by: Barry Saiff Founder and CEO, Saiff Solutions, Inc. Tagaytay City, Philippines

1. From Lemons to Lemonade:
Technical Writing Outsourcing
as a Dream Come True
Barry Saiff
Founder and CEO, Saiff Solutions, Inc.
Tagaytay City, Philippines

2. • Technical communications leader
• 32 years of technical documentation
experience
• Led writing teams at 6 US companies
• Founded Saiff Solutions, Inc. in 2011
• Provides content development to
Fortune 500 companies in Japan & US
About the Speaker: Barry Saiff

3. QUESTION:What is Your Interest/Experience in
Technical Writing Outsourcing?
Have you experienced:
• Working with writers in another country?
• Layoffs due to outsourcing?
• Being involved in a decision to outsource?
• A well-crafted outsourcing plan? A poorly-
implemented plan?
• Negative impacts of outsourcing? Positive impacts?
•What else??

4. What is your overall impression of
TECHNICAL WRITING
OUTSOURCING?

5. The 6 Stages of
Technical Writing
Stage 1
Infancy
(1970’s)
Stage 2
Youth
(1980’s)
Stage 3
Adolescence
(1990’s)
Stage 4
Young Adulthood
(2000’s)
Stage 5
Adulthood
(2010’s)
Stage 6
Mid-Life
(2015)

7. The GROWTH of Outsourcing
From 1970 to 2010, outsourcing grew exponentially.
Some examples:
• By 2003, 77 global software development
firms had R&D operations in India.
• By a recent (2013) estimate, there
were 80,000 software developers in
the Philippines.
• There are now technical writers
in the Philippines with 10+ years
experience in topic-based authoring.

8. DRIVERS of Outsourcing
• Labor cost differentials
• Growth of global labor
market = availability
• Communications cost reductions
• Global market growth/economic
liberalization
• Increased ease of doing business
globally
• Convergence of global business culture
• Increasing productivity
• Increasing customer-centric focus on quality

9. Discuss: TWO Issues, Fears, Pitfalls
What do you think are the major
problems with technical writing
outsourcing?

10. WHY
OUTSOURCE?

11. PRODUCTIVITY
is a powerful, historical force:
Productivity rises, and
everything changes to
facilitate rising productivity.

12. OUTSOURCING
Successes
What happens when TWO works well?

13. OUTSOURCING
Successes
What happens when TWO works well?
• Effective global collaboration
• Learning
• Process Improvement
• Improved quality
• Reduced costs
• Increased global
responsiveness
• Productivity improvements

14. OUTSOURCING
Pitfalls
Can bad things happen as a result of
outsourcing technical writing?

15. OUTSOURCING
PitfallsCan bad things happen as a result of
outsourcing technical writing?
• Yes, sometimes.
• Often when outsourcing
decisions do not involve
technical communicators.
• Resisting outsourcing makes it
less likely that you’ll be
included in the decision.
• What you resist persists.

16. Can good technical writers lose jobs to outsourcing?
OUTSOURCING
Pitfalls
• Yes, sometimes. But not always.
• Over 4 years, the # of Saiff Solutions
clients that laid off of in-house writers: 0
• Yes, 0. We’ve never been in that
situation.
• Yes, layoffs happen. But not
in every case.

17. Discuss: TWO Key Success Factors
What things do you think need to
happen to make technical writing
outsourcing successful?

18. The Evolution of TWO
For a long time it seemed that:
• Technical writing outsourcing may not
work.
• Opposing TWO is the best way to keep
local TW jobs.

19. CLEARthat…
Now it is

20. The Evolution of TWO
Now it clear that:
• Technical writing outsourcing can work
very well.
• With technical communicators in
management, we can author TWO
strategies, instead of being victims.
• How TWO is done is a crucial question.

21. TWO
IMPLEMENTATION

22. TWO IMPLEMENTATION
If you have writers:
- As work grows, you can expand capacity at
lower cost via outsourcing.
- By reserving advanced tasks for the in-house
team, you can improve team morale and
cost-effectiveness.

23. TWO IMPLEMENTATION
To determine if TWO is right for YOU:
- No one-size-fits-all formula
- No simple rule to follow
- Quality varies everywhere

24. TWO IMPLEMENTATION:
What do process maturity and
content strategy have to do with
TWO:- If technical writers struggle to discover
design changes when co-located with
engineers…
- Outsourcing may magnify problems.
PROCESS

25. TWO IMPLEMENTATION:
When outsourcing goes wrong, it can be due
to any of the following issues:
RISKS
Location Function INCLUSION Language

26. TWO IMPLEMENTATION:
RISKS
EXPERIENCE
LEVEL Culture Competency Management
When outsourcing goes wrong, it can be due
to any of the following issues:

27. • Focus where you can have an impact.
• Prepare yourself for change.
• Focus on the success of your enterprise.
• Focus on improving quality.
TWO IMPLEMENTATION:
LESSONS

28. • Start with process improvement and
content strategy.
• Focus on morale and effectiveness. Don’t
ignore the need to sell change effectively.
• Use inclusive planning.
• Be aware of potential cultural pitfalls.
TWO IMPLEMENTATION:
LESSONS
For management:

29. Assess process maturity and content
strategy first, and improve if needed.
- Include Tech Comm in planning.
- Ensure a realistic financial analysis.
- Identify & communicate vision & benefits.
- Incorporate team feedback.
- Focus on career development.
TWO: KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

30. Carefully choose country:
- Consider language, infrastructure, labor pool.
- #1 country in business English: Philippines
(http://www.globalenglish.com/business_english_index)
TWO: KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
Carefully choose provider.
Start with a low-risk pilot project.

31. Understand and accommodate the
differences:
- Time zone
- Language
- Culture
- Expertise
- Background, context
TWO: KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

32. Include all tech writers in meetings,
reviews, scrums, defect tracking,
wiki/intranet, email list, etc.
Document testing, review = key
parts of the project schedule
TWO: KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

33. Outsourcing,
poorly conceived,
planned, and
executed, can
spread, expand,
and increase the
worst qualities of
an organization.
Conclusion

34. Conclusion
Outsourcing, done
well, can promote the
growth of a thriving
organization and
contribute to continual
improvement.

35. What is your overall impression of
TECHNICAL WRITING
OUTSOURCING?

36. By 2030, in a typical US company, what % of technical writing will take
place outside of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe?
a. 25% c. 75%
b. 50% d. 95%
Final questions
In 2030, how will the number of technical communication jobs in the
USA compare to 2015:
a. At least twice as many jobs as in 2015?
b. More, but not twice as many?
c. The same?
d. Less?

37. Email: barrysaiff@saiffsolutions.com
Skype: SaiffSolutions
Contact: +1 415 350 2959
+63 917 872 0929
Web: www.saiffsolutions.com
Questions & comments!

38. Bonus Slide:Responsesto SurveyQuestionsat Lavacon
2015
How many of you have experienced:
Work with off-shore writers: 7
Lay-offs due to TWO: 3
Involved in TWO decision: 6
Well-crafted TWO plan: 2
Poorly-crafted TWO plan: 2
Any negative TWO impacts: 6
Any positive TWO impacts: 2
Overall impression of TWO (at
start):
Positive: 0 Negative: 4
Overall impression of TWO (at
end): Positive: 4 Negative: 0
Neutral: 9
By 2030, what % of technical
writing will be offshore?
25% -0, 50%-6, 75%-4, 95%-0
By 2030, how will the # of TW jobs
in USA compare to 2015?
2x-0, 1x-2x-6, 1x-0, <1x-4