Is a Technical Communication Strategy Missing from Your Operational Strategy?

I was working a contract once for a Federally regulated company. Because it was heavily regulated, it had a set of operational and procedural manuals that were mandated and managed by a publications group. These manuals were regularly audited by the Federal agency to ensure compliance with Federal regulations. 

While this set of manuals was the governing authority for conducting business within this company, they really did not meet the needs of the employees they actually governed. A conscious decision was made by the department leadership to pull the procedural documentation out of their corporately managed manual. They instead would manage their procedural content within the department through a complete set of standard operating procedures along with reference and training materials. 

The action they took enabled the department to become more agile and to meet the needs of their employees while they were undergoing frequent and rapid business process changes. It also required them to have a two-tiered technical communication strategy within their department to cover both the regulatory manuals and the day-to-day operational material they needed for the department to run efficiently and effectively. 

Why do we need a technical communication strategy?

There are a number of reasons why an organization needs a technical communication strategy, here are just a few:

• Communication is important in an organization, but technical communication is critical path to a reliable one
• People who are expected to perform functions within an organization rely on the the organization’s ability to meet their needs with regular and reliable dissemination of information and training directly related to their jobs to execute their duties to the best of their ability
• How well an organization prepares, organizes, disseminates and funds their technical information and training can make the difference between an organization that is reliably performing and one that is not
• Provides direction for and from the leadership team on what is needed in the area of technical communication
• Provides direction for the team developing and disseminating technical information
• Promotes employee satisfaction

What is a technical communication strategy?

It can be simple or complex depending upon the organization. At a minimum the strategy should include:

• Roles and responsibilities 
• Analysis of the current state of the organization’s technical communication
  • Evaluation of the quality, quantity and accessibility of its content
  • Evaluation of its effectiveness (what’s working and what’s not working)
  • What’s missing?
• Documentation development, maintenance, storage and accessibility
• Training development, maintenance, storage and accessibility
• Technical literature development, maintenance storage and accessibility 
  • White papers
  • Product specifications
  • Reference documents
• Development and delivery tools assessment and needs
• Staffing requirements

What happens without one?

Chaos in the organization that results in:

• A hap-hazard approach to informing employees
• Complaining, disengaged and unsatisfied employees 
• Inconsistent training and development of employees
• Unreliable delivery mechanisms
• Information hoarding
• Inability to plan for the future (staffing and needs)
• Technical communication failure

Does your current strategy need refinement?

As with any other operational strategy, it’s important to consistently review and analyze your technical communication strategy to make sure it is on track for meeting the mission, values and goals or your organization and the needs of your employees. Do you need:

• Technology improvements for authoring, workflow, project management, storage and dissemination?
• Staffing changes, education and/or training?
• Budget adjustments?
• Process and procedural improvements

A solid technical communication strategy can and will keep your employees on track to perform at their highest levels. Don’t overlook this vital element when formulating an operational strategy for your organization.