Do your company's PC users desperately need some end
user computer training, but you just can't get the boss to make the time
and expense commitment?
Do you often look around the office and find people
setting up tables in Microsoft Word by using tabs and spaces?
Are your colleagues re-keying the same information in
multiple applications because no one has ever showed them how to use
import and export wizards?
If properly planned computer training leads to higher
productivity, what does no computer training lead to? And if a lack of
training is holding your company back from realizing the full value of
your technology investments, what can you do about it now?
Root of the Problem
In a perfect world, your fellow staff members would be
able to select from a number of computer training courses and attend
several days of computer training each year to keep their skills sharp.
After all, this is how computer training is handled in many Fortune 1000
companies.
But in a small business, everyone's time is at a
premium. Everyone wears multiple hats. And it's very difficult to get
out of the office for a few days at a time to take advantage of
conventional computer training courses.
Sure there are tons of great computer training books on
the market that your colleagues could buy to learn features of specific
software programs.
But I think we all know what happens to the 600-page
computer-training book. (Maybe you'll get to Chapter 3, if you're lucky,
and then the book will sit collecting dust indefinitely. I call this
book burnout. Don't feel bad…it happens to the best of us.)
A Low to No Cost Solution
But if you happen to be one of your company's or
department's power users, or what I call an internal guru, you're in a
fabulous position to train your fellow staff members on some basic PC
skills.
The key is knowing what to cover, how to keep the
material to the point and lively, and finding uninterrupted time to fit
in bite size chunks - which I recommend be no more than one hour at a
time.
One great way to tackle this training is by spending
anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes with each PC user immediately following
any significant hardware, software, or network upgrades.
So if your small business has 20 PC users, this training
wave may add 10 to 15 hours onto major upgrades. Although this may seem
time-consuming and "expensive" on the surface, the alternative
is even more costly.
You could have a huge networking or other technology
investment that may never be used properly or to its fullest extent
without at least some type of informal training.
I've seen many small businesses have great success
running their own computer training program by setting up a handful of
PCs in a conference room and spending a few hours in small groups
walking through various software features.
Planning the Training: Survey Says…
So now that you're ready to move forward, how do you
know what topics to cover?
After all, there are bound to be some employees with
stronger PC skills than others.
In order to plan and execute your informal, in-house
training sessions, you need to get details on "who knows
what".
I recommend drafting a short, one-page survey, with no
more than eight or ten questions.
Ask about PC knowledge. Find out what topics interest
users and managers.
For instance, in the "early" days of Internet
and e-mail usage, on a new network installation, the survey revealed
that only 15-20% of employees knew much about e-mail. So we spent a big
chunk of time on the newly installed Microsoft Outlook software.
Setting up your own informal in-house computer training
can provide a number of benefits to your company.
Besides making sure that employees are using your
installed systems properly, an informal in-house computer training
program can be tailored to employee's specific needs. You don't have to
worry that the computer training class will go too fast or too slow, or
cover irrelevant material.
An informal in-house computer training program can also
save your company the expense of having employees travel to a remote
site for computer training classes.
By utilizing a salaried employee as the
"trainer", your company won't need to contract for outside
services. And finally, well-trained employees are more self-sufficient
and will ultimately lower your overall computer support costs.
In the next issue of "Tips", we'll look at how
to plan the "course" topics and create the instructional
handout or "crib sheet" for employees.
