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Is IT training the poor relation of IT?

An attention grabbing headline if ever there was one! I don't want to come across all 'woe is me', but rather explore perceptions and the role of IT Training within a law firm, particularly during software rollouts.

Well are we?

Ok, the inspiration for the headline originates from a conversation I had with colleagues many years ago. It was a conversation borne of frustration at current events in the firm where we worked. We were rolling out a new DMS to the firm. Obviously this is a major event for IT. It just had to be right. It's a week before the training begins and the IT Training team still haven't seen a finished product and we have no training environment. Scary stuff, but not uncommon. You just have to adapt.

The major issue was ownership of the training content. The project team controlled the course content, the rollout and training schedule and even had the final say on what went in the training guides. IT Training had little or no say in proceedings. To cut a long story short, we had to cram 90 minutes of training into a 45 minute course. The training also took place a week before the system went live. Sometimes this is unavoidable, but it will severely affect information retention. We were not happy bunnies and our protests fell on deaf ears. We knew the training was poor. It was almost embarrassing and feedback from the business reflected this. The worst element was being named and shamed by the IT Director after the rollout had finished, in front of the whole of IT, for the poor quality of the training! To say we were demoralised and frustrated would have been an understatement.

Who are the experts?

The example above is an extreme one, but it highlights a few issues. I would never dream of giving advice to my Network Manager on how to implement server virtualisation. It's far too technical for me. Yet, in my experience, many IT colleagues have strong opinions on training. I can understand this to a certain extent, as everyone has been the trainee at some point and knows how they like to be trained. The 'trainee' experience is different for everyone and a good Trainer (and good training) takes into account how different people learn. Good IT Training should seem effortless, but based on sound learning theory – a measured blend of behaviourist and constructivist (cognitive) learning theory. I believe IT Training is technical, but not always in a technology sense.

The purpose of rollout training

Obviously people need to know how the system works, but to what extent? This may be where the battle between IT Training and the technical/business owners of the product takes place. Learning retention rates will vary depending on the product, the skill of the trainer, the quality/style of training, the amount of time between training and product use and (let's not forget) the learner. For example, a behaviourist style of training (demonstrating) can result in information retention rates as low as 30%, whereas a constructivist/cognitive training approach (interactive/problem solving) can be as high as 70%. If I plump for an average of 50% then we need to ensure that it's the most important 50% that people remember. Very tricky to achieve. Less is often more. Rollouts need to separate what's essential from what's nice to know. To maximise training effectiveness people should use the software as soon as possible to put the learning into practice. In the above case this was also a major issue. I believe an IT Training team needs to ensure Project Managers have realistic expectations regarding what a single training session can achieve. What is the purpose of rollout training? I'm a big believer that rollouts are 50% training and 50% sales. This is the Users' first exposure to the product. A good trainer should be selling the product during training and generally trying, as much as they can, to generate excitement. First impressions will be formed during training. We have to work hard to generate a positive impression. Fee Earners are not always keen on change, so this positive impression has even more significance.

How a trainer will approach a new product

The first time I see a product I will obviously be learning how it works, but I will also be thinking about how I will train it, how I will sell it and the difference between the new product and the system (and way of working) it's replacing. One of the strengths of a good IT Training team is to understand how people in the business work. Therefore we will assess the possible reactions of the business in terms of what they will like (selling points) and what they may dislike (damage limitation). Trainers can often be seen as negative or picky by Project Mangers/Techies in this scenario. We will highlight elements of the product the business may take issue with. We will ask lots of questions, not only regarding functionality (how something works) but procedural questions (why and when do certain actions need to be performed). We need to know the answers because we may get asked the same questions during training.Delivering a new product to the business can be stressful. Trainers sometimes worry about how people will react. We are the public face of the product. We have to sell it. If the business doesn't like what they see, they usually let you know. I have been in many uncomfortable situations over the years where people can get very animated and even angry. It's not pleasant. This is why we can seem picky and negative during product handovers. We know there's a chance we could feel some heat from the business and we want to make sure we have all the answers we need and the product is going to be as good as it can be.

Adding value

I think IT Training can add value to a project if we are involved at an early stage. The same applies to Support. We both deal with Users every day. We understand how different teams work. We have a good idea what people may like or dislike. As I've mentioned already, IT Trainers think like Users. We are also excellent testers. We will click (and right-click) on everything. We can raise issues and ask questions about elements that may not have been considered before. We want to go into that training room with the best possible product. Early involvement means we have more time to learn a product, develop (and propose) training solutions and produce supportive documentation. It also gives us the opportunity to generate positive spin in the business about upcoming rollouts. Yes (shock horror!), some people in the business may actually look forward to a new product being delivered. Bad training can harm a product and I accept the example above is an extreme one. A single IT Training course can only achieve so much and learners can only take in so much information. Rollout training should be phase one in the training lifecycle. Follow-up solutions should be put in place as part of the project plan. Think about additional training sessions, training consultancies on a 1-2-1 basis, e-learning top-up training modules, courtesy visits, proactive floorwalking, evaluation and monitoring IT Service Desk calls. Separate what's essential from what's nice to know. The latter can be covered in a planned, targeted way at a later date. IT Trainers like clearly defined objectives.Finally, to answer my own question, I don't think we are the poor relations of IT, but I do feel our expertise is often undervalued. I also feel IT Training requires more extensive planning earlier in a project lifecycle.

Do you see your IT Training team as learning experts? What are your experiences during rollouts? Please leave a comment.

Chris Davies

October 2008

 

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