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Apologies if the subject line is a bit vague - I'm still not sure
exactly what to call this concept.
I provide writing, design, and proofreading support for an office of
about 20 in-house staff and about 200 consultants in the field. My
mission, should I choose to accept it, is to improve the quality of
written communication throughout our office.
My supervisor asked me to begin proofreading documents before they
went out the door. He hoped I would be able to impart some wisdom
through this process about how to write well. Instead, our staff
members are increasingly viewing me as their personal
writer/proofreader, saying that they do not need to learn anything as
long as I am there to do it for them.
So we need another attack plan. I want to "wean" these folks off of my
help, but we still have quality issues to tackle. How can I provide
useful support without simply becoming a crutch?
I'm sure this topic is as old as the hills, but I can't find anything
in the archives. Please send suggestions to me at msperger -at- yahoo -dot- com,
and I'll post a findings report when I've heard from a few of you. I
will be writing one up for my boss anyway.
Thanks for your help!
Mike Sperger
msperger -at- yahoo -dot- com
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