Communication - Commitment 6

 

The Commitment:

You have two options to complete this commitment:

Option 1: Have your employee handbook reviewed for plain language considerations by Alberta Workforce Essential Skills (AWES).

  • Please note: AWES offers plain language work on a fee-for-service basis. You will have options to audit and rewrite your document(s).

Option 2: Attend or stream (on demand) the Alberta Workforce Essential Skills (AWES) workshop on Creating a Plain Language Employee Handbook and complete the provided resources:

  • Checklist for Creating a Plain Language Handbook

  • Creating a Plain Language Handbook Next Steps Activity

Option 2 does not involve fees.

Why This Commitment?

26% of Adult Albertans have difficulty reading and writing (Source: 2003 IALSS - International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey). Plain language writing and document designs help all employees understand what they need to know about your organization.

Plain language writing and document design sounds easy, but involves special knowledge and skills.

Because it touches on all areas of work life in your organization, an employee handbook is the perfect place to begin using plain language.

As a non-profit organization with expertise in essential skills and workplace training, Alberta Workforce Essential Skills (AWES) is the perfect organization to help your team develop new skills and knowledge while ensuring your employee handbook is easy to understand.

How To Complete This Commitment (Evaluation Plan)

In October 2022, we’ll ask Alberta Workforce Essentials Skills (AWES) for a list of organizations that have:

  1. Hired AWES to review their employee handbook or

  2. Enrolled a representative in the Creating a Plain Language Employee Handbook workshop and sent a completed copy of the Creating a Plain Language Handbook - Next Steps Activity to AWES (no-cost option)

Resources

More Plain Language resources: