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>Writers Book Mall said:
>>Jim Barrow wrote:
>>
>>The real problem for me is taking some of the projects on my plate and
scooping >>them onto my tech writers' plates - how do I delegate? Should I
just dump all of the >>information in their laps and say 'call me if you
have any questions'? Does anyone >>have any general advice on how to get new
hires up-to-speed?
>
>I think you're facing a couple of different issues. One is how to delegate,
and one is >how to train new writers. Full delegation will have to wait a
bit, until you can train the >new writer.
Thank you. It's good to know that there's always a guru around when Gene's
resting ;^)
>For training, you need to come up with at least an informal plan on what
the new >writer needs to know, in order of what they need to know first. In
the training biz, this >is called a training needs analysis, where you
identify the tasks you need this person >to be able to do, and then you
order the lessons covering those tasks in order of a. >importance and b.
frequency of use. In other words, they need to learn the important
>stuff that they will use frequently first, and then over time learn the
less >important/less frequently used stuff.
Hmmph...training needs analysis. Well, I know what I'm doing today. I
like process flows - they're like roller-coasters for my eyeballs:
>Then, for each "lesson", you figure out the best way to convey the
information. It >might be you (or a SME, or whoever) sitting with the new
writer, or having them read >a similar doc from the past, or you putting
together a procedure on how to do that >task in your organization, or having
the new writer tag along with you in certain >meetings, etc.
I'm with you on this one. I think I can train and get them started in one
task. I'm thinking that by having them edit my newly created docs, as well
as designing a System Use Case template, they would be more engaged in the
process.
>If it's just you and one other writer, you don't necessarily need to come
up with a >formal training program with fancy materials. Just focus on the
tasks for the new >writer and how they can best learn how to do those tasks.
Maybe I can let them loose on designing a training program;^)
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