The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/21494
How do you think law firm learning has changed over the last few years? Honora: In lots of ways. For one thing, there have been extreme pendulum swings from classroom-only to e-learning and firm university crazes that, in many cases, have not provided the hoped-for buy-in and results. A range of pressures drove this, but most particularly the economic dips in the last decade. And each has eaten away at classroom time — especially for timekeepers under the pressure to bill. But a healthy result of these pressures has been more curriculum- focused training, specifically on workflow, and on targeting learning to certain individuals, rather than expecting all people to learn all things. Another healthy change has been the realization that those who take every class and learn everything will often not retain that learning on infrequently performed tasks. Thus, just-in-time learning trends will continue. I also think the helpdesk and training have evolved their partnership over the last 10 years, achieving a better understanding of how training needs to be extended beyond formal curriculum. There’s so much software available now that becoming an expert in all aspects of each is impossible and impractical for most users. Walking a user through a task in the moment of need is often the appropriate level of training and no failure on their part if they need to relearn it six months later. means taking what users already know and applying it to their specific context. That’s been a huge change. “We’ve raised a good portion of our workforce to the point that they no longer need to be introduced to technology like e-mail, for example, only to specifics, like firm rules.” Tony: Boy, how things have changed! When I got to Bryan Cave 13 years ago, we were just coming off of a conversion to the Windows world. We had to get our community up to speed on all kinds of technology, like the mouse. Remember when you used Solitaire to teach that? We spent a lot of time just teaching technology and applications — moving from a generic idea of word processing into teaching how to use WordPerfect, later Word, and of course spreadsheets — and how to take advantage of their many features. Now fast-forward a decade or so. Knowledge of technology is now assumed. We’ve raised a good portion of our workforce to the point that they no longer need to be introduced to technology like e-mail, for example, only to specifics, like firm rules. Nowadays, training 22 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer Rebecca: I think in the past many of the tried and true methods of training have been foremost in the minds of management, attorneys and IT. Those traditional methods consisted of classroom training, instructor-led training and quick reference handouts — a step-by-step approach. But with technology changing at such a rapid rate in the private, social and corporate arenas, everyone is starting to expect relevant information that is easy to find. For example, is it easier to use Google or your firm’s intranet site to search on how to do a mail merge? Now, of course, you could go to the document management system and do a search to find that information, but what are your users more accustomed to doing; what are they prone to do? I think that’s where we have to change and shift to make training just-in-time training — make it so users can easily go to their intranet, do a training session and find the information that’s relevant to them. Michelle: No question we’re starting to catch up with the rest of the world on e-learning. It’s not all about electronic page- turners anymore. And I think we’re doing a better of job of producing good e-learning content. We’re also realizing that our younger hires need different forms of training, so we’re starting to move in that direction. Just because someone has used Word for years, for instance, doesn’t mean they know the first thing about using styles or templates. Or as Tony said, knowing e-mail doesn’t necessarily mean they know the firm’s policies and standards. In what ways do you think the training environment will change over the next few years? Honora: I think the key words here are “evolution” and “sophistication.” I just don’t see some magic bullet appearing that solves all training challenges. I think it’s time to grow in sophistication by blending different approaches, including limited classroom time, e-learning, just-in-time partnerships with the helpdesk, social media and intranet opportunities.