TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Anonymous reports: <<We are a small software company with three full-time
writers. We hired a fourth--a newbie to the field, but a person we felt had
the potential to be an excellent communicator. Each writer in the department
is assigned to a particular product. The problem occurred when a new manager
took over the company's newest, most technologically advanced product. This
manager is very firm about creating a team environment within his product.
To that end, he requested that the new technical writer be removed from the
technical communications department and placed solely within his product
group.>>
One thing I've learned over the years is that there's a huge difference
between what appears on the organization chart and how things actually work.
Whether or not the new writer is formally part of the manager's team,
there's nothing to stop you from making the new writer informally part of
_your_ team; you made no mention of the manager trying to cut off contact
with your team, right? That being the case, I'd suggest that any solution to
what you perceive as a problem should start with the recognition that this
new manager is a gem without price: he actually wants a technical writer to
be an integral part of his team! If you can make that a precedent, by all
means do so. However:
<<There's also the argument that it's counter to how the entire company is
structured.>>
Not a valid argument. First off, do you really want to work for a company
that discourages initiative and teamwork with the developers? Second, it's a
senior manager's job to decide whether this is a permissible deviation from
the current structure--you can express your opinion, and support it with
facts, but making this decision doesn't lie within your responsibility or
authority. What you don't want to do is completely break up your department,
because there are clear advantages to writers working together to support
each other, so it's well worth talking to the aforementioned senior manager
to make sure that this new arrangement is a temporary loan, not a permanent
staff transfer. By accepting the new situation, you let the new manager
think he's won; by protecting your own turf, you've established a precedent
that your group gets to continue flexibly allocating its resources, have
kept the new writer part of your group, have demonstrated your willingness
to be flexible, and have avoided a potentially messy battle. Isn't that
better than turning this into a power struggle?
<<I asked who would be responsible for the quality of the writer's work, and
I was told that peer reviews, distribution formats, and ultimate document
quality would be the responsibility of the new manager.>>
That's generally a bad idea, unless that manager is a particularly good
communicator and can prove it to your satisfaction. _This_ point is one
that's worth fighting--diplomatically but very firmly--via your own manager.
<<As expected, the new writer is having to constantly come to us to learn
what to do--what tools are needed, where archived information is, etc. We've
been friendly and helpful and done our best (from a distance) to help her do
her job.>>
Sounds like you've adopted the perfect approach! This situation is no
different than it would have been if the new writer were working directly
with you. And while the manager may want the newcomer to be formally part of
his team, I doubt he has the authority to prevent communication with members
of other teams, including yours. If he tries, resist gently but firmly--and
resist via your own manager, since you probably don't have the authority to
do it yourself. One thing you should try to find out: why the new manager
wants to do things this way. You can't work with that manager if you don't
understand why because each new why provides a different solution. For
example, if that manager has learned at previous jobs that he can't always
get the writing resources he needs to complete the job, you must reassure
him that this won't be the case here; if the manager is an award-winning
technical writer who regularly receives bouquets of flowers from readers,
but his last documentation department produced entirely unusable docs, you
must alleviate the fears that this will happen again. And so on.
<<Should I continue to beat a dead horse and make a case for returning the
new writer to the department? Should I seek a middle ground where the writer
attends our planning sessions but still reports to the other manager? Should
I just let it go and do our own thing?>>
Keep doing what you're already doing (making the newcomer welcome and part
of your team), but work with your own managers to make it clear that this
current approach is an exception to a longstanding rule designed to meet a
short-term need. Emphasize that while you encourage the manager--and all
other managers, for that matter--to work closely with your new writer, this
does not provide justification for creating an entirely parallel way of
producing documentation. To bring the new manager into the process, try to
find out his views on the documentation process; there may be a way to
accomodate his needs without physically transferring the new writer, and
once you've persuaded him, you've gained an ally.
--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
"User's advocate" online monthly at
www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/usersadvocate.html
"I vowed [that] if I complained about things more than three times, I had to
do something about it."--Jon Shear
*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com
Sponsored by Cub Lea, specialist in low-cost outsourced development
and documentation. Overload and time-sensitive jobs at exceptional
rates. Unique free gifts for all visitors to http://www.cublea.com
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
