Are you thinking about partnering with a technical writer to accomplish your documentation goals? There are a lot of good reasons to hire an external professional for the project. Consider this short list:
Support staff is busy with other enterprise endeavors
In-house administrative resources are often busy supporting a myriad of other business processes. Consequently, time constraints can prevent them from capturing the necessary details required to complete a document such as a Policy Manual or a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual. A technical writer, on the other hand, can train their focus on the project and use the bulk of their workday to gather information and use it to produce the necessary documentation.
Team documentation can vary widely
Many team members maintain notes about projects, work processes, and resources—but others don’t, which can create huge gaps in a company’s institutional knowledge base when these employees are promoted, downsized or choose to move on to other opportunities. A technical writer can help assemble all of that knowledge in a central, accessible location.
Timelines, goals and ownership assures success
Creating comprehensive documentation involves much more than just capturing information. Consider these questions:
- Do you have a plan that defines the scope of the project and sets the timeline for completion?
- How will you guarantee that the style and organization of the material is consistent?
- Who is in charge of scheduling multiple interviews with each member of the team to ensure that their information is included?
A technical writer’s approach draws heavily on past experience in managing these aspects of a project.
Updating, streamlining and organizing is essential
In addition to managing the documentation process, a technical writer can add value to a company’s business processes in many other ways. These may include the following:
- Updating, streamlining and organizing existing documentation
- Reviewing and deleting outdated documentation
- Collaborating with other company departments such as marketing in order to produce documentation that fulfills multiple needs across different platforms
If collaborating with a technical writer sounds like a good solution for the needs of your business, be sure to check out the post titled Four things to consider before hiring a technical writer. And don’t hesitate to drop me an email or call 206-351-8098 to discuss your project—I’m happy to answer your questions!