Last week, I wrote about the advantages of providing a quality proposition. Be it on behalf of your client or an immediate superior, we are constantly being asked to provide solutions / products / services that have a value and a significance. We cannot rest on past successes.

A few days later, I attended the fourth annual conference of “Techshoret“, Israel’s premier conference for technical writers and communicators. On the face of it, this could be just another meet-up for a professional group.

What these people point out to whomever will listen is that they write the PR material for sales teams. They write the software manuals for tech, concocted by goofy engineers. They are asked to do the impossible – convert convoluted descriptions into a text that can be understood by dummies.

And in a country like Israel, where the sales of high tech products and services drive the economy, that is important work. Except…..

Except that increasingly, technical writers are perceived as having an admin value. They do not create nor sell. Therefore, they do not create revenue, correct? Couple that with the fact that there is increasing competition from India and from China, and the local industry could be in for some downsizing.

There are ways around this. One solution is pioneering new platforms. For example, STE was discussed at the conference.

A more interesting approach was given to me by one of the participants. For him, technical writing is not just finding a method to explain something complicated. He is directly involved with part of the sales team. In parallel, he is associated with the final presentation of his writing, the printing and its distribution.

In other words, his company allows him to be more integrated in the whole sales cycle. His skills and his knowledge combined cannot be outsourced too readily.

There are lessons here for others who find their jobs under threat. There are implications for those who feel that their own compact services are being ignored by others. Find ways to give more, …..and you will also probably find out how much more you enjoy your work.