The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/21494
• What kind of support is available (e.g., live-chat, e-mail, phone support)? What are the hours of operation? Is the vendor’s helpdesk located in a different time zone? Does it have 24-hour support? What is the vendor’s guaranteed response time? Leverage value-added services when purchasing a new product. Remember that in this economy, you can barter for almost anything. More and more vendors are including free “value-added” services — services normally considered revenue streams — as an incentive for renewal and/or negotiations for subscription-based products. Why not ask the vendor to commit to future value-added time and services as part of a comprehensive support and training maintenance program? The value-added services will once again regain their full value as a revenue stream when the economy recovers. Negotiating for future value-added services now will not only benefit the firm’s bottom line, but will also raise the probability that the product will be continually supported and maintained even after the blush is off the bloom. Adapt tools for your tactics. Even if the vendors provide the foundational elements for the courseware, the trainers must further customize the classes and ancillary instructional tools in order to guarantee success in their firm’s environment. Staff and attorneys gravitate to the familiar. End-user training is more effective and memorable if a trainer adapts the courseware to the firm’s workflows rather than simply utilizing generic vendor reference guides and curriculum. Again, bringing in the Microsoft Word example, classes and handouts must include the use of in-house document templates and macros. Trainer lesson plans should include the following elements: • The firm’s expectation of the software • Exercises that are meaningful to the user’s workflow • Optionally, a discussion (and, in the case of Office 2010, a road map) of how the new product differs from previous versions • Tips for using the product more efficiently • Ideas for troubleshooting common issues and errors Make your training program adaptable. People learn differently and trainers need to respect this by providing Train the Brain, Don’t Drain the Brain For more information, visit http://brainrules.net. 78 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer