From the President
February 2023
At the time of writing this President's report, the country is reeling from the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle. I am immeasurably sorry to anyone who has lost a friend or family member, home, or precious personal items in the floods. I dearly hope that by the time this newsletter is published, the heavy rain forecast for the next couple of days will have failed to materialise and we can focus on supporting each other on the long road to recovery.
If you need more information about what to do after a flood, including property damage and food safety, look at the government resource: Get Ready – In an Emergency.
Nga mihi o te Tau Hou. Xīn niánhǎo. Happy new year, welcome to 2023 and the year of the Rabbit. Traditionally, the rabbit is a symbol of longevity and good fortune. While it might not feel like it yet, we hope this means 2023 will be a good year for all of us.
Welcome back! I hope you all had a happy and fulfilling holiday, whatever you celebrate.
Before Christmas, we sent out our conference feedback survey. I want to thank everyone who sent us their feedback on the conference, both complimentary and constructive. And thank you to everyone who has emailed me since – it is a genuine delight to hear that the presentations and the connections you’ve made have helped you in your everyday work.
So, what’s the plan for 2023?
As always, the new year feels like a time for new possibilities. We are now about halfway through our five years, so we want to take this opportunity to review our five year strategy plan, reassess which goals we’re meeting and which need work, and whether the current plan is still meeting your needs as technical communicators in 2023. Since this year is not a conference year, and we’re without lockdowns or traffic lights, we would like to focus on bringing the student outreach programme back up to speed this year. The board has met for the first time in February to discuss these and any other priorities for the year ahead.
As always, we rely on volunteers to keep this organisation running smoothly. If you have some time to spare and want to give a little back to our awesome tech comm community, here are just a few ways you can help:
Become a Branch Co-ordinator!
We’re looking for new Branch Co-ordinators! The role can be filled by one person, but we also welcome a team of two people to share ideas and responsibilities. Responsibilities include:
- identifying possible topics of interest for branch meetings
- identifying a suitable presenter for each topic
- setting meeting dates
- attending meetings on the night to welcome the presenter and the members.
If you live in Wellington, Auckland or Christchurch and have a flair for organisation, please contact Katie at thepresident@techcomm.nz to express your interest.
Write for our newsletter!
We’d love to feature a guest-article from one of our members in every newsletter.
Can you think of something you do or use every day that other technical communicators might find useful? We’d love to hear about it in TechCommWire!
Writing for the newsletter is an excellent way to expand your skill set, add to your portfolio, and demonstrate your expertise.
Answer our 2022/2023 salary survey!
We’ll be sending out the salary survey soon.
We’ve been conducting a yearly salary survey since 2000. It’s a fantastic resource for tracking our industry, how it is changing, and what you should expect in your career. The surveys are open to members and non-members of TechCommNZ but the results are available only to members.
As always, we’ll be offering a chance to win yourself a Prezzy Card just for participating.