Re: STC chapter question -- what should an employer expect? (take II)

[Bill Swallow <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com>]

> STC is no different from any other professional society, all of which
> offer employment services to members because that is what members
> repeatedly request. As manager, I would send my people to the
> conference to learn new things, not to find a new job, and STC
> conferences offer plenty of opportunity to learn new things. The risk
> of someone being headhunted is relatively small compared to the
> potential payback. If one of my employees wants to leave, they'll find
> a way with or without STC's help. My job is to make them want to stay
> and ethically, if someone still wants to leave, I feel it's my
> responsibility to help them to the extent they have earned that help.

Interesting perspective, and I share it. However, others do not.
Personal experience tells me so. :-|

> The latest enrollment fee structure gives you the alternative (for no
> extra cost) of joining either one geographical chapter plus one SIG as
> part of the standard cost, or joining three SIGs instead. It's a nice
> alternative for people with specialized needs, or who don't have time
> (or desire or ability) to participate in a local chapter.

Great idea.

> More to your point, I know the guy who has been appointed to completely
> revamp the STC approach to conferences for next year (a personal
> friend), and he has a lot of sympathy for the notion of hiring top
> talent as presenters. I make no promises, but I do expect to see
> significant changes next year if he can hack through the red tape and
> fend off the "let's not change anything" types. I expect that in
> future, we'll see more events like the old WinWriters conferences, plus
> more specialized conferences with high-powered speakers recruited
> rather than just accepting proposals.

Looks like I have something significant to look forward to. :-)

> Paying someone is no guarantee that they'll give you good value for
> their money. Of course, if not, you don't invite them back the second
> time. And we do have some top-notch presenters at every annual
> conference who enjoy participation so much that they don't require pay.
> (I hope I'm one of them!)

Right. I was merely suggesting that the likeliness of a ill-presented
topic is greater with having non-experts present.

> That's a good idea for Intercom (a magazine), but Tech. Comm. is a
> peer-reviewed journal, which can't work that way. In particular, I
> agree with you that Intercom needs to do a better job of
> reality-checking what they publish. Their record on this is fairly
> spotty, and it arises in part from the fact that their staff aren't
> trained technical communicators so far as I know. I've had some <ahem>
> interesting discussions </ahem> about my own articles in the past.

I'd love to hear some of those stories at some point. ;-) Yes,
Intercomm needs to be better run.

> Agreed, but you also have to expect members to make an effort to use
> the information that they do receive. Most people I know throw away the
> journal unread, which is a shame; it strikes a decent balance between
> academic respectability and practical content in the form of theory
> supported by research that can be applied on the job. (Caveat: I'm on
> the editorial board, so I'm biased. <g> But the journal has changed
> tremendously for the better over the past 5 years since George Hayhoe
> took over as editor.)

Well, chicken and egg, perhaps? If they have been regularly
dissatisfied with content (like me with Intercomm) what's the
incentive to read every time a new one comes out (aside from the fact
you paid for it)?

Thanks for entertaining.

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