Companies Know The Type: Business Whizzes Who Can't Write

By MICHAEL SASSO The Tampa Tribune

Published: Sep 17, 2007

TAMPA - Stephen McMahan, chief sales officer for the Kforce staffing firm, will never forget one cover letter he got from a job seeker.

The person was explaining why he was right for a job in military intelligence, but in a blunder of the highest order he spelled it "intelligense."

Across the business world, recruiters and executives alike praise the technical and financial savvy of today's business graduates and young professionals.

Their communication skills sometimes are another story.

There is some debate about whether workers' writing skills have deteriorated over the years or were just poor all along. But no one doubts that many professionals' writing skills are perfectly awful.

The University of South Florida's business school will try to tackle the problem head-on. Its new business communications center, which is opening this fall, is intended to give USF business students a leg up over competitors who are lacking so-called "soft skills," such as writing.

USF's new center is coming none too soon.

In October, a group of business associations including The Conference Board released the results of a survey of 431 human resource officials. The survey studied the readiness of young people entering the work force.

Their responses were sobering.

Eighty-one percent of employer respondents said high school graduates entering the work force were "deficient" in written communications, a skill that includes writing memos, letters and complex reports effectively, the survey found.

College graduates fared better, but writing skills are still a problem. About 47 percent of respondents said recent college graduates with two-year degrees were deficient in written communications. About 28 percent rated graduates with four-year degrees as deficient.

A few business leaders in the Tampa Bay area were quick to say that communication skills are in short supply these days, but - perhaps not wanting to embarrass employees - they didn't want to mention any particular horror stories about grammatical errors.

Acronyms, 'Shortspeak' Multiply

Drew Peloubet, chief executive officer of Restaurant Magic Software, a firm that produces software for restaurant chains, said new graduates come out of school loaded with expertise in their field but are less adept at communicating their expertise. He said everyone wonders whether text messaging and e-mail are "dumbing down" writing skills.

Peloubet doesn't want to pick on the writing skills of software developers; yet, he says, "it gets very esoteric and acronym-driven. But when it comes to developing a clear and concise message, those folks tend to get challenged."

Bob Fisher, chief executive officer of Grow Financial Federal Credit Union (formerly known as MacDill Federal Credit Union), sees "shortspeak" creeping into office communications and his own children's schoolwork, he said. He assumes the acronyms come from text messaging.

"It's a changing world," Fisher said. "I'm trying to stay up with it, too."

Effect Of Exporting Jobs

Still, not everyone is convinced the writing skills of young people in business have gotten worse.

McMahan said he has heard employers complain about their workers' communication skills for years. What's different now, he said, is that many jobs that don't require strong communication skills have moved overseas.

For example, many formulaic computer programming jobs are now done in places such as India. What stayed in the United States were the jobs that demand strong communication skills, jobs that require a computer expert to speak directly with computer users to solve problems.

The evils of poor communication skills aren't any worse today, he said; they're just easier to spot.

"If you're somebody who's a great writer, you'll really stand out in an organization," McMahan said.

At USF, the business school staff has put together a list of grammatical, style and spelling errors that turned up in students' work.

Among the blunders, one student wrote: "It was definitely a positive experience that aloud me to gain very useful information."

Another student wrote, "I think the competition falls by the waste side."

The business college is trying to get ahead of the problem with its new business communication center. It has hired a longtime English professor, Pat Nickinson, to run it and incorporate writing skills into the business school's various departments, starting with the marketing department.

In the future, USF business students will be graded partly on their writing skills. Professors currently only grade based on content.

"Initially, the students will hate it," said Jacqueline Nelson, director of the college's undergraduate programs. "But they will grow to love it."

THE VARIOUS 'FASSETS' OF POOR WRITING

If you think your writing could use some polishing, check out these beauties. The grammatical gaffes, style blunders and generally baffling sentences have appeared in the schoolwork of some University of South Florida business students:

•"The industry is very highly competitive in all fassets and we want our students to make a difference."

•"I think most women have a fetish for shoes. I know I am."

•"In the Tampa Bay area customers come from as far as Lake Whales, New Port Richey, and Lakeland."

•"It was definitely a positive experience that aloud me to gain very useful information."

•"With over 300 employees in the Maryland area, as well as sights in Texas, Korea, and Columbia, south America, and with such a demand for total quality management, the company realizes the importance of its employees."

•"The employees of the store have also implemented a service that is unbecoming of most stores."

Source: USF business school

Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865 or msasso@tampatrib.com.