Thinking about our e-portfolio assignment, the part I dread is redesigning my CV, because I tend to fixate on the next step – recruitment interviews. I consider myself lucky that I haven’t done a lot of them, but those I did were mostly awkward. Communicating my value makes me uncomfortable. Give me something to do to prove my value instead! That’s a pretty common trait, right?
As I was searching for CV inspiration and wondering how I could ever quantify my contributions (as suggested by many pieces on writing CVs) except in volume translated, I came across this 2017 seven-part essay by Tom Johnson of I’d Rather Be Writing on the “Value arguments for docs and tech comm”. Here, I will focus on what I learnt from part 2 but I highly recommend the whole essay.
Quantifying the value of technical communicators
Summarising past research into the topic, Johnson explains that technical communicators can encounter difficulties in communicating their value to business managers. Return on investment continues to be the #1 indicator, which means managers try to quantify the value of documentation and technical communicators in terms of increased benefits and reduced costs.
The issue for technical communicators is that the impact of their communication products is harder and takes longer to quantify. How do you measure the impact that technical communication has on other activities? How can you know how much of the reduction in support tickets is due to improved documentation? Communicating value through quantified ROI may also emphasize cost reductions at the expense of quality in many other aspects of the business: cut the documentation budget and training may suffer, support costs may increase, and customer attraction and retention may be impacted.
Shaping perceptions
In today’s knowledge economy, technical communicators have an opportunity to communicate their value as knowledge creators who can influence core activities (e.g., product design) thanks to their role as mediators between business stakeholders (designers, engineers, etc.) and customers. For businesses, this influence can translate into a competitive advantage that is not measurable through metrics like clicks. To convey their value, Johnson explains that technical communicators should rely on how these other business stakeholders perceive their value and they should make sure that these perceptions are shared with decision makers. A bit like having a company employee showing up to your job interview to promote your application. That would be neat!
This is where I go “deep learning” and relate to my experience. I have encountered translation agency instructions that referred to translation as something “basic” for end customers. Needless to say, I took great issue with specialist providers of translation referring to the very service they provide as basic – especially when there was a grammar mistake in said instructions. If you don’t see the value in your own business, how can you promote it to your customers and employees other than by implementing cost reductions at their expense? This is bound to reflect on your brand and the industry.
Similarly, when I started in translation, I had no clue about my value and how to communicate it. As a translation project manager, I was often told that I “do not need to bother the Salespeople/customer with that much detail”. Fair enough, but I think giving details is more beneficial than the opposite as long as you organise your communication so that the customer can get a clear overview and skip the details:
- You manage the customer’s expectations.
- You give the customer a clear reference they can use before contacting you in case of doubt.
- You show your dedication to them.
- You show that your quotation is legitimate.
- And yes, you are communicating your own value over the competition without referencing them.
As a freshly-installed freelance translator, I was not very self-confident, so I felt compelled to prove myself by laying out clear, detailed explanations for my processes, terminology choices, editing feedback, etc. Would I prefer to spend those 15+ minutes on something else? Absolutely. But, somehow, no project manager took issue with the details and soon enough I was assigned the bigger, more complex projects with managers asking my opinion on what process to implement. Some project managers even suggested I increase my rates (they probably shouldn’t have said that). I guess this was time well spent then.
Self-employment is not for everyone. However, having to differentiate myself from huge rosters of translators on a regular basis built up my self-confidence and did wonders for my revenue by shaping my direct requesters’ perception of me.
Conclusion
Reading Johnson’s post and looking back on my own experience, it seems that, in technical communication, having your value recognised results not only from consciously processing and presenting your decisions (e.g., with an e-portfolio) but also from shaping other people’s perception of you. This is important not only to promote yourself as an individual communicator but also to promote your department within the business. Reading Johnson’s essay, it seems that starting this conscious work of shaping perceptions as early as possible in one’s technical communication career is at least one way to avoid depending on inadequate quantified metrics.
References
Johnson, T. (2017) ‘Value arguments for docs and tech comm (Part II)’, I’d Rather Be Writing, 28 December, available: https://idratherbewriting.com/2017/12/28/value-of-tech-comm-in-company-part2/[last access 14 March 2019].
The Budding Techcomm Blogger 