Smart solutions

This two-tiered approach to technology implementation will eliminate headaches and frustration.

by Brian Nichelson

Purchasing and installing any software or hardware technology device is the easy part of an implementation. The challenge comes when your employees must learn how to use the new product in conjunction with the company’s existing technology. If the new product doesn’t integrate smoothly into your operations, you’ll lose both product functionality and employee productivity, which will ultimately hinder business operations.

The current mindset in many organizations is to install the technology, send the users to classroom training, have them lug a heavy manual or two back to the office or shop, and then expect them to immediately start using the technology. While this approach is common, it is also the most ineffective. Experience shows that people generally retain very little from classroom training, and they later have difficulty finding information in the user manual. As a result, employees get much less out of the new technology than managers expect, thus causing the return on investment value to drop significantly.

Fortunately, the remedy to this all-too-familiar scenario is right at your fingertips, and you can adapt it to work for any technology, from word processors to vacuum cleaners. In fact, when employees and managers make two very important commitments to a learning strategy, the success rate of the new technology rises. Build these two commitments into your implementation plan so you can achieve maximum effectiveness.

Commitment No. 1: Move toward self-directed learning.
Self-directed learning makes sense in that each user tailors a learning routine to meet his or her needs. As a result, the employees waste little time on topics they don’t need and instead focus intently on the topics they must use regularly or that they have difficulty mastering. To make this approach effective, the employees must commit to actively learning the new technology, while the employer or manager must allow the user to spend company time in self-directed learning endeavors. The payoff comes when the employees avoid the frustration and headaches so often associated with learning a new system and when the employer gains productivity as a result of the employees using the new, expensive technology correctly and thoroughly. While you should always emphasize self- directed learning, realize that some situations and technologies may require preliminary classroom training.

Commitment No. 2: Develop a systematic 
process for using all the resources available to you.
The second commitment requires that you develop a deliberate, systematic process for learning the new technology rather than making a helter-skelter dash to gain the knowledge only after an urgent need for that feature arises. The three fundamental steps any such process must follow are:

1) Assess the available resources.
Every company has numerous resources available for training purposes. Determine which are available to you and identify those that are the most beneficial for your employees’ needs. Some typical resources to consider include:
• Training provided by the vendor or manufacturer.
• Training provided by a third party (may be included in the contract).
• Self-study (especially for software).
a) “Help” feature of the program – Keyword searches through the program’s “index,” “contents,” or “search” command.
b) “Tour” feature of the program – A quick, instructive overview of the application that gives you a feel for its capabilities.
c) Program Tutorials – Guided instructions imbedded in the program.
d) Program Wizards – Interactive guides to specific tasks.
e) Office Assistant – A programmed “helper” that pops up on the screen and offers assistance.
• Manufacturer’s Web Sites – Many sites offer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), software patches and updates, troubleshooting tips, articles, and newsletter subscriptions.
• Manuals – May be available online or as a hardcopy manual that comes with the technology. While many manuals are notoriously poorly written, they’re worth a look.
• People – Sources include help desk personnel (if your company has one), manufacturer’s toll-free support lines, online user chat groups with support people, online forums where you post questions and receive answers from technicians, and other users within your company or in another company. Also, manufacturers sometimes sponsor user groups you can join.

(Note that this list represents a broad spectrum of resources and certain items may not pertain to all technologies.)

2) Rank the resources in order of usefulness to you.
Your individual ranking will depend on your company culture, the users’ learning preferences, and many other variables. This is your opportunity to create a custom plan, so take advantage of it.

3) Make or allow the time to use the resources.
Always exercise discipline. It’s natural to want to rush in and start using a new technology, but the resulting trial and error is usually counter-productive. Users must be willing to spend time learning from the various resources. Likewise, employers and managers must allow the learning process to unfold; you can’t expect instant results. When you incorporate time for learning into the implementation plan and schedule, you give your employees the best chance for information comprehension and retention.

An end to technology frustration
Ideally, you should create your learning strategy before you purchase the new technology. However, if you believe you’re not getting your money’s worth from a technology you’ve already implemented, you can easily adapt the above techniques in order to boost your productivity. Either way, when you take this two-tiered commitment approach to technology implementation, you reduce your employees’ learning curve as you increase overall productivity. The result is a win-win solution that eliminates frustration and ultimately increases the company’s bottom line.

Brian Nichelson is a Houston-based consultant and author who helps organizations boost their productivity by coping more effectively with technology. He can be reached at (281) 997-8553 or brian@survivetech.com.

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2002 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2002.

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