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Re: Making a Business Case for Separate Doc/Training Dept
Subject:Re: Making a Business Case for Separate Doc/Training Dept From:Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Sun, 13 Jan 2002 13:27:53 -0800 (PST)
Based on the information you gave, there is no compelling reason to break
out training. The information that would be required to justify such a
division of work would be:
- Amount of training that must be produced for an established period.
- Amount of customers purchasing or using that training.
- Effectiveness of training in generating additional sales or greater
customer satisfaction.
- Market factors. What are your competitors doing?
- Financial factors. What will it cost. How does this affect per-unit
cost?
- Can training (and docs!) be outsourced to save even more money?
I think you get the idea. You need to analyze if there is real benefit to
hiring another person. Remember, hiring people is cost. Costs drive up
price. And if somebody can buy a product like yours somewhere else
cheaper, then taking on more costs would be a bad idea.
Since this is a small company, it is likely that the firm has limited
resources. Therefore, two people doing a job that one could just as easily
do, is a prevalent thought on any CEOs mind.
And the "two is better than one" theory isn't always true. Two writers
does not mean the work gets done twice as fast or twice as good. Adding
another writer could transform a relatively streamlined individual
environment into a non-stop bicker-fest where work is done slower and with
lower quality results.
Once you can start addressing these issues, you'll start swaying your CEO.
Andrew Plato
> I'm sure you'll want some background on the company I'm describing, so
here
> it is...
> * Very small company - 1 training person and 1 documentation person
> * Very flat organization - All managers are working managers and wield
> little actual power
> * The current manager for the trainer and writer has many other focus
points
> (tech support, the web site, OEM support, and all that).
>
> If you were the CEO, what would compel you to make a new department in
what
> is currently a very flat organization? So, think like a CEO and let me
know
> if you have any ideas! Thanks in advance!
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