ILTA White Papers

ILTA White Paper Firm University 10 marketIng We created a logo, a catchy name and an easy URL to type into the browser. We also had several meetings prior to the rollout with stakeholders to ask how they thought this should be delivered. Those meetings showed that we had to make it easy to get to the information and had to cater to different learning styles. We send out monthly e-mail messages with schedules for each site and then biweekly e-mail messages that contain tips. Often the biweekly tips come in e-learning format, and the message itself will provide a link "for a more graphic rendition of this tip, click here," or "to see this tip real time, click here," which drives our users to the firm university website. In addition, when our helpdesk gets a call for a task for which we have an e-learning module, we'll solve the problem and then follow up with a link to the module. Our firm university is always there when people need it, without being overbearing. LearnIng opportUnItIes Our program includes classroom training, distance learning and e-learning. We are considering podcasts, possibly an RSS feed, as well as integration into our helpdesk call tracking application. I've even thought about adding an online store so that learners could purchase job aids with credits earned. traCkIng We track participation completely through our LMS. Because it's closely integrated with e-mail, there is not a lot of manual labor involved with the scheduling and reminding, as well as rosters and follow-ups. motIvatIng Learners to partICIpate Our secretaries have a section in their evaluations that addresses IT training participation. In addition, having the firm university available online has also been a motivator. Frankly, it can be fun for our users to attend training because it now comes in so many formats for them. InCentIves or CertIFICatIons Our secretaries have training attendance requirements built into the evaluation process. We do not currently have a certification process, though we are exploring learning plans and incentives for those who complete them. We've also worked with our marketing group for ideas on knickknacks to be given after certain achievements. In addition, we work with the manager of the secretarial group and keep her informed of any standouts when it comes to participation in training. There is formal recognition by way of evaluations, but also having a firm university has opened up a dynamic and productive line of communication between IT and the secretarial staff (who are our biggest and busiest clients). ImpaCt on sUCCess As with many IT initiatives in a law firm, it's often hard to list tangible benefits. There are the obvious ones, fewer calls to the helpdesk, a higher level of proficiency in certain areas of Word and Outlook, specifically. But the firm university really brings us all together. Because most of the database is public (the schedule, the e-learning modules, the distance learning modules, but not individual learner profiles or data), people know what we're doing and how to reach us, and there isn't much mystery as to what we are trying to achieve. The firm university has a very

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