Recently in Training Category

Sometimes when I give a presentation, something comes out of my mouth that even I don't expect. At TRIPLL it was, "Sometimes the best training is no training at all." You may think that this comment is nonsensical, but hear me out. What I meant was that we'd all be better off if we could figure out ways to help people do what they need to do without the necessity of training. Can we deliver content to our users via the Intranet that will give them the help they need, when they need it? Can we create tools using blogs, wikis, etc. that allow users to share information and help each other? And ultimately, can research tools be so intuitive that training isn't necessary? Yes, I know, we're not there yet, but we're certainly closer than at any time in the past, and considering how difficult it is to get users to attend training, we need to think about other ways to reach our customers.

Shortly afterwards, I spotted a book review in the L.A. Times for a book called, The Best Service is No Service: How to Liberate Your Customers from Customer Service, Keep Them Happy, and Control Costs . I haven't read the book, but according to the review it discusses how companies can try to avoid the need for customer service, thereby providing a better experience to their customers. For example, Amazon carefully tracks the kinds of customer problems that require customer service, then they focus on fixing those problems so that a customer support call isn't necessary. As a consumer, I for one would much prefer not to experience the problem to begin with! As a librarian, I've seen small, easily avoided technical problems eat into the time of our attorneys and staff with a kind of ripple effect that can be scary to watch when you start adding up in your head the cumulative billable hours being lost.

Then, while catching up on my reading I found Darlene Fichter's article, "Put the 'Service" in Self-Service." (Online Jan/Feb. 2008). She points out that we "often equate and value "high-touch" service with face-to-face relationships. That's not bad, of course. As librarians we typically take pride in the personalized service we provide. But along the same lines as the above book, Darlene states: "We have not fully embraced designing excellent self-service experiences. Many colleagues don't perceive our library websites as 'real service.' Is your default response to self-service difficulties, "Have them call or come in?" Valid responses perhaps, but a better first response is looking at what caused the problem in the first place. What online tools, information or functionality could address it?"

Whether it's training or customer support, in the coming years we'll need to look at providing service of all kinds, in the ways that our customers want it, both in-person and virtually.

I'm just back from TRIPLL where we spent some quality time talking about ways to deliver point of need training to attorneys and staff using such tools as webinars, remote desktop sharing, videos, etc., in addition to finding ways to make ourselves more visible and available by walking the floors and doing personal follow-up to training. It's obvious that formal, longer training sessions simply don't draw our intended audience, regardless of the quality and abundance of the food provided. Considering the fact that attorneys aren't coming into the library as often as they once did, we have to figure out how to take training to them.

So I'm very interested in this ILTA webinar called "Getting Attorneys into the Classroom - Why Would You Want Them There?" and I thought I'd let you know about it as well. There's a lot to be learned on this topic from the technology folks, since they experience the same problems we do, but on an even larger scale!

You'll have to pay a bit more to register if your firm isn't an ILTA member, but it's probably worth it. Maybe I'll "see" you there.

P.S. Attending and speaking at TRIPLL was a great experience. I learned a lot, enjoyed exchanging ideas with the group, and ate way more than I should have. If you're involved with training, and ever get the opportunity to go, take it! Thanks very much to the group at Lexis Nexis for continuing to offer such quality programs.

I've attended Internet Librarian in Monterey many times, and I never tire of it. Of course, nothing's perfect. Much of the gorgeous coastline around here was shrouded in fog for most of the morning. Big Sur is an amazing place, but in thick fog you definitely don't get the same peak experience that you can enjoy with clear skies. Still, driving down highway 1 in a convertible with the top down, singing Beach Boy songs, had it's appeal. And just a quick travel tip, Cafe Kevah has the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had in my life. The view is also supposed to be extraordinary, but again, there was the whole issue of fog.

By the time the fog burned off, it was afternoon, and I was due to attend a workshop conducted by Greg Notess on creating online tutorials. Luckily the session was good enough that I didn't spend too much time pining for the fjords. Heck, there's only so much beauty you can soak up in one day, anyway.

I've created some instructional web videos, but I wanted to learn more about the process. Greg's session didn't disappoint. By the way, you'll find much of the information from the handout, and a lot of other good stuff on Greg's new LibCasting - Screencasting and Libraries blog.

Greg talked about several different tools, but his software of choice is Camtasia. That worked for me, since I also use Camtasia, and picked up some good tips during the course of the session.

Short is good. Greg suggests keeping online tutorials under a minute if at all possible. He also recommends making sure to record videos in a screen sized to work within most people's browser window, and limiting your recorded screen are to only what's necessary. For example, you may not want to capture the entire browser, but rather, just the content area, unless the use of the browser toolbars are part of the instruction.

It's true, you can create short online tutorials without a huge investment of time, once you get the hang of it. However, if you expect your videos to be perfect, 30 DAYS might not be enough time. So keep your expectations reasonable. After all, you can best serve your users by accepting some slight quirks in order to get the videos completed and available. Besides, it makes you seem more human. :-)

Nevertheless, there will be errors that you'll want to correct. I liked Greg's method for correcting errors during the course of the recording. Whenever he makes a mistake, or encounters something that he wants to cut from the video, such as an email pop-up notification, he stops talking for several seconds. These pauses can be spotted on Camtasia timeline, thereby marking the points at which he wants to go back and edit.

My technique is a little bit different. I record until I make a mistake, which for me is sometimes a matter of seconds. :-) At that point I stop, edit out the error, re-do the mistaken portion, and continue on. I may try Greg's method to see which works better for me.

Among other valuable tips - when you start the recording, count to 3 or 4 before you actually start talking. Similarly, at the end of the recording, count again (silently, of course!) before stopping the action. This makes both the beginning and end less abrupt.

Screencasting is a great way to instruct users at the point of need. And these days, point of need is the only time most people are receptive. Since you can't be available every minute of the day, you may want to try experimenting with instructional videos.

Let's face it, our jobs involve more training than ever before, even if it's one on one more often than in a classroom setting. But many of us haven't ever been trained to train. How many of us might, if only occassionally and inadvertently, violate such rules as:

• Don't read the screen to your trainees....they can read for themselves.
• Have multiple copies and versions of your presentation as your Plan B.
• Or my personal favorite, DO NOT TAKE THE KEYBOARD OR MOUSE AWAY FROM THE LEARNER!

These tips come from a presentation by Rob Coers and Michael Stephens, Twenty Technology Training Tips from Two Trainers.

I found the slide on body language, which suggested kneeling down when you explain something at the trainee's desk to be especially useful.

There's lot of good stuff here.

[Spotted on Librarians with Class]

No one has time for training. And let's face it, even if attorneys and staff did have time, they'd forget what they learned unless given an opportunity to implement their newly acquired knowledge within a fairly short time frame. But how can you successfully introduce new services, even something fairly straightforward, if you can't get your user's attention long enough to show them how to use them?

Offering just-in-time training can help, but trainers can't always be available at a moment's notice.