Insights

Neha Dave

Senior Training & Business Change Consultant
Bluefin Solutions

If a system is deployed and no one uses it, does it exist? – Part III: Training

In my previous blogs as part of this blog series (see Part 1 and Part 2) I highlighted some of the key factors to driving and facilitating user adoption. Of these, I believe that training is perhaps the most popular of vehicles. And I suspect it is the flexibility of training that makes it so. One can decide on how formal they would like the sessions to be, or how technical or interactive. You are free to chose the medium of training as well as the duration. These characteristics make training a popular discipline. However there are certain principles that one needs to follow to ensure that we are meeting our objectives. This blog looks at some of these key points that when followed culminate into a successful training plan.

First, there needs to be a holistic approach to training. This means that the training materials and tools need to be built around roles, business processes and tasks.  The goal is to ensure that users are trained to perform their jobs and not merely execute system transactions. So whilst training is often focussed on the technical solution, it should also provide the user with the context or business purpose behind the new solution, illustrating why the solution has been implemented and demonstrating how it can help them (the trainee) do their job better.

Identifying training needs

This is about identifying the new behaviours users will need to learn. It should be communicated in a way that encourages them to gradually shift their behaviour pattern until it becomes habit. It’s often best to speak to different people to understand the best approach. The usual suspects are typically project managers, technical consultants, team leads and key business users. The questions need to be open ended allowing the interviewee to explore the possibilities which ultimately translate into your training materials. It’s always good to direct the question based on a particular process so that you can easily identify the new behaviours. For example: How will users maintain the data using this new system? It’s a simple example but one which will give you the insight needed around the new system changes (i.e. new menu path or transaction code) and changes to the process. This will then enable you to communicate the before and after scenario to your audience.

Training course design

One size does not fit all. The training needs analysis will help you identify the different user groups based on their interaction and impact with the new system. This information is then translated into the number and range of training courses you need to design.  As a template every course should contain the following:

• Introduction: A basic introduction which describes the objectives, agenda, ground rules, and the structure of the training session.
• Overview: Generally a presentation which outlines the overall approach or process flow. It puts training topics into the bigger, more general business context.
• As is – to be process: An understanding and appreciation of the changes in  the process  incurred by the adoption of the new solution.
• Walkthrough: There may or may not be any formal materials (e.g. demonstration scripts) associated with system demonstrations.
• Hands-on exercises: Exercises or tasks that give the user the opportunity to interact with the system.
• Wrap-up: A conclusion to re-state the course objectives and allow participants time to ask any outstanding questions.
• Evaluation: Whilst quantitative data lends itself easily to statistical analysis, it is important to incorporate some qualitative feedback into the feedback mechanism.

Training medium

Several factors impact affect which medium you are likely to choose for your training delivery. Audience location, time and budget are usually key to influencing your decision. The most common mediums are typically...

• Power point presentations
• Word user guides
• Live demonstrations or recordings
• Interactive simulation programs

I tend not to restrict myself to only one medium. Whilst power point and word prove to be the most reliable (and cost effective), it’s always handy to record courses that involve system navigation. There are various tools that capture your movements and translate this into user guides and handouts. 

Train the trainer

This is perhaps a very common and popular type of training, although I bet not everyone including myself is fully convinced of its effectiveness. Don’t get me wrong, whilst I completely agree with the concept, I also acknowledge that training can be very intimidating and therefore not everyone’s cup of tea. It is therefore important to manage expectations when following this type of training. What I have done in the past is establish a ‘buddy system’ where the new trainer accompanies me to more than one training session and acts as an observer. The roles are then reversed and I start to passively observe whilst providing the much needed support. This gives the trainer the confidence to deliver a session on their own. For a new trainer, it is also very important to know the materials well as that is always something they can rely on, especially when facing a difficult audience.

I have highlighted only certain aspects that cover the  training process. In the end, the trainer must realise how important a training session can be, to influence and empower the user community. It is important for the trainer to be passionate and feel responsible for driving this change.