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Subject:technical communications department structures From:mrobins -at- REI -dot- COM To:techwr-l Date:Fri, 17 Sep 1999 14:37:47
My technical communications department will experience a reorg within the
next month or so. I'd like to get a better idea of how similar departments
in other companies are structured (job descriptions, staff size, where your
departments fall on the company org chart). My group consists of four
people, including myself, who focus on developing employee training and
reference materials (primarily Help systems and CBTs) for company-built or
altered computer systems. Two of the developers have strong writing and
analysis skills, one has strong graphics design and instructor-led training
skills, and the other has strong programming skills. We currently report to
a systems development manager who reports to the IT vice-president. Because
our current manager has too much on his plate, there has been talk about us
reporting directly to the vice-president, or combining us with other
training or communications departments within the company. One of the
training departments develops and delivers soft skills training and resides
in the Human Resources division. The other "training" department focuses on
writing policies for our retail stores and resides in the Retail division.
The communications department focuses on creating corporate communications
and resides in the Public Affairs department.
I'd appreciate any experiences or observations you're willing to share
regarding department structures that work and those that don't.
-- Michelle Robinson
Michelle Robinson
Recreational Equipment, Inc.
IS Technical Communications & Training Lead
Voice (253) 395-5908
Fax (253) 395-4720
E-mail mrobins -at- rei -dot- com
