Avoiding the complicator

Working with a client recently they were very keen to have clear and concise documents prepared. Part of their rationale; as a small organisation the resource 'tax' to produce lengthy and complicated documents was too high.

Helping to write up-dated documents has seen a 6 page policy shortened to 1 page, and a 25 page strategy to 4 pages.

Not only has this reduced the length of documents, they are also less complicated and that means the key points are much easier to find, remember and work with.

A big help with this work was the excellent resource from WorkSafe New Zealand - their Guide to writing health and safety documents for your workplace. 

The guide can be applied more broadly and includes a table of Complex words and phrases along with words to use instead. It is worth a read for these tips alone. 

Well done to the team who produced this resource!