Tools of the Trade
A Monthly Guide to Communicating Effectively at Work |
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Greetings!
Welcome to the June edition of Write It Well's newsletter. Each month we offer you our time-tested tools and strategies that make it easier to write at work. Feel free to forward this message to friends and coworkers who are also interested in learning to write more effectively.
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Writing Performance Objectives
Determining performance objectives is the same challenge as setting clear expectations. If your objectives are clear, then your evaluation process will also be clear.
To be useful, most performance objectives should meet the five following SMART criteria by being ...
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Time-bound
Here are some performance objectives that fail to meet the SMART criteria:
- Become familiar with the Department's Internet Usage Policy.
- Learn the records management system.
- Be able to balance client accounts.
- Be able to prepare audit reports.
And here are some before-and-after examples of ways you could rewrite those four problematic objectives to meet the SMART criteria:
- Become familiar with the Department's Internet Usage Policy.
- Read the Department's Internet Usage Policy by May 17th. Be able to answer 10 out of 10 questions correctly when tested.
- Learn the records management system.
- Attend a records management class and practice using the records management system with the assistance of an experienced coworker. Given a set of records two weeks after the class, be able to store them appropriately without assistance and with no more than three errors.
- Be able to balance client accounts.
- With little or no supervision or coworker assistance, be able to balance client accounts within the time specified by your supervisor.
- Be able to prepare audit reports.
- Prepare audit reports that meet the guidelines in the Audit Report Manual. Complete assigned reports without error by 4 p.m. every first and third Thursday.
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 Write It Well's Training,Writing & Editing,and Content
 Our new homepage says it all -- even more clearly than before! We offer the following services: - Training. Save time and money by helping employees at your organization get to the point clearly, organize their thoughts and ideas, and present a professional image.
- Writing and editing. Offload your crucial writing project to a company you trust. Send us your reports, proposals, newsletters, technical documents, white papers, or notes you've jotted on a napkin.
- Business writing content. Don't recreate the wheel! Use our materials for individual or group study. Books, e-books, facilitator kits and other learning tools are available now.
What's New at Write It Well
We're going e-crazy! Two of our books, Essential Grammar and Writing Performance Reviews are already available as Kindle books. By end of September, all of our books will be available as e-books and Kindle books. Summer sale! For the rest of the month of June, we'll take 25 percent off any of our facilitator kits (21 books plus leader guide and slides). Put your kit(s) in the Write It Well shopping card, enter the discount code WriteBetter (not case-sensitive), and your total will be recalculated. You talked. We listened, learned, and updated our programs! Contact us for more information about new workshops, webinars, and blended solutions: - Professional Writing Skills: Five Simple Steps to Write Anything to Anyone
- E-Mail: Strategies for Effective Communication
- Content Strategy and Development: Writing for Web, Social Media, and other Marketing Channels
- Drive Results: Writing Performance Reviews the SMART Way
- Advanced Writing for Managers and Supervisors: Reports, Proposals, and Procedures
- Be Your Own Editor: Essential Grammar and Proofreading Strategies
- Presentation Skills: Develop and Deliver Powerful Presentations
- Get the Job: Effective Cover Letters and Resumes
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Stay tuned to our newsletter! In July, we'll share our five-step process for writing anything to anyone.
Just a Bit about Us
Write It Well is a boutique training, writing and editing, and content development firm serving multinational clients from offices in California and Singapore. Since 1980, we've helped people in the workplace communicate clearly and work together effectively.
We develop and deliver online and on-site programs, publish a line of popular business-writing texts and facilitator kits, and provide writing and editing services for large and small organizations.
We offer nine primary training programs: Marketing Writing, Writing Performance Reviews, Effective E-Mail, Business Writing, Technical Writing, Reports and Proposals, Professional Presentation Skills, our Superintendents' Workshop, and Essential Grammar. You can customize any of our job-relevant programs, and they get results.
Write It Well is certified as a woman-owned business (WBE) and a California State supplier (57828). Write It Well Pte. Ltd. is registered in Singapore (201132402N).
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