Sometimes in our swirl of words, phrases, punctuation and the mundane parts of our job, we forget the difference we make for people. I personally think it’s important to take some time to be aware of it. As we go about our day creating, updating and organizing documentation, we pay attention to things, so others don’t have to. We spend the time to clarify things so that the people we write for can do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.
Recently, I was reminded by one of my colleagues of the difference I made for him as he sat with me to explain what he did. Together we created a desk reference for his job to assist others in learning how to take a bucket filled with engine maintenance logs, organize them and extrapolate the pertinent information to input into the computer.
He told me that sitting with me back then helped him to better learn his job. He also became aware of the expertise he was gaining and of all the hundreds of decisions he had to make and problems he had to solve every day to ensure those maintenance records were accurate.
Our Questions Help People See Their Significance
The best technical communicators are skilled at interviewing subject matter experts. People who are an authority on what it is they do can rarely clearly transfer that knowledge to another person. When we interview them and ask our questions, we dig into the nuances of the tasks they do without thinking of it consciously.
Sometimes our questions even cause them to rethink how they are going about things and improve their processes. Most importantly our probing questions can reacquaint them with the importance of what they are doing.
Process Improvement Opportunities
When the leadership team reviews the documentation to approve it for publication, it provides them with the opportunity to fully examine their processes and procedures. I worked with a supervisor once who was so reluctant to review the procedure she wanted me to write, that I had to finally sit with her and go line-by-line through that procedure.
Within minutes, she said, “Why are they doing that?” She had the person I was working with in her office in moments only to learn that what was once a favor for another department had become the norm and sucked up valuable production time. She was able to stop that time waste then and there.
Managers who have an even broader view of their organization and their activities can see where bottlenecks occur or the potential for one. They can also seek out and find opportunities to measure productivity through their reviews of documentation. They can also see where the department is off course from its mission.
Think about It
The few things I’ve mentioned here are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the difference we make every day with all of our constituents. Take some time to appreciate yourself and the difference you are making. Make sure you find ways to make those differences known. It’s very easy for us and our skill set to be taken for granted. It’s up to you to make sure that doesn’t happen. Keep track of those differences for yourself and for use when you are in your performance review. Don’t resist the kudos you get. Save them and review them. Ours can be tough a job sometimes, so take good care of yourself.
What differences do you see that we make that sometimes go unnoticed?
Great stories! Awesome job letting us know your work is making a real positive difference for others.
HI Connie… Reading through your post was the exact thing I needed today after yet another omission of my name from necessary status updates. By the way, the manual is due next week! LOL Thank you for brightening my day.