Employees' writing skills — or the lack of them — substantially affect the bottom line in ways you may never have considered. This article gives some surprising examples.
Mangled syntax can cause expensive confusion, inconvenience or even danger. Here are just a few examples.
A consultant's proposal on a new benefits package for his corporate client read, "By paying a 5% premium on wages, all employees will be enrolled in the company insurance program." Who was supposed to pay the 5%? According to this sentence, the employees would pay - but in fact the company was to pay. It should have read, "By paying a premium of 5% of wages, the company can enroll all employees in its insurance program." A big difference - and potentially a deal breaker.
A passenger broke into the flight deck on a commercial airplane. Subsequent investigation revealed that written regulations said, "The doors to the flight deck must be locked only on takeoff and landing." What exactly does that mean? Must they be unlocked at other times? Or are they simply permitted to be unlocked at other times? Misinterpretation of this ambiguous message almost resulted in disaster.
An airport terminal sign read, "No smoking areas available." Does that mean there are no areas where people may smoke? Or does it mean there are areas set aside for non-smokers?A company tried to cancel a contract, believing the contract allowed it to do so under current conditions. But because of the incorrect placement of a comma in the agreement, the other party contested the cancellation, and successfully sued the company for $1.2 million. Expensive comma!Corporate America spends billions of dollars annually on remedial writing programs for employees at all levels. Organizations who invest in this training understand the potential ROI that comes from eliminating such simple, but expensive, writing mistakes.
Lively Listening: Nine Simple Rules
Listening is underrated and underused, but it is one of the most important communication skills. Good listeners are valued by those with whom they interact. These nine simple steps will help you become an effective listener.Employee Morale, Employee Retention and Common Civility
Employee retention is an ongoing challenge in today's workplace. Employee reward programs are an integral part of the solution, but the root cause of morale problems can easily be addressed with no financial outlay at all.Include Team Members In Setting Goals for the Year
New Year is traditionally the time for great plans and schemes to be hatched by those at the top of organizations and teams. But implementation is often doomed from the start, because all the team members were not included in creating the plans. If you include team members in setting goals for the year, you'll have a much better chance of success.