Plain-language training on horizon for city employees

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This article was published 22/09/2023 (757 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg could soon impose mandatory training for all municipal employees who write messages and reports for the public.

On Thursday, council’s executive policy committee approved a call, pending council approval, to require those staff to be taught international standards for plain language, with potential costs submitted to the city’s next budget process.

Coun. Janice Lukes said the change is greatly needed, since current city reports can contain jargon, complex sentences and unfamiliar terms.

“Writing in plain language is breaking things down, just really identifying (the issues),” said Lukes.

The Waverley West councillor, who was first elected in 2014, said she still devotes ample time to deciphering the meaning behind complex reports, which can also confuse citizens. EPC’s Thursday vote aims to expand a previously proposed plain-language policy by adding the formal training component and extending it to include more staff, including 311 employees, said Lukes.

It’s critical that city communications rely on simple language, especially for reports that recommend decisions on significant developments, policies and services, said Lukes.

“(After the training), we’ll have more engagement with the public,” she said. “I expect within (a) year we’ll start seeing a very significant change.”

Lukes said the goal to write clear and simple sentences, ideally at a Grade 8 reading level or lower, becomes more important each year. She noted immigration continues to fuel population growth and many newcomers do not speak English as their first language.

A public-service report notes the policy would apply to all “public-facing” materials, including 311 services, advertisements, correspondence, presentations, publications, signs, social media, website content and the executive summaries of administrative reports.

The city has already begun using plain language on its website and social media posts, and is rewriting older webpages with that goal in mind, according to customer service and communications director Felicia Wiltshire.

If the training is approved, Wiltshire said reports written by city staff are likely to change the most.

“Where you’ll likely see the most drastic change is in the administrative reports,” she said.

It’s not yet clear how long the training will take, how much it will cost or exactly when Winnipeggers will begin noticing a difference in city communications.

“It will take time to get people through the training … and it’s not an instant switch,” said Wiltshire.

Council will vote on the matter on Sept. 29.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga