The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/21494
Keno Kozie Associates Traditional push methods are critical when a firm is upgrading to new software or technologies. When a trainer is asked, “Do I really need to go to training — I have already been using this software version at home,” the answer should be a resounding “YES!” Software installed directly “out-of-the box” is typically not representative of how software will be deployed in a firmwide upgrade (or at least it shouldn’t be). In most firmwide upgrades, there are many custom configurations and integration considerations that need to be developed into the firm’s desktop image. So, unless there are zero customizations being made, the answer is that everyone should attend training classes to heighten the user’s experience and to facilitate a smoother transition to the new technology or upgrades being deployed. More recently developed are the pull methods of training, which include continuing education classes and e-learning modules. The efficacy of these methods uniformly disintegrates over time. These pull methods are often made available as a response to an outcry from users requesting/demanding more training. A very effective pull-oriented method of delivering assistance is a competent, legal-specific helpdesk that users can call exactly at the time they need assistance. The popularity of helpdesks has grown exponentially for precisely this reason. No longer are firms addressing technical support needs in a casual way. In the past, many firms invested in building internal helpdesk support solutions to ensure that assistance was available to users precisely when needed. This was and still remains an expensive solution. After hours, weekends and holidays proved to be challenging, and firms resorted to assigning rotating members of the support team to be “on call” during these times. More recently, there has been a trend toward the more effective and less expensive solution of outsourcing the firm’s helpdesk needs to private vendors that specialize in providing legal- specific technical helpdesk support. In this way, users have access to immediate help from highly skilled and specialized analysts no matter what time of day, weekend or holiday. This eliminates complicated personnel issues for firms, as they do not have to manage or train support staff, nor account for support needs during holidays, weekends and off-hours. ILTA Capensys Studies are showing that 70% of learning actually occurs at the workplace, so it’s very important that users have a way of pulling down just-in-time training which is accurate, relevant and firm-approved. There are two aspects to this: The training should be easily accessible, preferably context-sensitive from the actual application; and the training being made available should be relevant, concise and versatile. By offering at-a-glance overviews, quick demos and training hot-lines, all available from within the application, you can cover most users’ on-going training needs. ILTA Traveling Coaches With constant change around technology and workflow, it is not practical to expect learners to wait for the next classroom event to learn how to do their jobs. What they need is information in the moment of their daily work context. Allowing access to pull-oriented learning content allows users an opportunity to be in control of their own performance support. It also opens the door for self-exploration and discovery of new information relevant to their needs. Busy attorneys often prefer to learn what they want, when they want. Rather than attend scheduled events which (in their minds) may include much information which is not essential to their work processes, they prefer to pick and choose their training based on their needs at the moment. Providing them with outlets from which to “pull” information rather than “push” them to classes is the solution. We’ve seen a dramatic increase not only in the availability of information, but also in the craftiness of businesses in pushing their information out in the hopes it will be consumed. With exploding inboxes, telemarketers disturbing us at home, and ads literally the size of buildings, we’re on information overload! And we’re pushing back! We are tired of irrelevant information being forced on us, while demanding that the information we need be readily available. Why should training be any different? We know the training we want, and with our busy lives, only have time to consume what we need. A successful training program respects our needs and provides training opportunities that fit our work style. ILTA Peer to Peer the quarterly magazine of ILTA 31