Human Resource Services is committed to providing effective, high-quality human resource management to the University community.

With every piece of content we publish, we aim to:

  • Empower. Help our visitors find greater workplace satisfaction for a positive, engaging work life for the WSU community.
  • Respect. Treat visitors with the respect they deserve. Value their time, their expertise, and their needs. Be considerate, efficient, and inclusive.
  • Educate. Provide best-practice solutions and expertise in all areas of human resource management. Tell visitors what they need to know, not just what we want to say. Give them exactly what they need, with opportunities to learn more.
  • Guide. Think of yourself as a tour guide and translator for our visitors through an unfamiliar world of human resources.
  • Nurture community. Understand HRS’s place in our visitors’ lives. Focus on what we can help them do and achieve in a collaborative relationship.

To achieve these goals, we make sure our content is:

  • Clear: Use simple words and sentences.
  • Useful: Before, during, and after writing, ask: What purpose does this serve? Who is going to read it? What do they need to know?
  • Appropriate: Don’t use jargon or HR-specific language that readers may not understand. Adapt your tone to your audience.
  • Friendly: Write like one person talking to another. All of our content should be genuine and neighborly.

Writing Tips

Use active voice. Avoid passive voice.

In active voice, the subject of the sentence does the action. In passive voice, the subject has the action done to it. Active voice is clearer and more engaging than passive.

  • Yes: Marti logged into the account.
  • No: The account was logged into by Marti.

Words like “was” and “by” are warning signs that you may be using passive voice.

One exception is when you need to emphasize the action over the subject.

  • Example: Your account was closed by our service team.

Avoid slang and jargon. Write plainly.

If you can say it plainly, do that. If you need to use a technical or HR-specific term, briefly define it.

Write positively. Use positive rather than negative language.

Positive language emphasizes what users can do, instead of highlighting what they can’t do. One way to detect negative language is to look for works like “cannot” and “do not.”

  • Yes: Stand in line to get a donut.
  • No: You can’t get a donut if you don’t stand in line.

Refer to the WSU Style Guide for more grammar and mechanics instruction.