Your writing process: value or cost?
Anne-Marie Chisnall | July 16, 2024
Take the time to check your writing process and calculate how much time you could save. Photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash
We all agree — the work we do has value. We measure the value of our work through its efficiency, effectiveness, and, most importantly, its return on investment. Most office-based roles involve a lot of writing. Yet we usually don’t calculate the value of our writing in business terms.
You could say that words come with a price tag — the words we print and the words we waste in circles of review.
How much are words costing you?
Most office-based roles involve written communication — often in the form of emails, reports, memos, proposals, contracts, and many more. We spend a lot of time writing these communications. But we seldom write something and get it right first time. And rarely do we calculate the value of our writing time in dollar terms.
As a team member, you’ve probably found that your manager needs to have input before that business case goes to the board. Imagine the satisfaction of sending your writing to your manager knowing they’ll be happy to send it on!
And if you’re a manager, how often are you able to confidently send a report to the senior executive team without needing to change something? Imagine the efficiency gains in your content creation process from needing fewer iterations.
What if you could approve a report with only one or two small changes? If you could get back your weekends and evenings because you know you and your team can write well?
Calculate the cost of your writing
Our calculators show you just how much time you could save with a better writing process and improved skills in your team.
Help your people to work write smarter, not harder
Our top tip for effective writing is to use a standard. The Write Plain Language Standard is available from our website, and it’s free to use or adapt under Creative Commons.
The Write Plain Language Standard is a set of 10 statements that describe the features of a clear, reader-friendly, and effective document. Use the Standard as a checklist to quickly assess any document.
Download the Write Plain Language Standard
Read more about getting value from writing
Our workshops help your team members to write more efficiently. You’ll be building capability in your existing team and empowering them to have confidence in their writing skills.
You’ll reduce the potential for rework and win back some of the hours in your day.
Check out our workshops on a range of business writing topics
Register for our foundation workshop, Business Writing Essentials
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