By Dana P Skopal, PhD
At work we often need to write material content for different purposes – for example, workplace safety procedures or cybersecurity risk management procedures. Workplace safety – whether in a physical office or working online – needs to be set out as steps to inform staff.
Each business needs a workplace/ cybersecurity safety policy, which should be reformulated into practical procedures for staff to follow. Many organisations have separate policies and procedures, which can be an effective way to break up messages. A clear policy document enables management to set the ‘rules’ relating to regulations and monitor compliance issues, while a good set of practical procedures enables staff to understand the necessary steps.
When writing a procedure, it is important to not follow the legalese and often confusing wording of the regulations. Writing involves planning, and one effective process is to simply list the five or six key points that staff must know. Plan these key points without looking at the original text, as that way you can clearly explain the information as if you were talking face-to-face.
As a workplace writer, aim to:
- clarify the purpose of the document (to inform or how to analyse all the risks?)
- understand the readers’ requirements (who are the final readers?)
- agree what key information goes first (what is most important?)
- agree on the tone (how does it sound? formal/ technical?)
- edit to make the message clear, particularly so a reader knows what they need to do to be safe.
Don’t fall into the trap of copying or paraphrasing the long-winded explanations from the regulations. Staff may also respond to a one-page list of key points, which can be conveyed using document design (such as good flow charts with fun images,) or if necessary, be written in Easy English (for lower literacy levels).
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