Auditing and evaluation
Workplace writing training
Editing and engineering
The Plain English Foundation did a writing audit and began an organisation-wide training program in a major government department in October 2000. Since then, we have trained the entire agency staff, from its Executive to the Executive Assistants.
The department also invited us to re-engineer its standard document templates:
- memos
- ministerial briefings
- cabinet materials
- technical circulars
- parliamentary briefing notes
We developed new writing templates with an internal working group, and the Minister approved them enthusiastically. We also co-wrote and edited key policy documents, reports and papers.
Our progress reports assess the new levels of writing skills. Our second-round writing workshops are now honing individual staff skills and targeting specific writing tasks such as report writing.
The average departmental document is now one-third shorter, and readability has lifted significantly. Staff surveys show that fewer submissions need redrafting, saving considerable time and bringing lasting improvements in clarity, efficiency and readability. One director commented: ‘It has made us all think more clearly as well’.
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