Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/5394
www.iltanet.org Firm University 9 Lessons Learned from firm universities ImpaCt on sUCCess I have seen learning taking place at various times instead of only when an instructor offers classroom training. There is no longer a waiting period to learn. WorDs oF WIsDom Start out simple and build upon your success. ILta Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julia Forbes Firm . . . Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels, LLP City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boston Number of Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Number of Learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425 FIrm UnIversIty goaLs Our goals are ongoing. But our primary goal was visibility at first. The idea of using a computer to learn about a computer can be counterintuitive, and we wanted to make learning fun, easy and progressive. We also wanted to soft sell its role in our legal executive assistants' daily lives. We didn't want to add yet another administrative task to their workload, unless it could be fun and productive and could easily fit in. Our goal as we move into the program is to keep it fresh and up-to-date and to keep enticing our existing users and new users with new material. aLIgnment WIth FIrm goaLs Our goals do line up with the firm's in quite a few ways. We are regularly trying to find new and innovative ways to reach out and impact users, just as the firm tries to do with its clients. Obviously, in the past 12 to 18 months, money for new initiatives has not been easy to come by. Having this in mind, we're getting the most out of our existing technology and talent pool to make what we have that much better. management bUy-In We did have buy-in from firm management, particularly with the LMS. From the finance perspective, there is the one-time charge and then maintenance, of course, but the product library is frequently updated and refreshed. While some software appears to be purchased and then never upgraded, our e-learning library is always getting additions. It was an easy investment to sell to upper management. We met with the professional development team at the firm and showed them our LMS and the potential for CLE tracking. We presented this as a program that has an application to all firm users in a variety of ways, not just for IT training initiatives.