Trying... (5 of 12)

Admittedly, and with regret, I have neglected my blog postings. Sometimes in a full and busy life one must choose to neglect something, and unfortunately, my blog is it... I have never been good about posting to blogs, discussion boards, forums, etc. It's just one of my things.

Anyway, on to more important matters. My internship at MCLV has been going extremely well. I can't believe that it is coming to an end. I have been working on the personnel policy and procedure manual for several weeks. It consists of, well, policies and procedures!

I have researched and developed a few policies for MCLV (and PCLV-the Preston County organization also run from this office). One has been submitted to and approved by the Board! The others will follow at various points in time. I enjoyed writing the policies. They are aimed toward employees and Board members, and I used some various generic templates to help write them. It wasn't very challenging, but fulfilling nonetheless. I am always interested in document design, and I think that they look great. When I turned in a draft of a particular policy to my supervisor, I was challenged to "make it one page" instead of two, because she said "they [the Board members] won't read two pages." A lesson in audience and conciseness. It makes sense. Their meetings have a large agenda, and approving a policy doesn't need to take up more time than needed. I managed to condense it, while still retaining its original content and visual integrity.

The manual has come along nicely. I focused strongly on organization (it is broken into three logical sections: file checklists, procedures and policies), visual consistency (headings, font, point, emphasis) and audience (employees). I mainly used procedures that were already made (a lot of them hanging up at various places throughout the office), but I developed their content, of of course organized them within the manual. It was a lot of work, and I really enjoyed it. One policy that was to be placed in the manual was over thirty pages, and of course, formatting is always an issue that must be dealt with! Everything turned out well, though, and there is now organized, focused and visually consistent document that the office will use when they hire new employees. I am very proud of it!

I am also finishing up a pamphlet. It has a different audience, however. It is aimed toward the public (specifically philanthropists or anyone else that would like to donate). I got to use some emotional appeals in this document, which is always fun. Finding a good balance when using emotional appeals is important. Sounding to needy or whiny isn't good, but expressing some sort of need is important. I came up with a good balance, and used a lot of facts to grab peoples' attention. I think it will work well. I put the draft on my supervisor's desk yesterday, and I am excited to see what she thinks about it.

Well, that's what I've been working on since I last posted. Things have been going smoothly. Communication is good here, so I am able to ask a lot of questions to help me with my document production. I haven't had many problems (except for the occasional technological snafu). So, until next time...