Users and Audience
The age range is wide, but the youngest a new employee at Dollar Tree can be is sixteen years old. I aimed to make the document as easy for a high schooler to understand as possible. I also made sure the content conveyed the same messages from a legal standpoint.
Objectives
Implement tech comm best practices.
Add functionality to the table of contents.
Improve the document’s overall aesthetic.
Original Document
When looking at the document, I found the following areas needed the most improvement:
- Most of the body copy has bullet points, which is not only improper usage, but prevents important list items from standing out.
- The text references separate policies without linking to them. In a training setting, new employees would not be able to use Google to look them up for reference.
- This table of contents is more like a list. There are no page numbers, and despite the color of the text, these items do not link elsewhere in the document.
- The items themselves are also spaced/formatted improperly.
Most importantly, the document contained some incredibly verbose sentences. Plain Language guidelines dictate that shorter sentences are better for readability.* The document contained sentences that went well over the recommended 20 words per sentence.** Below is one example (48 words):
“Associates considering employment opportunities with a Dollar Tree or Family Dollar Vendor or broker, or former Associates who are already so employed, may make a written request to Dollar Tree’s Chief Executive Officer, for permission to work on either banner’s account after the one year period has expired.”
— Code of Ethics, Confidential and Proprietary Information
Redesigns
To address the above areas, I first researched the different use cases for bulleted lists. I found that sentence case lists and itemized lists best suited the document. Then I applied these use cases to areas that needed the most emphasis. For example, this section that describes acceptable disclosures of confidential information.
Next, I added links where needed in the document. With the exception of the Insider Trading Policy, which I could not find, any references to other policies now link to said policies. I also added numbers to the table of contents, along with links that will take the reader to the relevant page when clicked.
Then, I edited the document for conciseness, passive voice, and readability. Here is my edit of the aforementioned text sample:
“After the one year period has expired, Associates may make a written request for permission to work to Dollar Tree’s Chief Executive Officer. The Chief Executive Officer may grant permission to Associates considering employment opportunities with a Dollar Tree/Family Dollar Vendor or broker, or to former Associates employed under a Vendor.”
Next, I reformatted the first audience paragraph into a definitions list for scan-ability.
Finally, I changed the document’s overall design.
Complete Documents
Below is the original document and my redesign.
Disclaimer: This document is in no way meant to serve as a replacement for the actual Dollar Tree Code of Conduct, nor does it imply any corporate affiliation on my part. This document only serves as a technical editing and document design exercise.
*https://www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/concise/write-short-sentences/
**https://languagetool.org/insights/post/sentence-length/#:~:text=How%20Long%20Should%20a%20Sentence,should%20be%20considered%20the%20maximum.
Hayashi Designs 