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.
Subject:RE: Fostering Teamwork and Communication From:John Posada <JPosada -at- book -dot- com> To:"'dthomps -at- foundationsoft -dot- com'" <dthomps -at- foundationsoft -dot- com>, TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 21 Aug 2003 11:08:57 -0400
Take another direction...don't put up with the complaints. Your job is to
train each department on the best way for them to do their job with the
software or application...you're not a messenger between them. You WON'T get
either of them to see the other side...all you'll do is identify yourself to
each of them as belonging to the other side.
Just because they want to play games doesn't mean you have to play with
them.
I'll give you a more extreme example of the situation that I'm under. I'm
documenting a system at a facility separate from the home office. They
believe that the sole purpose of me doing this is to drain their minds of
information so they can be eliminated.
John Posada
Senior Technical Writer
Barnes&Noble.com
NY: 212-414-6656
Dayton: 732-438-3372
"Alright, nobody move! I've got a dragon here, and I'm not afraid to use it"
---------- Donkey
> The two departments have what I imagine is a classic problem -- they
> severely dislike each other. Because I facilitate the
> communication between
> both departments, I bear the brunt of this. When I hold
> training classes for
> support, they gripe at me about everything under the sun, and
> when I return
> any comments or suggestions to R&D, they gripe that Support's
> not doing
> their job, doesn't understand, yadda yadda yadda.
>
> I'd like to find a way to get the two departments to see the
> other side of
> the fence a little more clearly and am planning to devote my
****************************************************************************
**********************************
This electronic mail message contains information that (a) is or may be
CONFIDENTIAL,
PROPRIETARY IN NATURE, OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED BY LAW FROM DISCLOSURE,
and (b) is intended only for the use of the addressee(s) named herein. If
you are not an
intended recipient, please contact the sender immediately and take the steps
necessary to
delete the message completely from your computer system.
Not Intended as a Substitute for a Writing: Notwithstanding the Uniform
Electronic Transaction
Act or any other law of similar effect, absent an express statement to the
contrary,
this e-mail message, its contents, and any attachments hereto are not
intended to represent
an offer or acceptance to enter into a contract and are not otherwise
intended to bind
this sender, barnesandnoble.com llc, barnesandnoble.com inc. or any other
person or entity.