Review of Holly Harkness’s “Ten Ways to
Increase Your Value as a Technical Communicator”
by Adrienne Martin, STC-SRC Newsletter Editor
On October 25, 2006, some of us from the Snake River Chapter gathered
at iLevel by Weyerhaeuser hear a presentation by Holly Harkness entitled,
“Ten Ways to Increase Your Value as a Technical Communicator.”
Sharing her knowledge via PowerPoint and over the phone and then answering
questions from all over the country, the STC Atlanta Chapter President
smoothly and successfully facilitated a great webinar.
Holly’s presentation began with some prerequisites to success. In
order to increase your value, you must have value already—meaning,
you already do good work and someone (other than you) knows it. You must
also have the will to become something more as a technical communicator,
and this means thinking outside the proverbial box. For example, as Holly
explained, many technical communicators work well as trainers or instructors.
Technical writing, she pointed out, is itself instructive, so should be
an easy leap for those already in this field.
She emphasized that technology is always advancing, and we must adapt
by using its ever-changing methods to communicate knowledge and expand
ideas. She mentioned that using e-Learning or other online training is
a good way to make sure people get the information they need at a pace
they can handle.
Other ways to show employers that technical communicators are valuable
is by emphasizing our versatility through our actions and suggestions.
Holly pointed out that as companies grow and develop, policies change
and need to be communicated, often with precision. As technical communicators,
that happens to be a strong point, and with a little creative thinking
we can improve our reputation internally by making ourselves useful outside
of our particular departments.
Many times we are called on to create some kind of reference sheet or
informative memo for our department, but often we don’t realize how
far we can take that skill. Holly stressed that our editorial and business
writing skills can play an important role in increasing not only our own
value, but also the value of our company. Business writing skills are
not universal even in professional settings, and as the need to communicate
effectively becomes more evident in the workplace, we can utilize our
expertise by passing them on to our associates.
Holly went on to emphasize the skills technical communicators have beyond
writing and editing, and how these skills can serve our interests in increasing
our value. Many of us are knowledgeable about the web industry or design
software, and can stretch those interests to other departments.
We work in an ever-changing world of technology and as technical communicators,
we are used to handling new software, policies, and other technical obstacles.
The management of projects and change overall can be daunting to those
less used to the process, and we can make ourselves more valuable by marketing
our skills to other departments than our own. As Holly observed, new technology
can be scary, and change can backfire if it is not handled well. The two
keys to managing change, she said, are communication and training, both
of which are familiar to us as technical communicators.
Holly ended with encouragement to us to do a self-assessment, determining
our strengths and “surveying the landscape,” trying to figure
out how we can use our tools to increase the value of those we work for.
Another key thing to remember is that we have our own personal goals for
development and we need to consider where we want to go professionally
on our own terms. Holly’s presentation was informative and encouraging,
focusing on ways to seek out opportunities in our personal work environments.
I was particularly inspired by her emphasis on utilizing skills we already
have in ways we don’t often think about.
Holly can be reached at holly.harkness@mirant.com,
and you can subscribe to her blog at http://atl-stc-prez.livejournal.com.
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