Revise Poor Communication

For this practice exercise, you will continue working on your information and document design skills. You will choose ONE of the following exercises from BWS Ch 5 to revise, keeping in mind that all final submissions should be in memo format (since they are internal communications) and make use of headings and/or lists.

Choose ONE:

• 5D: Revise a poor communication about child care policies, p. 121
• 5E: Revise a poor communication about flexible work schedules, p. 122
• 5F: Revise a poor communication about holiday office coverage, p. 124
• 5G: Revise a poor communication about employee parking, p. 125

Submission 1/2 to 1 page, single-spaced, block style memo. Be sure to use headings and/or lists to group, organize, and signal content. Do not use underline.

Application 5-F Revise a Poor Communication about Holiday Office Coverage The background. Sometimes special circumstances, such as major holidays or emergency situations, require a temporary shift in work schedules or in the availability of certain company resources. Some companies develop "what if work protocols before unusual events even occur; others have to improvise when a sudden need arises. In this application, Framish Fiduciary needs work coverage over the Thanksgiving holiday, and no plan for this coverage is in place. The HR director has, however, written a memo that will probably irritate employees on every level. For one thing, the memo lacks empathy. For another, it is confusing: is the HR director announcing a plan, requesting input, or both? Review the current memo and then revise it so that it makes a clear announcement of a settled plan. Dear Colleagues: As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday (Thursday and Friday, November 2425), we need to plan for coverage of essential functions during those days. All nonessential staff will take November 24 and 25 off as scheduled. The situation is different for our security guards, for the computer technicians who maintain our Web site services, for the phone receptionists (needed on November 24 only), and for all staff working on the Behemoth Project (for which the completion deadline is Monday, November 28). All employees in these categories will need to work regular hours, in shifts to be arranged, on either November 24 or 25 or perhaps both days. Each division manager will submit a holiday-coverage plan for approval by November 7. Employees who are required to work on November 24 and/or 25 will receive compensatory vacation day(s) to be taken in the month of December 2016. Thanks for your cooperation as we all pull together to make Framish Fiduciary Inc. the most reliable financial-service agency in New York. Sincerely, James Kiehl Human Resources The purpose and audience. Again, the goal is to make the memo an announcement of a settled plan for the holidays (which you might need to flesh out a bit), and not also a request for the directors to submit further information. You will want your office coverage goals to be clear, reasonable, and sympathetic to those who must work through Thanksgiving. The communication strategy. Even though such terminology is common in business organizations, no one wants to be regarded as nonessential. However, few if any employees will enjoy working through the holidays, even if it means two extra days off in December. See if you can clarify the responsibilities needing coverage during the holidays and write, in general, with a more sympathetic understanding of the (temporary) hardships to be endured by some colleagues