Encouraging End User Self Sufficiency

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11. Make Sure Continuing Education Does Exactly That
Giving staff an induction and then patting yourself on the back might give you a warm fuzzy feeling, but it won't last. Make sure that users receive ongoing training on a scheduled basis, more often if you are introducing new systems or products. Group sessions that pull entire departments away from their work might be difficult, so run multiple sessions so that managers can juggle staff between sessions and still keep their department running. This advice follows a very simple rule that can be applied to training like this. The easier you make it for people to attend, the more people will attend.

For execs or other key personnel that will have trouble making it to training sessions, use an 'at-desk' training regimen, but make sure the execs understand that during the training time calls should go to voice mail and emails ignored. Keep the sessions short, perhaps an hour, but create intensive tutorials coupled with a short time for Q&A. You will be surprised at how effective such sessions can be, and in most cases the execs almost look upon it as a break. Again, as with all other training methods, use trainers that have the ability to hold the users interest and make the training enjoyable. Even just an hour of a monotone trainer will turn off the exec to the point where he or she will start rescheduling sessions and bumping them in favor of something more interesting - like a meeting with a tax planner or getting their filing up to date.

12. Don't Forget the Support Staff
While lavishing all of this attention on the end users, it's easy to forget they tech's need training and guidance too, and not just on the technical aspects of their job. Support staff with a poor attitude to users will make the users less inclined to ask the tech for help which results in them trying to fix problems on their own and often causing more problems as a result. If the users request for help is greeted by a tut, rolled eyes and a sigh, the user is unlikely to ask that same person for help in the future and will most likely only use that person as a source of last resort.

Also, make sure that tech support staff understand the big picture. A tech who thinks that lot's of problems equals job security is forgetting that fewer problems equals more productivity, which may translate into increased revenues and, with a following wind, profits. The tech will keep his job because A, he is doing it well and B, the increased revenue leads to expansion of the workforce which leads to more staff which leads to.........well, you get the idea. You might think that example is a little simplistic, and perhaps it is, but you have to admit the logic is sound.

While we are on the subject of support staff, let's not also forget that they need training too. If you have a new system or product installed, make sure the support staff get training on the system. I know what you are thinking - this sounds a little too obvious. Unfortunately, while it seems like a logical thing you would be surprised at how few companies actually think of this, or should I say actually do it. There is often an assumption that tech's will simply 'pick it up' as they go along. While this may be true, it is fairer on the tech (and thus the user), if the tech's are conversant with the products that they support. This doesn't just apply to new systems. I know of many PC support folks who know, say, Word and Excel, but ask them to apply a style sheet to a PowerPoint presentation and they run for the hills (or the server room, whichever is closest). You might argue that, in an ideal world, tech's should be conversant in every product they support, but this world is far from ideal. If it were, PowerPoint would mind read the fact that you wanted a style sheet applied and just do it.

Lastly - Think of the Big Picture
Ultimately, good technical support should be about looking at the technical needs of the company from a holistic level. To a trained tech, writing up a quick reference card on how to send a fax to the networked fax facility might seem like a waste of time, but in fact it's way more effective than visiting 50 different people and showing (and re-showing) them how to do it.

In these tough economic times, reducing costs associated with technical support and increasing the productivity of users can have a far more wide reaching effect than you might realize. But, don't worry, there will still always be those instances where a user truly amazes you with their, er, brilliance. And those are the moments you need to savor and relate in the coffee room.

I knew this user once....................