Re: "Weaning" strategies

[Jean Weber <jhweber -at- WHITSUNDAY -dot- NET -dot- AU>]

My experience (with a lot of different people and companies, including
science research establishments and engineering firms as well as software
development teams) suggests that a better solution is to join them, not to
fight them.

Rather than attempting to teach the other staff members to write better
(and thus wean them off your services), hire or contract with a good editor
(perhaps part-time) to do the rewriting and proofreading. It's a win-win
deal -- everyone will be happier, you'll get better results, and it's
usually more cost-effective too, because it leaves everyone to do whatever
they do best.

Reading further through my mail, I see Sella Rush < sellar -at- apptechsys -dot- com >
has said much the same thing. (And perhaps by the time I send this, others
will have done so too.)

Jean

Jean Hollis Weber
P.O. Box 640, Airlie Beach, QLD 4802
Australia
Ph. (07) 4948 0450
Fax. (07) 4948 0435
jhweber -at- whitsunday -dot- net -dot- au

----------
> From: Michael Sperger <msperger -at- YAHOO -dot- COM>
> To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject: "Weaning" strategies
> Date: Tuesday, July 21, 1998 2:09
>
> All,
>
> 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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