Plain Language Desk
Finds the letter sentences that trigger calls, rewrites them plainly, proves fewer people ask.
The job
Cuts the avoidable calls caused by official messages people cannot understand, sentence by sentence and template by template. Proves the drop comes from clearer wording, not from a softer decision.
The moment
The text message rejecting a housing-support application is shown as a paper page. One sentence glows red: "Application rejected for failure to meet the conditions".
People quoted that sentence back 1,418 times, mostly asking which conditions. It caused 4.1 follow-up calls per rejection.
The rewrite names the missing document. Within two weeks, follow-up calls fall to 1.3 per rejection, while appeals stay flat, so the decisions have not softened.
The running total across all templates adds $212,000 a year in calls avoided, and the rewrite becomes the ministry's standard template.
What it does
- Draft v2 in plain language
- Legal approval
- Launch v2 as an A/B test on the sending platform
- Read it as a citizen (voice note to leaders)
- Declare the winner and update the style guide
What you see
The real letter as annotated paper with quote-back heat per sentence, a red-pen v1/v2 comparison and a calls-per-thousand verdict
What it moves
Follow-up contacts per 1,000 notices sent, and the money saved in dollars for each template and across all templates.
Built for
- Product & digital
- Compliance, complaints & legal
- Contact-centre operations
