Back to the Basics: Determining the Importance of Basic Writing Skills in the Workplace MBC Final Project Presentation Camille Verzal May 20, 2003

Frustrations n For me n For my co-workers n For my organization and its customers

Examples n Unnecessary time wasted n Rework n Cost to PDI

Key Questions n How important are high-quality writing skills to PDI? n What is the quality of people’s writing overall? n Is there a need for the PDI style guide? n Do employees need training on how to use the style guide?

Research Question Do PDI employees place high value on grammatically correct written communications that follow a consistent corporate style?

The Survey n 30 questions n Paper survey n Interoffice mail distribution n Population of all PDI employees

The Survey Numbers Population size:500 employees Sample size:233 employees Number of returned surveys:115 Response rate:49%

Importance of Writing Skills 94% of respondents said they “strongly agree” or “agree” with the statement: “Effective writing skills (e.g., good grammar and spelling, proper punctuation and style) are important to my position at PDI.”

Importance of Writing Skills 93% of respondents said they “strongly disagree” or “disagree” with the statement: “As long as the message is clear, I am not concerned with the number of spelling or grammar errors that appear in written communications that I receive.”

Quality of Writing Skills n 66% of respondents agreed that they have excellent writing skills. n 41% of respondents agreed that their co- workers have excellent writing skills. n 35% of respondents said they had received negative comments from clients complaining of typos, misspellings, and grammar errors.

The PDI Style Guide “I am aware that PDI has a style guide.”

The PDI Style Guide “I use the PDI style guide.” However, 38% of respondents said they would be motivated to use the style guide if they knew where to locate a copy.

Training Needs How could PDI best help its employees improve their writing communications? n Improve the PDI style guide and provide orientation on it (23%) n Have people go through a voluntary basic writing program (23%) n Have all employees go through a basic writing training session (14%) n Have a grammar tip sent every week via (11%)

Survey Results Do PDI employees place high value on grammatically correct written communications that follow a consistent corporate style? Yes!

Recommendations n Revise the style guide and ensure that all employees receive a copy. n Market the benefits of the style guide and provide orientation on how to use it. n Encourage senior-level employees to play a role. n Develop informal training sessions on basic writing skills. nConduct follow-up studies that measure: –Time and cost associated with poor writing skills. –Improvement in writing skills following basic training.

1515 Any Questions?