(612 Reviews)

Delayed Document Approvals Concern

Accelerate Review Cycles with Clear, Purpose-Driven Writing.

Implications of Delayed Document Approvals

When documents stall during approval, productivity drops across the board. Delays often mean rework, missed deadlines, and decision-makers who are unsure what to act on. Poorly structured content, unclear recommendations, or missing information can all slow down the review cycle. Clear, focused writing can move documents through approval faster and with fewer revisions.

Writing Habits That Hurt Business

Writers often focus on completing the document rather than setting it up for quick approval. The result is content that is long, vague, or missing critical direction. These habits slow down reviews and can create confusion and misalignment across teams.

Frequent Rewrites

Documents that go through round after round of review often lack clarity and purpose.

Unclear Reports

When reports don’t highlight findings or recommended actions, reviewers are left guessing.

Proposals that Don’t Win

If the proposal doesn’t guide decision-makers clearly, approvals are delayed or denied.

Unclear Purpose

Documents without a clear objective often fail to move forward in the review process.

If any of these hit home, consider our Writing Workshops.

What Causes Delayed Document Approvals?

Approvals stall when content fails to support decision-making. Common issues include vague language, missing data, or lack of clear next steps. Inconsistent formatting and unstructured messaging also make documents harder to review. With the right training, teams can learn to write documents that speed up review and reduce revisions.

Vague or Unfocused Content

When the core message isn’t clear, reviewers can’t approve the document with confidence.

Missing Key Information for Decision-Makers

Without relevant data or context, reviewers lack what they need to say yes.

Unclear Next Steps or Calls to Action

If the document doesn’t specify what should happen next, approvals are delayed.

Overly Technical Language

Technical terms can confuse non-technical reviewers.

Lengthy Documents That Obscure Meaning

Poorly structured paragraphs and unnecessary detail bury important points.

Misaligned Team Expectations

When writers and reviewers aren’t aligned, approval becomes a moving target.

Lack of Review-Friendly Formatting

Dense blocks of text or inconsistent layout make it harder for reviewers to follow the content.

No Standard Review Criteria

When reviewers don’t have a checklist or framework, approvals vary widely and take longer.

Workshops That Remedy Delayed Document Approvals

Hurley Write’s workshops help teams write documents that move through review quickly. We teach professionals how to structure their content for clarity, identify key takeaways, and support reviewers with well-organized messaging. These strategies help reduce bottlenecks, minimize rework, and improve overall document quality.

Next Steps: Improve Your Team’s Writing Today

Let’s discuss your team’s unique writing challenges. We’ll evaluate writing samples and recommend a customized solution designed to improve clarity, productivity, and results.

Don't take our word for it, see what our clients have to say.

For 35+ years, we’ve shown organizations how to improve their communication, whether that involved designing and teaching writing and/or reviewing workshops, improving their writing and/or reviewing tools, offering individualized coaching, or helping them put processes in place.

And we can help your team of professionals, too!

Gregory Marshall

D & H Global Tax Group

“I found this class to be extremely worthwhile and I came away with many useful tools for effective writing. The instructor was great at engaging the class and presented information well. Overall, I’d say this was the most important course I’ve taken.”

William Walters

IDA

“The instructor covers many useful writing skills and concepts. I recommend the course to scientists, engineers, program managers, editors, or anyone who wants to write more persuasively and succinctly.”

David Anderson

DTCC

“Hurley Write placed the emphasis on why we communicate in the first place. The instructor presented a truly captivating lecture on how we can very quickly craft an easy to read document that meets the needs of our reader. Thank you.”

Andrew Charles

Bristol Myers Squibb

“The two-day session were well planned and the breakout activities offered great opportunities to incorporate major lessons into the real-world writing deliverables.”

Aylia Thomas

Orica US

“I author content for operator manuals. All of the minimalism strategies taught in this class can be directly applied to my writing. I can see the benefits to both our audience as well as our checkbooks!”

Aylia Thomas

John Deere

“I author content for operator manuals. All of the minimalism strategies taught in this class can be directly applied to my writing.I can see the benefits to both our audience as well as our checkbooks!”

Mike Brett

Raytheon

“The content and instructions allows for taking bite sized pieces of the homework assignments. I learned a lot and the instructor was flexible with my busy travel and work schedule. I would take another course through Hurley Write.”

Dan Littlefield

Genentech

“We really needed someone who's expert at teaching the writing, because it's not just the writing, right?... I thought that one of the things that Hurley Write did that was really strong for us was talk about audience.”

Jacueline Davis

IDA

“Hurley Write placed the emphasis on why we communicate in the first place. The instructor presented a truly captivating lecture on how we can very quickly craft an easy-to-read document that meets the needs of our reader. Thank you.”

Mike Brett

conEd

“The content and instructions allows for taking bite-sized pieces of the homework assignments.I learned a lot and the instructor was flexible with my busy travel and work schedule. I would take another course through Hurley Write.”

Judy Lettington

PaxVax

“Very concise and helpful. Came to our facility and answered all questions patiently and with real examples. Used multiple angles to explain concepts for better understanding. Really enjoyed the class.”

Simon Matthews

Raytheon

“This course is helping me with the new documents that I am writing. I recommend this course to anyone involved in writing engineering or technical documents.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are our documents taking so long to get approved?

Approvals often stall when content is unclear, incomplete, or not aligned with decision-makers’ expectations. A poor review process, or lack thereof, can also delay document approval.

Can clearer writing speed up our internal review process?

Yes. Well-organized, reader-focused writing reduces questions and accelerates decision-making.

Can your workshops help our team create a consistency across all documents?

Absolutely. We teach teams how to write with clarity and structure that reduces the need for repeated review. We can also work with your reviewers to help them establish a process that results in actionable feedback and a streamlined review process.

How do you train teams to write with decision-makers in mind?

We teach writers to identify reader needs and frame content around decisions and actions.

Can we include actual approval-blocked documents in training?

Yes. We use your team’s actual documents so the training is directly applicable.

Is this suitable for regulatory or compliance-heavy industries?

Yes. Our workshops are tailored to meet the needs of regulated industries, including pharma and finance.

Do you cover document review workflows in the course?

Yes. We include strategies for setting up effective review processes and clear approval checkpoints.