A workplace writing center is a small in-house service where employees get one-to-one help with their business writing. If poor writing costs your company time and money, it can be worth having one, as long as you can give it a room, a budget, and the right person to run it.
What a writing center is
At a university, you can easily find a writing center. It is a place where undergraduate and graduate students get much-needed help with drafting and revising their writing projects.
Writing centers are an important resource for students. There, they can talk about their writing goals, have their work reviewed, and get advice on what to do next. Writing projects can be stressful, and a writing center takes some of that stress away.
In the workplace, writing centers are still rare. Some people who work in the field see the workplace as the next frontier for writing centers, and a few large organizations have already set up writing centers for their staff.
The goal
Above all, the goal of a workplace writing center is to help professionals with their business writing. They may have written plenty in college, but they can still run into problems with clarity and organization. The counselor's job is to guide them, so that they improve their writing skills and deliver clear messages to their readers.
The challenges
If you want to pitch the idea of a writing center to your boss, keep in mind that the company has to provide the space, the budget, and the staff for it. At first, a small office with one counselor should be enough, especially in a small company.
Who should be the counselor?
A tutor from a university writing center would be a perfect fit. However, anyone who writes very well and knows how to give feedback can be a good candidate too.
The next challenge is that professionals like to be in charge. Even when they consult a writing expert, they want to stay in control of their content. So counselors should make clear from the very beginning that their job is to help, not to dictate.
The rewards
Better business communication has clear rewards. As writing across the company gets clearer, you can expect less confusion and better productivity, and that saves time and money.
Note that the benefits may not come right away. It takes time for people to improve their writing. How long depends on how open they are to suggestions, and on how bad the writing problems were in the first place.
Does your company need a writing center?
In many cases, yes. A writing center at work can reduce the damage that poor business writing does. Bad business writing costs a business time and money, and a writing center can be a big step toward better communication. Tips for enhancing your business writing is a good place to start in the meantime.
If your company cannot have a writing center right now, don't be discouraged. Simply checking every email, proposal, and memo for correct spelling and grammar already improves communication a great deal. The Spell Checker helps you spot and remove those mistakes before a text goes out.