Thanks for recognizing us technical writers Olly! Sometimes I feel left out...lol! I'm currently under contract to develop manuals and training materials for the government, linked to new Covid requirements.
Funny thing is, my fascination with people is helping me do it. Because as part of the training we write scripts for scenarios, and try to identify why someone may purposefully or inadvertently not follow the rules. You really have to dissect people's motivations. Ok, I'm going to toot my own horn here, as you have given me the platform. I have actually become a specialist in this area and have won awards for my writing of policy training materials. Mostly, because I recognized a huge gap in training about 10 years ago, that most training in the areas of policy focused on gross fraud. Those cases are so few and far between. Most employees come into contact with more mild cases of policy breach, like minor cheating on expense accounts, inadvertently breaking confidentiality, or simple mistakes due to not knowing where to find guidance.
When I taught the sessions, I would watch people carefully to see their reaction when they internally realised that they may have inadvertently broken a rule. You could read it in their eyes. In time I learned to warn people in advance of training not to share any personal experiences to prevent them from exposing themselves in class.
But I think my fascination with people without doubt makes me a better writer of policy and training.
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