Case Study

International Trade Administration Southeast Asia office Building stronger English business writing skills across a global team

Improved economic reports and overall business writing for the Southeast Asia Division of non-native writers

CHALLENGES

The International Trade Administration supports U.S. exports and economic interests in seven countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar.

Due diligence documents and other reports lacked content and syntax, requiring multiple rounds of rewrites. Officers were wasting time editing documents, cutting into their client-facing hours.

SOLUTIONS

Some ITA participants needed support to improve fundamental English business writing skills. Others needed focused instruction and guidance to elevate complex 100-page reports. We customized two courses based on these goals. Each participant received individual feedback on their writing.

Commercial assistants enrolled in our Effective Business Writing Techniques course to elevate overall business writing skills.

Research specialists who write detailed economic and market research reports took our Technical Report Writing course to support their large 100-page "country commercial guide" report.

The self-paced courses allowed each learner to work at a pace and on a schedule that best suited their learning style. After the training, we shared resources with senior leaders that will support the ongoing mentorship of employee writing.

This training helped the International Trade Administration improve communication across its SE Asia team and generated an estimated $468,750 in writing-time savings.

OUTCOMES

Reduce writing time by over 20%

The International Trade Administration will save an estimated $468,750 assuming 75 participants trained yearly, with an average salary of $50k, and who write four hours per day.

Individual improvement at every level

Self-paced, online courses allowed participants to outline their goals and challenges, resulting in extremely individualized feedback from the instructor. Every participant from ITA improved their writing.

Testimonial from an ITA participant about training

“The course is really informative and very well organized. One can learn a lot from the training. The instructor’s advice is very detailed and clear to me. It really enhanced my way of thinking and writing.”

"By participating in this course, I learn how to: 1). apply the 6-Step to an internal and external documents (letters, emails, reports, proposals) 2). avoid writer's block 3). use direct techniques to deliver bad news 4). make letter openings and closings in detail 5). optimize email structure 6). make email signatures 7). use headings 8). tier information in business reports 9). assemble a well organized report 10). use white space 11). use visuals and graphics 12). use strong business verbs 13). use active voice vs passive voice 14). eliminate jargon 15). put the what before the why in a sentence 16). use short words 17). use reader-focused wording 18). use inclusive language 19). easily fix grammar 20). use grammar and writing tools."

Assistant Deputy, ITA

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