Dealing with Difficult Employees in the Technical Communication Workplace

Some of the more intractable problems we face on the job are the human ones. But cranky though Microsoft Word often seems, most of its blowups are at least predictable; humans are anything but. The worst problems can arise when you find yourself in a situation where power relationships come into play, which is often the case when you're managing another employee and responsible for their work and their on-the-job behavior. For a variety of reasons, technical communicators are often seen as 'difficult' or 'problem' employees--this means that co-workers tend to complain about us and insist that our managers correct our behavior. Unfortunately, we often work in high-stress environments that make it difficult for us to work calmly and difficult for colleagues to work with us peacefully. Many communicators complain that developers and other subject matter experts (SMEs) don't bother to understand what we do and thus, don't respect our work. As a result, they often consider meeting their own deadlines far more important than helping us do our work, and when we must ask them to provide the information we need to complete our documentation or to review draft documents, we don't get what we need. The result? We're forced to nag, and that can get us labeled as problems, not colleagues.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. TECHWR-L (2002). Careers>Management>Collaboration>SMEs

Dealing With Problem Group Members

You will usually find your university teammates as interested in learning as you are. Occasionally, however, you may encounter a person who creates difficulties. This handout is meant to give you practical advice for this type of situation.

Oakley, Barbara. University of New Mexico (2002). Articles>Collaboration

Delivering Bad News Effectively (and Other Useful Communication Skills for Managers)  

Learning how to communicate effectively when people problems arise is a key to your success as a manager. To make the process easier for yourself, you should learn to set clear expectations of your employees, make specific observations of their work and behavior, conduct timely communication with them when problems arise, listen closely when they respond, and schedule a follow-up meeting after the crisis has passed.

Giammona, Barbara A. STC Proceedings (1999). Careers>Management>Communication>Collaboration

The Demise of the Lone Ranger  

Mavericks need not apply. In Web design, you have to collaborate.

Giordan, Daniel. Adobe Magazine (2000). Careers>Web Design>Collaboration

Democracy, Deliberation and Design: The Case of Online Discussion Forums    

Within democratic theory, the deliberative variant has assumed pre-eminence. It represents for many the ideal of democracy, and in pursuit of this ideal, online discussion forums have been proposed as solutions to the practical limits to mass deliberation. Critics have pointed to evidence which suggests that online discussion has tended to undermine deliberation. This article argues that this claim, which generates a stand-off between the two camps, misses a key issue: the role played by design in facilitating or thwarting deliberation. It argues that political choices are made both about the format and operation of the online discussion, and that this affects the possibility of deliberation. Evidence for the impact of design (and the choices behind it) is drawn from analysis of European Union and UK discussion forums. This evidence suggests that we should view deliberation as dependent on design and choice, rather than a predetermined product of the technology.

Wright, Scott and John Street. New Media and Society (2007). Articles>Collaboration>Online

Design Case: Building Community in a Design Effort in a Decentralized, Individualistic Setting  

WebFeat is a web development effort by about 40 students, faculty and staff in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington. In this design environment, the challenges of building community among the members of the design team are substantial. We devised a suite of tools and processes designed to foster a sense of community and participation in the development process, as well as to lay the groundwork for participatory maintenance of the site in the future.

Ramey, Judith A. and David K. Farkas. Symposium on Designing Interactive Systems (1997). Design>Web Design>Collaboration

The Design Constitution

What is your understanding of the dynamics of the Client/Creative relationship? I've heard lots of opinions and countless complaints, but in all my wanderings, I have yet to find a good, non-legalese consensus of what we should expect of each other.

Chuck Green. Ideabook.com (2005). Design>Collaboration

Design Teams and the Web: A Collaborative Model for the Workplace    

Formal corporate models that standardize collaborative processes into rigid templates and flow charts can actually become anti-collaborative and isolate team members from each other. This divisionary effect is particularly problematic for World Wide Web hypertexts, which often require on-going, dynamic collaborations between professionals with diverse specializations. In this article, we examine collaborative processes through theory and two Web project team interactions: one that reflects a failed formal process model, and one that represents a more successful dialogic model. Because dialogic models are non-formal and inherently adaptable, they are thus stronger process models for collaboration, particularly for Web design projects.

Wambeam, Cynthia A. and Robert Kramer. Technical Communication Online (1996). Design>Web Design>Collaboration

Designating User Communities for Scientific Data: Challenges and Solutions    

Defining a 'designated user community' for a data collection is essential to good scientific data stewardship. It enables data managers to determine what information is necessary to ensure the usability of the data now and into the future. It helps managers present and enable access to the data and may determine the format of the data. However, defining a community is difficult, and it is impossible to predict how the use of a data collection may change over time. This creates a series of data management problems for data stewards that may be mitigated by a set of best practices.

Parsons, M.A. and R. Duerr. Data Science Journal (2005). Articles>Communication>Scientific Communication>Collaboration

Designing Lotus Notes Databases for Global Collaboration  

Notes databases can provide versatile environments for developing and sharing knowledge globally through both client-based and Web-based applications. In this panel discussion we explore some of the issues facing information designers as they enable communication and collaboration in work groups. We will focus on how to determine if Notes is an optimal solution, how to translate information needs into effective design elements and functionalities in Notes, and how we can help ease the transition to the world of Notes for new users.

Knodel, Elinor L., Donald J. Green and Faye Smith. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Collaboration>Databases

Desktop Videoconferencing--State of the Art  

Archee assesses the current state of DTV technology.

Archee, Raymond K. Intercom (2000). Design>Collaboration>Online>Video

Developing a Content Management Team for Your Intranet    

What is the overall process? Who are the players? What are their best uses?

Boiko, Bob. SLA (2002). Presentations>Content Management>Collaboration

Developing a Document Planning Template  

Explains how a document planning template can establish consensus among team members regarding content and layout.

Tremmel, Martina A. Intercom (2004). Articles>Document Design>Document Design>Collaboration

Developing High-Performing Teams  

Social psychology and organization development suggest that virtually all people, and all teams, must deal with conflicting impulses toward effective and ineffective behaviour. Research shows that it is a basic human trait to want to succeed, to be in control, and to avoid embarrassment. Group dynamics research also suggests that teams operate on two dimensions: the task or work dimension, and the social or relationship dimension. High-performing teams pay attention to both the task and social environments. They create an environment that minimizes the occurrence of face-saving and defensive behaviour. This environment is usually characterized by honesty and authenticity, by the use of relevant and verifiable information, and by a willingness to own up to mistakes.

Conklin, John James. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>Collaboration>Management>Workplace

Developing Technical Curiosity: A Marketable Skill

Every technical writer should have strong writing skills. Just as important, in my judgment, is a keen sense of technical curiosity. As a hiring manager, I look for it in every job applicant I interview. If you do not have this sense naturally, you can develop it.

Harvey, Michael. Carolina Communique (2003). Careers>TC>Collaboration

Discover Buried Treasure at Your Local STC Chapter Meetings  

You don’t have to be an officer to benefit professionally from your local STC chapter meetings. Start attending your local chapter meetings and discover the many forms of buried treasure. These treasures will result in a new perspective to your writing, an increased library of professional resources, professional writers being hired at your workplace, and the chance to view the “Best of Show” writing. You can reap rewards such as these with a small investment of personal time.

Lunemann, Rhonda S. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Collaboration>Community Building>STC

Do Groups Know What They Don't Know? Dealing With Missing Information in Decision-Making Groups    

Although scholars have examined how individuals deal with information that is unavailable on decision-making tasks, little research has explored how groups deal with missing information. The present study proposes two ways groups can address information that is unavailable: by employing a diminished information set or by inferring the value of missing information. Both of these approaches are tested using an information sharing task. Groups are compared with information unavailable to any member, available but unshared among group members (i.e., hidden profile), and available and shared among all group members. Evidence indicates that group members may utilize both strategies to deal with missing information.

Henningsen, David Dryden and Mary Lynn Miller Henningsen. Visual Communication (2007). Articles>Knowledge Management>Collaboration

Do You Have a Reputation for Excellence?

Your reputation depends on your ability to be a public-spirited, plain-talking professional who serves the interests of your audience rather than your organization.

Olds, George. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Careers>Collaboration>Community Building

Documenting Contributory Expertise: The Value Added by Technical Communicators in Collaborative Writing Situations     

Technical communicators frequently collaborate in workplace projects and bring a host of different kinds of expertise to this collaboration. Yet the understanding of communicators’ expertise among managers and subject matter experts is grounded in a view of writing as a finished product and authorship as singular. This article documents many different kinds of 'contributory expertise' employed by writers collaborating to produce articles for publication. Expertise in research, textual composition, visual composition, as well as other kinds of expertise garnered on previous projects is often brought to collaborative projects. Often emerging and developing as a function of collaborative work is expertise in framing the project, conducting review processes, and assessing outcomes. These categories are discussed in some detail to provide practicing communicators with ideas for documenting expertise in their specific workplaces, to provide students with ideas for developing expertise in various areas, and to prov

Henry, Jim. Technical Communication Online (1998). Articles>Writing>Collaboration>SMEs

Documents That No Project Cannot Be Without

Short deadlines force project teams to quickly design, test, and release the product with little or no design documentation. If these documents are written, they generally are not well-written and are not comprehensive. The fact of the matter is that most project teams do not have enough staff to design the product, let alone write and manage documentation. This situation creates an ideal opportunity for technical writers to assist the project team in more ways than writing a user guide.

Dick, David J. Carolina Communique (2008). Articles>Documentation>Project Management>Collaboration

Does Communication Everywhere Improve Communication?

As much we think we are multitaskers, there's a limit to what we can process. How has technology's enabling of communication anywhere and everywhere affected us in the context of traditional activities? How do they interplay with each other?

Cheng, Kevin. OK-Cancel (2005). Articles>Technology>Wireless Web>Collaboration

Does Computer-Mediated Collaboration Really Improve Group Communication? Our General Findings

As companies continue to expand world-wide, effective communication among project teams and employees becomes a serious challenge. This has not only made it a necessity for businesses to share information electronically, but has also made it essential for organizations to promote team learning and innovation through group collaboration.  In fact, as we all know, it is common for business to interact and conduct group seminars in several countries, all at once, via the Internet. For example, several years ago Hewlett Packard conducted collaborative seminars in traditional classrooms.  Now however they focus almost exclusively on instructions via an interactive electronic network.  As Susan Burnett, of Hewlett Packard points out, 'we are constantly pushing to blur the lines between learning and doing the job' by using information technology (Perelman, 1994, p. 88).

Bernard, Michael, Ta-Tao Chuang and Shahid Ali. Usability News (2000). Articles>Usability>Collaboration

The Domino Effect: Changes Have Unforeseen Consequences

It's obvious that almost all the changes you make will affect your user community, but considerably less obvious how helpful that community can be about providing feedback before you make the changes.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2000). Articles>Technology>Collaboration

Don't Feed the Subject Matter Experts

I found myself wondering; was there any statistically significant relationship between feeding and cooperation?

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>Collaboration

Dr. Strangemeeting (or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Enjoy the Donuts)

Experts claim you'll spend 1500 hours in meetings during a typical 30-year career--that is, if you can duck some meetings by looking busy and if you can retire early. If you duck slowly or plan a long career, you could easily spend more time in meetings than you spend working. Fortunately, a little planning and some quick thinking should let you turn meetings into a blessing--or at least a tolerable evil.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2001). Careers>Workplace>Collaboration