Challenge

With a wealth of education and job opportunities, abundant housing, business, social services, health, and recreational options, attracting immigrants to the Region of Waterloo seems like a snap. But hang on, the opportunities may be endless, but they’re boasted about on a website – reading required. At the Region of Waterloo, they wondered how to reach an audience new to Canada and also potentially new to the English language.

Response

There just so happens to be a number of tricks up our sleeves at ClearWorks. Writing for readers at risk of literacy and language difficulties is easily accomplished when you know exactly what you’re dealing with. Years of experience in adult literacy programming taught us precisely how to write for new readers. When it comes to website content, we choose our words carefully and use our space wisely, so even the most reluctant readers can get to the point.

Challenge

As the host for Ontario Learn’s nationwide Adult Literacy Educator Certificate Program, Project Read had a dilemma. The program was simply low on enrolment. Recognizing that promotion would open the door for participants, Project Read engaged ClearWorks to fashion marketing materials to attract their target audience.

Response

At ClearWorks, the overriding belief is that clarity counts! If you’re looking to attract an audience, your message has to be clear, concise, simple, and brief. And, it has to speak to your reader by answering questions and offering solutions. So ClearWorks assembled two creations – one for potential students, the other for the managers or supervisors with professional development dollars to spend. Eye-catching, inexpensive to mail and suitable to email, the marketing materials opened to a poster attractive enough to place front and centre on any corkboard. Ready to sign up? According to the poster, it’s easy!

Challenge

For the Woman Abuse Working Group, the hunt was on. They needed a dynamic, creative writer and researcher to create an awareness-raising document with a focus on the issues of woman abuse and sexual violence. And it wasn’t just a document, it was a campaign that needed to appeal to the entire community, generate interest, and maintain its value as the years passed by.

Response

For ClearWorks, the challenge was obvious. There are so many messages out there. So many causes, so many appeals for support. For broad appeal, this message simply had to be a quick read. Other communities had tackled similar projects and were left with lengthy, text-heavy reports that were meticulous in detail and rich in content, but time consuming to read. We had to differentiate ourselves. So we did just that, with an eye-catching and eyebrow raising brochure that fits in the palm of your hand but folds out to an inviting poster that sends you straight to the WAWG website for the answers to all the questions you suddenly have. ClearWorks authored the wealth of fresh content that rests on the site and stands the test of time with continual updates. Now that’s a cause worth caring about.

Challenge

The Gardener’s Group provides training in True Colours, a personality assessment based on the work of Myers-Briggs. Facilitating training sessions for a broad range of industries means training participants with an even broader range of literacy and language skills. Adding to the challenge, a pivotal part of the training session is the use of a 50-page manual. The issue was clear – how to provide professional training materials that appealed to the corporate levels while remaining manageable and readable for all participants.

Response

Recognizing that simplicity of the messaging was key, ClearWorks produced a Clarity Version of the True Colours corporate training materials. While keeping the messaging intact, changes to style, vocabulary, layout, colour, and font made all the difference. And by maintaining the overall look of the original materials, ClearWorks designed a simplified version that, at a glance, looked identical to the original. The purpose? To ensure participants are offered the version that best suits their individual literacy levels, without singling out those who struggle with language more than others. Problem solved.

Challenge

Providing country-wide education and services means working with a diverse group of volunteers, employees, health-care providers, and people with diabetes. As national leaders in the fight against diabetes, the Canadian Diabetes Association had some questions. How do we ensure that the Signature Presentations we lend to community-based organizations across the country reach the broadest audience possible? Can we even offer presentations that are suitable for all audiences regardless of their language and literacy expertise?

Response

Of course you can. ClearWorks analyzed each of the Signature Presentations, examining the language choices, organization, and overall clarity of the work. And slide by slide, word by word, the new presentations came to life. Even the templates, images, and speaker notes were updated, bringing the clarity of the presentations to a new level. Professional, relevant, and appropriate for any audience, these national presentations are a source of pride for our leading authority on diabetes in Canada, and around the world.

Challenge

Meticulously detailed, complex, and lengthy Economic Loss and Business Valuation Reports led Taylor Leibow straight to ClearWorks for a simplified solution. The need was clear – comprehensive reports that remained legally sound, yet were easy to follow and accessible to all audiences.

Response

Since each of Taylor Leibow’s reports were individualized, it wasn’t possible to create a standard template. Instead ClearWorks looked at strategies that would allow Taylor Leibow to create uncomplicated, well-organized reports that clients could understand and lawyers could scan quickly for the crucial details they need. After careful analysis of sample reports, ClearWorks responded with a Clarity Report for each of the Economic Loss and Business Valuation Reports. Filled with itemized recommendations about edits to language and style, coupled with thorough re-writes to clearly demonstrate the suggestions, these Clarity Reports combined with ClearWorks’ ongoing support allows Taylor Leibow to put Clear Writing theory into practice.

Challenge

A leading steel company, with an eye on culture and an employee base rich in cultural diversity, Dofasco wanted to further their competitive edge. Their idea? An in-house workplace education program accessible to a broad range of employees with varying literacy and technology capabilities.

Response

ClearWorks couldn’t wait to get on board! In partnership with community-based, not-for-profit organizations and other professional providers, ClearWorks played an integral role in the delivery of this award-winning and comprehensive Workplace Essential Skills Program. Employees with low to moderate literacy skills, and beginner to advanced technology capabilities streamed into the classrooms. ClearWorks managed classes in Literacy and Basic Skills, Business Writing, and Computer Literacy. From curriculum development to end-of-term celebration events, we watched our students turn problems into progress, giving Dofasco exactly the accolades and return on investment they so richly deserved.

Challenge

Eli Lilly is a leading research-based pharmaceutical company, employing approximately 38,000 employees worldwide, with more than 500 across Canada. With so many employees to look after in a highly regulated environment, you can imagine the scope and breadth of their many policies, procedures and SOPs, from HR and Finance to Privacy and Business Integrity. They called upon ClearWorks to help simplify and streamline this large volume of essential documents.

Response

When it comes to policies, employees want the information now – clearly and concisely – with no chance of misunderstanding. When it comes to standard operating procedures, employees need to know what to do and how to do it – in the most simple, straightforward way. There’s no room for error.  As experts in clarity, ClearWorks was definitely the right group to engage! Well over 100 policies and procedures later, all the information is clear, concise, and to the point – just the way employees like it.

Challenge

Upholding their new brand promise of Making Money Make Sense means BMO Bank of Montreal simply has to ensure that all communication to the public is clear and easy to understand. As they launched this brand, clear messaging came to mind. And recognizing that clarity begins in-house, they felt certain that internal communications needed to focus on clarity, too. So, with 40,000 employees to train in the art of Clear Writing, BMO’s Director of Brand went straight to work.

Response

Engaged in November 2008, ClearWorks began by facilitating a Clear Writing workshop for 20 of BMO’s top executives. That successful pilot led to a training series of customized in-house workshops, spanning numerous departments in both Toronto and Montreal. Several of these departments, including Marketing, Direct Banking, and Recruitment & Intake, continue to enlist ClearWorks’ editing services to ensure that both their internal and external communications remain true to their brand promise. And what about training those 40,000 employees in a cost-effective manner? ClearWorks condensed its Clear Writing workshop into a web-based training video, now housed on BMO’s intranet. Convenience – pure and simple. Now any employee can access training with the click of a mouse.