Plain Language Campaign

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES PLAIN LANGUAGE PLAN

The Department of Management Services (DMS) recognizes the value of communicating in an easy-to-understand way. Our agency serves more than 1 million customers. State employees, state retirees, the media and taxpayers in Florida look to our agency as a source of information, a trusted resource. Through training and commitment, we will develop the good habits necessary to communicate in plain language. The following is a detailed plan to implement plain language guidelines and standards

The Goal

To make certain all communication is simple, easy to understand and appropriate for the intended audience without diminishing its meaning. We will accomplish our goal by June 30, 2008 as measured by our quarterly customer service survey.

The Teams

Two teams have distinct roles necessary to accomplish our goal: our leadership team and our bureau-level team.

• Leadership – In February 2007, DMS assembled a leadership team to oversee this important endeavor. The communications director will lead the project and provide regular updates to the governor’s office. The leadership team is responsible for leading by example, providing guidance and decision making authority and recognizing those who contribute to our plain language goal. The team is comprised of:
  
  • Secretary Linda South
  • Ken Granger – Chief of Staff
  • Terry Kester – Deputy Secretary for Communications and Information Technology Services
  • David Faulkenberry – Deputy Secretary for Human Resource Support
  • Barry Kraus – Chief Learning Officer
  • Jenny Robertson – Legislative Affairs Director
  • John Brenneis – General Counsel
  • Steve Rumph – Inspector General
  • Debra Forbess – Director of Administration
  • Cathy Schroeder – Communications Director

• Bureau – Each bureau in the department will identify a Plain Language Director for their office. This person is responsible for training, reviewing, editing and reporting progress.

Action

The following are action steps DMS teams will take to accomplish our goal.

• Audit – DMS will conduct an internal audit of its communications materials in the field. Recently, we overhauled our Web site (http://dms.MyFlorida.com) for better navigation and clarity. This is a work in progress that we will continue to improve. For our print pieces, we have asked each bureau to identify all of the communication pieces (including those distributed by our external contractors) for review.
  • Web site
  • Collateral materials (including brochures, direct mail pieces, posters, etc.)
  • Regular correspondence (including e-mail, letters, etc.)
  • Publications
  • Reports
  • External documents
• Training – The department will develop a train-the-trainer class for the Leadership Team and Plain Language Directors. The class will be tailored for DMS and its audiences based on resources from the federal Plain Language Initiative www.PlainLanguage.gov. This class will arm Plain Language Directors with the skill to train their teams on plain language guidelines and standards.
• Agency Style Guide – The communications director will develop a Department Style Guide  (msword 74.00 kB) establishing agency-specific terms and guidelines used when communicating with the public. This resource will include plain language best practices and valuable tips.
• Web site – Similar to the Style Guide, we will dedicate a portion of our Web site to tips, recommendations and examples of plain language to help employees.
• Benchmarks – Following the internal audit, teams will identify the number of pieces to be revised by a certain date.
• Revision – Plain Language Directors will revise communications pieces for compliance. The communications director reviews pieces for final approval. It is our goal to have all communications pieces in plain language by August 2007.

Timeline

* Again, this is a work in progress. The Department will update and audit pieces for compliance.

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