Which New Regulatory Changes Will Most Impact Outsourcing Contracts, and How?

In the last two years, more than 300 state bills were introduced directly targeting outsourcing. While the 12 bills that made it into law will impact government contracting most directly, certain pending legislation, if enacted, may force providers to have onshore operations for purposes of providing certain services or handling certain data.

Hirshman, Neil. Outsourcing Institute, The (2006). Careers>Management>Outsourcing>Contracts

Write Stuff: Hiring Winners  

You can take the subjective guesswork out of hiring by carefully analyzing a job’s tasks and creating a structured interview. With a consistent interviewing style and the use of good evaluation tools, you will be able to find the best candidate for the job. This progression topic will provide you with some tools to use for job analysis, interview development, and candidate selection.

Jensen, Susan M. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Interviewing>Management

Your Next Job: Creating Your Next Company  

At a time when the economy is in recession, it may seem foolish to launch a new company. On the other hand, at such a time who better than you should be in control of your career and your financial fortunes? Starting a new company is one way to be certain you will always have a job. In fact it’s a great way to ensure that you’ll have two or three jobs, most of which technical communicators are well qualified to do.

McCarthy, Dennis M. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Freelance>Management

Finding the Right Technical Writer

A no-nonsense approach to finding a great tech writer, even when you don't know what to look for.

Springsteen, JoAnna. CIO (2008). Careers>Management>Interviewing>Technical Writing

Technical Writing: A Candidate for Outsourcing?

Nowadays, outsourcing seems to be a de facto approach in the IT industry. As a part of the software development process, it seems reasonable to consider technical writing as a candidate for outsourcing. Through this article, I propose to explore the pros, cons, risks, and opportunities for outsourcing your technical documentation.

Talbot, Fabrice. LiveTechDocs (2008). Careers>Management>Outsourcing>Technical Writing

What CEOs Want—and Need—from Their Communication Executives

With corporate raiders, financial analysts and institutional investors all demanding "performance, performance, performance," CEOs are looking for creative communication executives who can help show that the direction they are taking the enterprise is guaranteed to increase shareholder value.

Shulman, Barry. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Careers>Management>Business Communication

Looking in the Mirror and Seeing a "Bad Boss"

I never had trouble spotting a bad boss—until I would look in a mirror. My hair might have been combed, and my teeth nice and clean, but something was still wrong on the inside—and I didn't see it. In other areas of my professional development, I've been able to treat mistakes and bad decisions as "learning opportunities." The mistakes and bad decisions that I've made as a supervisor or manager haven't been as easy for me to forgive—because it really hurts to hurt people.

Keefe, Tom. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Careers>Management

When It's Time to Get Serious About Internal Communication, Lay the Foundation with an Audit

While an internal communication audit is enormously valuable, many communicators don't know when one is needed, how it's done or what to do with the results. In fact, communicators who may in the end buy an audit are those who initially call for help wrestling with core communication issues. They want information and informal benchmarking, but they ask questions that foreshadow an audit.

Gordon, Greg. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Careers>Management>Communication

Use an Audit to Link Communication to Performance

Traditionally, a communication audit serves as an assessment of past performance, where the report of results highlight the strengths and weaknesses of internal communication. Based on this analysis, the communication department must determine where to invest its time and resources in the future.

Williams, John A. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Careers>Management>Communication

Communication Analytics: A New Way to Position the Traditional Audit

The communication audit has become a popular tool to measure audience satisfaction with the content and packaging of information. Typically, these audits are designed as surveys and/or focus groups that solicit reactions to important elements of the way that communication is managed, such as choice of media, relevance of topics, frequency and timing of publications and meetings, and the workplace climate.

Gayeski, Diane. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Careers>Management>Communication

Telling It Straight

What quality do employees most want from business leaders? A clear vision of the way ahead, perhaps? A charismatic leadership style? Political or business acumen? Of course, we demand all those qualities in leaders. But a recent piece of research points to a different quality as being the top priority for many employees.

Wilson, Liz. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Careers>Management

The Corporate Name: To Change or Not To Change

The announcement ads are everywhere-in magazines, in newspapers and on television. Hundreds of companies, large and small, change their names every year. The Wall Street Journal reports that some 400 to 800 annually make a name change, and these numbers don't include the thousands more that only consider such a move. Why is it that so many corporations are reassessing their names? What spurs them to undertake a procedure that is often painfully emotional, and, in all cases, is time consuming?

Bell, James. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Management>Marketing

Making Your Old Brand New: How to Reinvigorate Your Brand With a Memorable Tagline

In the customer's mind, your brand is forever being weighed, measured, compared and tested. To ensure its continued vitality and effectiveness, refresh and reaffirm your brand on a routine basis. The question is: How can you breathe new life into your old brand without reinventing the wheel or busting your budget? Think tagline.

Swartz, Eric. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Management>Marketing

The Partnering Game

If you work for a large corporation, you don't have to worry about who handles the invoicing, pays the bills, or manages pesky clients. But if you're a small business owner, all this quickly becomes your concern. Anecdotal evidence suggests that entrepreneurs are increasingly linking up with colleagues to work on specific projects or to create virtual agencies.

Steigman, Daria. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Management>Collaboration

A Call to Action

Employee engagement is certainly one of the hottest of the hot communication topics right now. It can be easily misunderstood as a new communication fad, given the attention it’s being given these days. But the truth is that engagement—winning the hearts and minds of employees—has always been the ultimate goal of effective employee communicators.

D'Aprix, Roger. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Management>Public Relations

Getting Real Results from Employee Engagement

I remember the day I turned on the car radio and found out that my company was merging with a competitor. Over the coming weeks, every employee made mental and emotional decisions on whether to stay engaged with their work and the company, or to just to show up and collect a paycheck.

Schmidt, Jeff. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Management>Public Relations>Workplace

Engagement: Linking Employees to Strategic Direction

When considering the issue of employee engagement, communicators need to know what they are dealing with. Engagement is something that plays out on an organization-wide level, so communicators should understand what an organization is.

Potter, Lester. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Management>Public Relations>Workplace

Competitive Advantage through Employee Engagement

Engagement. Is it the latest corporate buzzword? Not for serious business leaders who understand the correlation between engaged employees and improved financial performance. They see engagement as a source of competitive advantage. All things equal, they believe, an organization that has engaged employees will outperform one that doesn’t.

Shaffer, Jim. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Management>Collaboration>Workplace

A Look at the Next Generation of Measurement

In boom times, companies can be pressured into spending lavishly to please their employees, providing a variety of perks in the belief that happy employees are productive employees. While this may be true, when leaner times come and businesses struggle to grow, the goal of employee satisfaction is put under greater scrutiny. Today, investments in employee-related plans and programmes must do more than satisfy employees. They must be able to provide a measurable return on investment.

Fralicx, Rod. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Management>Financial

Using E-Mail as a Management Tool

We’ve all heard stories about people who clicked “send” too soon. But here’s a story you may not have heard. One of our clients described an e-mail message he recently received from upper management at his company. The message had some information about how to request annual leave and plans to landscape the building. The message ended with these words: “By the way, you have a new boss. The product development team’s new director will be James Yang. Margie Esposito, the former director, left last Friday.” Obviously, the cardinal rule of using e-mail as a management tool is “know when to use e-mail.” Some messages, like a sudden change in upper management, should be delivered in person.

Rudick, Marilynne and Leslie O'Flahavan. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Careers>Management>Online>Email

The Ingredients of Leadership 

There are crucial behaviors important people, successful executives, and true leaders use to move processes and people forward. These behaviors are the key ingredients of leadership. The more of these ingredients leaders take to heart, teach, and expect of others, the more power they will have to achieve their objectives.

Lukaszewski, James E. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Careers>Management>Business Communication

Building Successful Teams in the Midst of Transition 

Some people seem to thrive on change. How do they do it? How do they manage change in a way that they not only survive, but also excel? They seem to make change work for them. Here are five essentials on how to take your team through times of transition. One of the most significant essentials for success during transition is teambuilding. Leaders who can challenge, motivate and empower their teams through change are successful.

McKee, Thomas W. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Careers>Management>Collaboration