Training Talk: Hard-Hitting Articles on Computer Training, Management, and IT-related Issues.

As obvious as this sounds, I’ve heard it over and over. Management wants people trained up on the newest version of Word, or PowerPoint or Excel, or what have-you, but the end-users don’t have the software installed on their computers. Worse, sometimes I even hear that the software won’t even be installed for several months.

I can’t think of a better way to flush your training dollars down the toilet.

This one’s a classic. Management wants everyone up-to-snuff on the new system, yet fails to take into account that half the users won’t be using the software for their job anytime soon. If ever. Yeah, sounds stupid, but believe me, I’ve heard it!

This is a great way to make sure everyone in the class is really excited about and paying attention to the material and the instructor. Or catch up on their emails.

This one goes hand-in-hand with the next one:

Another classic. Management wants everyone proficient on a new hardware or software system, and schedules a training class. However, management does not take the time or money to ensure that the training content supports their needs. This one, again, sounds so silly to write out, but when huge chunks of training content do not pertain, and will not pertain, to students, they tend to shut off very quickly. Especially Gen Y students.

This also puts the instructor on-the-spot, as he/she is often called upon to make the training “relevant to my job.” That usually means trying to come up with examples on the fly that support student’s needs. It also usually means the instructor looks like an ass and the students feel he/she is unprepared. What a great way to setup yourself and your training company for failure.

It only takes a little extra time and money to ensure that your investment in training actually targets your organization’s needs, so don’t fall prey to this common blunder.

This one is just the opposite of number 1. Users are forced at the last minute to upgrade to a new system, and be production-ready on it, without sufficient time. Give users 2-3 weeks at minimum to adjust to new versions of software, especially for mission-critical applications.

Maybe this is a little too obvious. In this economy, employers have the upper-hand, and it would be easy to adopt the attitude that “they should figure it out on their own, especially in this job market.” Granted it’s a competitive job market bordering on depression, but that is no excuse for failing to train your people. See the detailed articles I have already written on this subject, Computer Training in a Troubled Economy and To Train or Not to Train During a Recession.

Even though this is an employer’s market, remember that if your employees fail, you fail. So don’t cheap out on yourself or your organization; you need to keep your workforce in tip-top shape.

This one’s a close cousin to number 4. But you need to expect hiccups and bumps in the road with software upgrades. Foresee the unforeseen. And for goodness’ sake, test your mission-critical applications thoroughly before using them in a production environment. All software has bugs, but this will only matter if a particular bug or incompatibility hinders your workflow. Do your homework.

7.    Not Training Support Staff

Hopefully this is up there with blatantly obvious, but if your organization fails to train support staff, this is a sure-fire recipe for rollout disaster.

Be ready and able to downgrade back to the older version or system should some odd problem arise that prevents your rollout from being successful. This may seem fairly obvious, yet common sense frequently isn’t so common.

I have covered this topic quite thoroughly in the article How to Know When to Upgrade Your Computers. Suffice it to say, the smoothest and most successful rollout will be the one you don’t have to perform, so make sure it’s really necessary before investing the time and money into it.

I hope you found these 9 tips helpful as you contemplate your next rollout. Remember we at PC Training Experts specialize in training and rollouts, so don't hesitate to contact us for your next project.

Please share your thoughts and comments with us, and until next time we’ll solve our problems Bit by Bit.