In response to the world-altering year known as 2020, we have all adjusted to a new way of living and managing our work and personal life. Last year, many technology projects were delayed – upgrades were postponed and many budgeted items were sidelined due to a shift of focus during the pandemic, yet, some firms implemented specific software to address the shift to remote work.
Many firms incorporated new cloud-based communication software for web meetings and other forms of collaboration, including Microsoft Teams or Zoom, while other firms moved toward a cloud-based DMS and time entry system. And, training played a monumental role in ensuring success with these new tools. Meanwhile, firms took advantage of the webinar platform to conduct a variety of training sessions as well as user support.
Years ago, I managed the training and software support services for a Midwest law firm. As with many firms, we had users with different levels of experience based on their role – staff produced most of the work and they received most of the training, and we struggled to get attorneys and managers to attend training classes. Out of necessity, and a little frustration, the PTA was born – Personal Training Appointments. I scheduled one-on-one sessions with attorneys and admins, usually 20-30 minutes in length, and personalized the training content based on the user; these sessions were performed desk side, or remotely with screen sharing software. At first, my supervisor thought it would take too much time to meet with people individually, but I convinced them it was a necessary trade-off — which was worse…either we had a percentage of users who didn’t receive any training, or we got near 100% participation doing it the long way. For this firm, it took 2 trainers dedicated over 12 days of back-to-back 30-minute sessions; we met with all attorneys and department managers. The end result was that people received the necessary training which ultimately decreased the help desk calls/tickets as well as the grumbling, and increased productivity. Users were more satisfied and adept with the software after receiving this personal attention.
In light of the new Microsoft Teams / Zoom remote work practices, training has mostly shifted to a webinar format and as many of us are working from home, it means we are dealing with different environmental factors including access to wifi, varying types of devices, and user experience or comfort level. Personalized training can be the key to success.