you receive enough training and support to do your job effectively? 

5.       Was there a mentorship program available to you for your career path?

6.      Did you receive sufficient feedback about your performance between reviews? 

7.       Did any policies or procedures (or any other obstacles) make your job more difficult? 

8.      How would you describe the services of this organization?

9.      What was the management style and in what way could this improve?

10.    Was all or most of the responsibilities properly handed over?

11.     Did you get a chance to post all the important documentation you created or worked on, where it can be easily accessed?

12.    If there was one thing to improve in this organization, what would that be?

13.    Were your peers happy in their positions?

14.    What did you find to be a main pain-point to all? (The water-cooler conversations).

15.    Would you recommend this company to anyone looking for a position?

16.    Would you recommend this company to any business for services they provide?

 

All the Best,

EL

 

Errors We Make – Part V

We are used to celebrating the major change efforts sometimes a bit prematurely.  You have all seen the movies, where the hero saves the person from the monster’s captivity and they start celebration and embracing right there and then instead of completing the getaway, and then, the monster wakes up and beats up the hero a bit more before it is actually over.

While celebrating is good, any suggestion of the project completion is a bad idea, if it is made prematurely.  Some changes take quite a bit of time to sink into the old culture.  New approaches are always quite delicate and subject to relapse. 

After an early celebration, we feel as if the war is over and the troops are sent home.  Exhausted troops let themselves believe that the victory is at hand and once home, they will be quite reluctant to return to the front line.  Soon after this, the change comes to halt and old traditions tiptoe their way back in.

EL

Errors We Make - Part IV

Most major change implementations require action from a great number of people. One of the reasons why some changes fail is due to the fact that even though the employees have bought into the change vision, they have not been properly empowered. Sometimes the hindrance can be the organizational structure. Rewards or performance appraisal could force some employees to choose between the vision and the self-interest.  One well-placed blocker can undermine the efforts of all and stop the whole change effort.

Whenever smart and well-intentioned management avoid confronting hurdles, they dis-empower employees and destabilize the entire change. Also real transformations take time. There is a gestation period for everything. Lacking short term goals can cause for the whole change to lose momentum, if there is no win to celebrate. Without short term wins many employees give up or join the resistance.

Managers need to enthusiastically look for ways to attain clear performance improvements and achieve these objectives; rewarding those involved through recognition or promotion.  Don’t be caught up so much so with the grand vision that you forget about the quick wins.  

Defining clear short term wins, removes complacency and encourages employees into detailed and analytical thinking, which can be useful in the clarification and revision of the change vision.

EL