Keep the Toaster Away from Your Bathtub.

My son's best friend struggled with his Pre-Calculus class, and when his classmates couldn't help him better understand the subject, his parents got him a tutor.

They didn't buy him a different textbook.

If my daughter has trouble with an application on our home PC, she doesn't reach for a manual, or look up the answer on the Internet, she seeks personal help from my son or myself.

At work, when a co-worker struggles with a computer problem they tend to ask a peer for advice before calling the Helpdesk. This phenomenon happens so often, it has been given a name - "shadow support". Consulting firms have spent time trying to quantify how often "shadow support" happens in our workplace. Answer: It happens all the time.

And it's expensive.

When my team was deploying a new enterprise system, we asked our employees how they would prefer to be trained. Almost unanimously, they preferred "one on one" training. In second place came classroom training. Third place was peer-based training (a train the trainer approach). Finishing dead last, was the dreaded user manual.

Unfortunately, when you need to train 1200 people, who are dispersed across the country, most forms of face to face training aren't an option. And so you go off and write the dreaded user manual, comforted by the fact that you did the best you could, given the time and resources restraints.

(Aside: I know what you're thinking. Why survey employees if you couldn't provide their first choice as a solution? Answer: We were lobbying for more training resources and needed the survey results to back up our request. We were denied.)

In our case we created online (web based) screenshow training lessons for each application transaction, with screenshots of each cursor movement, complete with text documentation. We combined this with a "train the trainer" delivery approach. Our employees could step through each transaction from anywhere, 7x24.

We also provided an entire training environment, where employees could sign onto a practice system and test out their knowledge. We developed user groups so peers could communicate with peers as they adopted the system. We provided cheat sheets and printed documentation. We even built process discussion forums on the company intranet. We personally trained the Helpdesk staff. The Helpdesk Manager also brought in 3rd party system experienced staff for go live week.

In retrospect, I'd give our training/support efforts an "A" and (generously) score our training outcome as a "C". Our results were better than simply issuing a user manual and summarized "cheat sheets" - but not by much.

That's a tough pill to swallow. The success of any implementation is measured by anticipated business results (faster accounting close, more inventory turns, fewer outstanding receivables, better purchasing or whatever...) post implementation.

And positive outcomes depend entirely on how well your employees understand the work processes and use the new system.

So what have we learned so far?

1. People prefer to be personally trained (one on one) by other people.
2. Most companies can't afford the time, resources or money to do #1.
3. Most "affordable" training methods aren't as effective as we'd like.
4. Project outcomes are almost entirely dependent on how well your employees understand the new processes and use the new system for transactions.
5. A strong "Training effort" doesn't guarantee that employees actually learn.
6. For new system implementations, I.T. owns the training challenge and is responsible for the outcome.

If you're a Project Manager, you might be seriously tempted to take your next bath with a toaster.

Before you do that, let me "float" a different idea. (Pardon the pun.)

About six months ago, I came across a book by Dan and Chip Heath, called "Made to Stick" which cites six rules for effective communication. After watching a video of Dan Heath presenting at BIF3, I learned he was a co-founder of a company called Thinkwell, which provides supplemental teaching services for Professors and Teachers.

When a respected communications expert gets into the training business, I was curious to see his approach. And after spending a few minutes on the site, I knew the approach I was going to try for my next system implementation.

In fact, Thinkwell uses an approach I've blogged about in the past. (Hint: Check out my previous posts; Hooked on Video and Stop Writing Manuals.. as examples.)

So here's your homework.

1. Check out Thinkwell's website as an example of how experts train "visually".
2. Pick a training topic. Ask your Helpdesk which questions they get the most. Use your first video to answer these questions.
3. Download CamStudio (or spend a couple hundred bucks to purchase video creation software).
4. Create a web based training video. As you create your video, CamStudio captures everything you see on your monitor and includes audio, so in essence, you create the feeling of one on one personal training. If your Business Analysts create the training videos, you also put a voice (or face depending on how sophisticated you get) to the I.T. support function.
5. Monitor the results and ask for employee feedback.

I'm betting that you'll find that video training is more accepted by your audience, is faster and cheaper to produce than writing and editing detailed user manuals and is fun and easy to generate. And best of all, I believe it will be more effective.

Put the videos on your company's intranet to make them available anywhere and anytime. If you find that this approach works for your company, you might also link the videos into your enterprise systems "Help" feature and combine this delivery method with a system certification test to make sure that employees truly understand the content.

Let me know if it works for you.

And keep the toaster away from your bathtub.