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Beg, Borrow, “Steal” – Don’t Reinvent the Wheel When Creating Training

October 26, 2009 By

I began my journey as the Training Coordinator for the Library System of Lancaster County almost six years ago.  Time really does fly when you’re constantly learning.  In my previous training jobs, I was given the instructor’s manuals and told to use all of the training materials that were already created.  It was easy.  I just learned the material myself and then turned around and trained others using the materials.  I did help with keeping the material up to date, but I was not involved with the initial creation.

My first day on the job here I was presented with an empty office.  There were no electronic copies of documents, no pre-printed manuals, no rotating schedules of classes, no… nothing.  I was a little shell shocked to say the least those first few weeks.  I was a member of a 5 person (now 6) IT department whose main focus was keeping all of the computers in 17 member libraries running and keeping the network going.  My job – to train all of the staff and volunteers in all of the libraries on Millennium, our ILS, MS Office applications, and anything else that involved human interaction with a computer.  My boss’ main focus is on the network, the hardware, making sure everything is running.  He hired me because of my software training background and had full confidence in me creating a robust training program… out of nothing.  He told me to not worry about not having a library background, I would pick that up as I went along.  When I asked who was going to tell me what to do the answer was… nobody.  You were hired to figure this out.

The long and winding road of this journey has been scary, frustrating, fascinating, rewarding and exponentially amazing.  I began my search for help online because that is a place where I have always felt comfortable.  It’s a place where I seem to pick up on things quickly.  I remember when my first job out of college (I was a Social Security Claims Representative) moved from huge 3 ring binders of manuals against a very long wall to CD-ROMs, it was as if a whole new world opened up before my eyes.  It used to take me forever to find the answer to my questions about eligibility laws, and then, all of a sudden, it was all right in front of me on a screen.  This made sense to me (though it frustrated the heck out of the long timers in the office)!

I opened up google.com and typed in “training in libraries”.  The first site I landed on was WebJunction.  Immediately I began to relax as I realized YES – there are other people out there who are trainers in libraries.  I am not alone.  I spent weeks on that site reading through documents and posts on forums and beginning my learning into this world of library training.  What was most amazing was everyone’s willingness to SHARE.  I mean, they put their materials right on there for anyone to use as long as they were given credit.  I was coming from a private industry marketing software company where everything was hush hush, and we didn’t even share with our clients our treasured secrets.  Here, I was able to post a question like “I’m a new trainer in a public library system with no library background, where should I start?” and get really great responses.  I was given the name of a great company called Custom Guide that I ended up purchasing a license from to create all of my MS Office trainings.

I also joined the Innovative User Group which is an online group of people who use Innovative Interface’s Millennium ILS.  After just a few short months on the job, I was lucky enough to go to their Conference (which was held in Boston that year).  I needed to begin doing Circulation training, so I attended any session that related to Circulation and training.  I got business cards and looked at sample training manuals.  When I got back home I sent everyone I met an email begging them to share their manuals with me.  Most everyone did, and from that, I was able to create my first manual.  A clearinghouse was created a year or so later where any member of the IUG list could post their materials.  I posted everything I had created.  To date, I have created 6 very comprehensive manuals related to circulation, reporting, holds and other functions.  I have shared these manuals widely with many because if it hadn’t been for the people who shared with me in the beginning, I would have been so miserably lost in the job.  With their help, I feel I have done quite well and so I willingly give away what was so generously given to me.

Also, in my first year, blogs were exploding and I learned through a WebJunction contact about RSS.  I began following blogs by people like Michael Stephens, Jenny Levine, Sarah Houghton Jan, and Stephen Abram to name a few.  No, they weren’t training librarians, but they were passionate about what they did and they referenced a lot of training librarians.  I learned through them about Helene Blowers and Learning 2.0.  I even decided to start blogging myself even though I didn’t know much.  I DID know how to be social online and it was my lifeline because I had no physical person to turn to for help in creating the training program here.

If I read something in a blog that I wanted to try myself, I sent the blogger an email request for information.  I was again always amazed at the willingness to share content, outlines, handouts, quick references.  I began to realize how lucky I was to stumble into this sharing universe of librarianship.  This expanded as I became immersed in social networking.  Where some of my friends just did it to stay in touch with friends online, I did it for survival.  If coworkers told me they didn’t have time for that frivolous RSS stuff, I could immediately get their attention by explaining the manual they were using in that class came from the help I received through using RSS professionally.  I was also using podcasts quite a bit too to hear how people were doing it.

Over time I was also using delicious,  Facebook, Twitter, flickr and FriendFeed.  By friending and following other library trainers, my requests for help continued to be answered.  By watching what the main players were bookmarking, taking photos of, or sharing on the Web, I was able to learn about new tools and use them in my job.  I wanted others to realize how revolutionary all of this was.  I would hear of someone creating a “How to create an e-mail account” handout for a training from scratch and cringe.  When I would direct them to WebJunction they would be amazed at all of the resources available.  I was asked by Commonwealth Libraries here in PA to do workshops to help others realize the potential of Web2.0 in libraries.

The last two years I have come to rely heavily on my library trainers network.  I’ve become a proud participator in the T is for Training podcast.  I am a member of some key lists that will help any library trainer like clenert@ala.org, innopac@innovativeusers.org (for Millennium users), librarylearning@googlegroups.com and tisfortraining@googlegroups.com.  A few months back I needed help getting materials together for Outlook Web Access training.  I put out a plea on Twitter and within moments had three different manuals sent my way.

So what is the key message I want to get across in sharing this journey with you?  NO MATTER WHAT – DO NOT create a training from scratch.  Really!  Before you sit down to create that next manual, quick reference, user’s guide, STOP.  Throw your question out to your online social network for help and you will be amazed at all of the information that will come your way.  These are, after all, information professionals.  I have found over the years that I fit in quite nicely with library types as I’ve always been one who loves information.  Oh, you don’t have an online social network of people to help you?  Well then, you better start building one!


Stephanie Zimmerman

Stephanie Zimmerman is the Training Coordinator for the Library System of Lancaster County (Pennsylvania), a federated system with 14 member libraries, three branches and a bookmobile, which serves 490,562 residents. She designs and implements technology and development training and consulting to the member libraries. This includes training on Innovative’s Millennium Integrated Library System, Microsoft Office Applications, emerging technologies (i.e. social media) and various other areas. Her goal is to remove the fear of technology and help others to realize the amazing possibilities it provides. Teaching others to do things for themselves and see their excitement when they break through their barriers is her greatest reward. Stephanie has been a software trainer for 15 years. Her past employment involved training on federal and county government applications. She also worked for a private industry marketing company where she traveled across the country showing manufacturers and retailers in the consumer packaged goods industry how to use geodemographic targeting software. Always wanting to help others, Stephanie graduated from Millersville University (in Pennsylvania) cum laude with a BA in Social Work. She was also a student in the Computer Information Systems program at Harrisburg Area Community College. She is a member of ASTD (American Society of Training and Development). She is also a regular contributor to the T is for Training podcast which focuses on training in libraries. She was a trainer for WebJunction’s Spanish Language Outreach project and has done training for Commonwealth Libraries. She is grateful to have landed in the world of libraries. When she began her current job in January of 2004, there were no other library trainers in her immediate area. She turned to the social web to begin networking with other library trainers across the world and immediately realized her passion for social networking and social media. All of her continuing education has been done through these networks and she can’t help but push others to discover the immense opportunities available through online collaboration. Stephanie lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her family which includes husband, Bill (a self-employed stay-at-home-dad) and two children (ages 2 and 4 months). When she’s not being Mommy, or working, you’ll most likely find her singing. Stephanie can be reached at szimmerman[at]lancasterlibraries.org.

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Trainers as Stewards of Change

October 19, 2009 By

Confronting change in the library is more frightful than discovering the first hints of gray hair on your 30th birthday.  Both are very real in my world now.  Just like dealing with the turmoil of finding those gray whiskers, dealing with organizational change is an intensely emotional, personal process.   As learning and performance leaders, we’re often called upon to help shepherd this transition process, so that it is as brief and painless as possible.

Shepherding the process is a challenge that tests the mettle of even the most experienced leaders.  Each situation is different, and what works in one situation might not work in the next.  Even though I’m (technically) a greybeard now, I cannot say that I possess the wisdom of Gandalf the Grey.  I don’t have all the answers when it comes to dealing with organizational change.  However, I do know that leaders must be sensitive to individual needs when acting as stewards of transition.  We have to keep staff members performing, even when the uncertainty of change leaves them feeling powerless.  Below are a few nuggets I’d like to offer for sensitively addressing organizational change with staff members:

Nobody wants your workshop

You cannot throw a class about change at your staff and expect it to be a panacea.  This isn’t to say that your presentation about navigating the stages of change is bunk. It’s not.  Just keep in mind that staff members are less likely to care about your workshop when they’re feeling anxious, scared, and depressed.  Share your valuable knowledge more so as a coach rather than as a trainer.  For example, consider meeting with smaller groups, allowing individuals a chance to discuss their fears and thoughts, and then organically work your insight into the conversation.  Reach, don’t teach.

Raise awareness of the power of reaction

A change exercise that I’ve used in recent group discussions is to challenge staff members to imagine a situation where the library has infinite resources.  I’ll ask everyone to draw a picture of the perfect library.  After a minute, I’ll change my mind and then require everyone to draw a picture of their dream house.  Momentarily, I’ll change my mind again and ask that they draw something else.

Eventually, people figure out that this is an exercise about reacting to change.  I go on to ask the group to discuss their own reactions to the exercise.  A conversation naturally builds.  I’ll facilitate the discussion asking questions, such as:  What reactions did you observe when I kept changing the expectations?  What are reactions to our organization’s current changes?  How are your reactions and the reactions of others affecting the morale of your work unit?  What are some methods for better managing your reactions?

We are so caught up in our own worry and fear that we fail to realize how our emotional responses affect the energy of others.  Raising awareness of the power of reaction through dialog empowers staff to explore ways to constructively work through their feelings.

Challenge people to step up

Many of us tend to hide when the going gets tough.  However, I encourage staff to look for opportunities to shine.   When I’m discussing change, I challenge staff members to develop a list of areas that they can directly affect for the better and strategies for affecting positive change.  For example, if a line staff member notices that morale is low is her department, I’ll ask her what are two or three things that she can do right now to help boost morale even though she is not a titular leader.

Change can provide a perfect stage for people to be recognized as valuable assets to the organization.  Remind staff not to hide, but rather to find ways to step up.  Encourage them to stretch by building new skills, working outside of their comfort zone, and taking on the unenviable tasks.

I’m sure that the stress of change in my workplace has contributed to a few of the grey hairs I’ve found lurking in my locks.  As with any change, people (myself included) are forced to let go of the old and transition to the new.  As leaders within our organizations, it’s our responsibility to sensitively help staff navigate through their own transition processes.  We can be effective stewards of change by treating staff members as individuals, helping them manage their reactions, and encouraging them to step up to the challenge.

How many of you have experienced major organizational change in the last year or so?  What other guidance would you provide to learning and performance professionals in shepherding the transition process?

Jay Turner

Jay Turner, Training Manager at Gwinnett County Public Library in Georgia, is responsible for all aspects of learning and development for a staff of 300+ employees. He considers himself a lifelong student, and delights in sharing his passion for learning with anyone willing to listen (much to their chagrin!) He is a library lifer, who began working in libraries as a teen and has worn almost every conceivable public services hat since. Jay’s diversity of experience helps him develop and deliver solutions that are creative, practical, and effective. He is a self-proclaimed information and tech junkie, who gets his fix by playing in his “digital sandbox” with new tools and neat ideas to make learning more accessible, more flexible, and more fun across any medium. He can be reached at jayturner[at]comcast.net.

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Free Online Conference LearnTrends2009

October 19, 2009 By

From the LearnTrends Web site:


LearnTrends 2009 – The Corporate Learning Trends and Innovations Conference

November 17-19, 2009 | Online | Free


The theme/focus this year is on Convergence in Workplace Learning. We will bring together people who look at different aspects of learning and knowledge work to understand better what’s going on in those areas and how we should be thinking about this holistically.


As always, this conference is about getting together interesting people who bring a slightly different perspective and have meaningful conversation around innovation in workplace learning. We typically get more than a thousand people signed up and at least a hundred in each session.


To register, you must first register on the LearnTrends community and then register on the Conference Event Page.


Conference Hashtag: #learntrends

Lori Reed

Lori Reed, Managing Editor of ALA Learning, has more than 15 years experience in training and is the Learning & Development Coordinator for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library where she oversees the learning & development of a diverse group of staff at twenty libraries. Lori’s passions are performance consulting, learning strategies, and e-learning. Lori is coauthor, with Paul Signorelli, of Workplace Learning and Leadership: A Handbook for Library and Nonprofit Trainers. Lori also blogs at LoriReed.com and can be reached at lori[at]lorireed.com.

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September Issue of LearningExchange is Available

October 13, 2009 By

The September issue of the LearningExchange (formerly CLENExchange) is available online in these locations:

ALA Connect

LearnRT wiki

Please feel free to distribute this information widely.

Stephanie Zimmerman

Stephanie Zimmerman is the Training Coordinator for the Library System of Lancaster County (Pennsylvania), a federated system with 14 member libraries, three branches and a bookmobile, which serves 490,562 residents. She designs and implements technology and development training and consulting to the member libraries. This includes training on Innovative’s Millennium Integrated Library System, Microsoft Office Applications, emerging technologies (i.e. social media) and various other areas. Her goal is to remove the fear of technology and help others to realize the amazing possibilities it provides. Teaching others to do things for themselves and see their excitement when they break through their barriers is her greatest reward. Stephanie has been a software trainer for 15 years. Her past employment involved training on federal and county government applications. She also worked for a private industry marketing company where she traveled across the country showing manufacturers and retailers in the consumer packaged goods industry how to use geodemographic targeting software. Always wanting to help others, Stephanie graduated from Millersville University (in Pennsylvania) cum laude with a BA in Social Work. She was also a student in the Computer Information Systems program at Harrisburg Area Community College. She is a member of ASTD (American Society of Training and Development). She is also a regular contributor to the T is for Training podcast which focuses on training in libraries. She was a trainer for WebJunction’s Spanish Language Outreach project and has done training for Commonwealth Libraries. She is grateful to have landed in the world of libraries. When she began her current job in January of 2004, there were no other library trainers in her immediate area. She turned to the social web to begin networking with other library trainers across the world and immediately realized her passion for social networking and social media. All of her continuing education has been done through these networks and she can’t help but push others to discover the immense opportunities available through online collaboration. Stephanie lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her family which includes husband, Bill (a self-employed stay-at-home-dad) and two children (ages 2 and 4 months). When she’s not being Mommy, or working, you’ll most likely find her singing. Stephanie can be reached at szimmerman[at]lancasterlibraries.org.

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The Fun Theory

October 12, 2009 By

Volkswagen has a very cool site up and running.   It’s called The Fun Theory and the site states:

This site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.


One of their videos proves this point with no question:

There are more videos on the site and they are currently running a contest.  As a technology trainer, teaching mostly on software applications and having very limited time to cover the material, there isn’t a lot of room for fun.  So I try to make it fun with my humor and poking fun at myself when I make a mistake.  Or easing stress by sharing stories of there ALWAYS being someone slower than you think you are at picking up information.  I keep a laid back attitude too which trainees seem to appreciate.


How do you build fun into your training?  Has the thought even crossed your mind?

Stephanie Zimmerman

Stephanie Zimmerman is the Training Coordinator for the Library System of Lancaster County (Pennsylvania), a federated system with 14 member libraries, three branches and a bookmobile, which serves 490,562 residents. She designs and implements technology and development training and consulting to the member libraries. This includes training on Innovative’s Millennium Integrated Library System, Microsoft Office Applications, emerging technologies (i.e. social media) and various other areas. Her goal is to remove the fear of technology and help others to realize the amazing possibilities it provides. Teaching others to do things for themselves and see their excitement when they break through their barriers is her greatest reward. Stephanie has been a software trainer for 15 years. Her past employment involved training on federal and county government applications. She also worked for a private industry marketing company where she traveled across the country showing manufacturers and retailers in the consumer packaged goods industry how to use geodemographic targeting software. Always wanting to help others, Stephanie graduated from Millersville University (in Pennsylvania) cum laude with a BA in Social Work. She was also a student in the Computer Information Systems program at Harrisburg Area Community College. She is a member of ASTD (American Society of Training and Development). She is also a regular contributor to the T is for Training podcast which focuses on training in libraries. She was a trainer for WebJunction’s Spanish Language Outreach project and has done training for Commonwealth Libraries. She is grateful to have landed in the world of libraries. When she began her current job in January of 2004, there were no other library trainers in her immediate area. She turned to the social web to begin networking with other library trainers across the world and immediately realized her passion for social networking and social media. All of her continuing education has been done through these networks and she can’t help but push others to discover the immense opportunities available through online collaboration. Stephanie lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her family which includes husband, Bill (a self-employed stay-at-home-dad) and two children (ages 2 and 4 months). When she’s not being Mommy, or working, you’ll most likely find her singing. Stephanie can be reached at szimmerman[at]lancasterlibraries.org.

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Training, Planning, and Collaborating to Build the Future

October 11, 2009 By

Trainer-teacher-learners are by nature forward-thinking and collaborative. There is no reason, after all, to invest time, money, energy, and other precious resources into helping others learn if we don’t believe there will be a payoff for everyone involved.

It’s no surprise, therefore, to see that local, regional, and national groups of trainers are providing replicable examples of how to produce magnificent results with a modicum of effort even during the challenging times we’re facing. Members of the American Library Association (ALA) Learning Round Table, for example produced two sell-out training workshops at the 2009 ALA Conference in Chicago this summer while other groups were struggling to attract minimal audiences; we also once again presented a first-rate “training showcase” open free of charge to our colleagues throughout ALA.

Training and other professional groups around the world, undaunted by the difficulty of attracting participants, are producing “future of library” conferences and panel discussions to inspire like-minded colleagues.  ALA itself, this summer, had a standing-room-only panel discussion on the topic.  The University of Arizona has sponsored conferences for several years. The Colorado Association of Libraries, Queensland (Australia) Department of Education and Training, and Southeast Florida Library Information Network have all recently been involved in future of library conference planning, and a “Future of Libraries within the Framework of Sustainable Development” was held on the island of Guadeloupe in June 2009.

An earlier article for this blog detailed the successes achieved by trainers in the Mt. Diablo Chapter of the American Society for Training & Development in attracting and retaining new members; at the heart of the success were the collaborative efforts of a few of us who improved the Chapter’s speaker series so it provided effective training for the trainers it is meant to serve.

Similar successes have come from another informal group of trainers meeting in the San Francisco Bay Area: the Pacific Library Partnership Staff Development Committee (formerly the Library Staff Development Committee of the Greater Bay Area). Seeing how this group operates suggests that we are far from living in a protracted dark age for training in spite of training-budget cutbacks.

The 10 to 12 core members of the group, in planning our fifth annual future of libraries conference this year, recognized early in our planning process that attracting attendees would be a challenge, so we made some key decisions. We would continue to rely on the individual skills of our planning group to use available resources—attracting an enthusiastic speaker whom we knew we could afford, enticing local presenters who were willing to volunteer their time to be part of what we were developing, relying on a combination of a first-rate publicist on our committee and additional well coordinated marketing efforts undertaken by other members of the committees to do much more than we have done before in reaching prospective paid attendees—without letting any part of the process become overwhelming for any individual member of the planning group.

A key to our continuing successes—and this year’s event was another profitable endeavor even though attendance was, as anticipated, considerably lower than it has been in better times: approximately 100 people compared to the sell-out audiences of 220 we have had in previous years—is that we employ a combination of well defined roles and a willingness to step in wherever needed as our time allows.

As is the case with every successful group I work with, I see an amazing ability for my colleagues in this training group to accomplish a lot in very little time (one face-to-face meeting every other month), combine skills to attain a well establish goal (producing conferences and other training events with real value to the people who attend them), and donate a very limited number of hours of work (five to 10) between each meeting so the projects stay on track. If we see that we need to increase our marketing and other promotional endeavors, we coordinate our efforts to combine personal contact, email messages, and the use of listservs to reach our audience. If we discover that we’re not attracting the presenters whom we need, we continue sharing resources by phone, email, or face to face until we have a winning package.

The result is that we continually produce events we’re proud of offering—events which inspire our audiences with useful and easily adapted ideas they can apply when they return to work. And we have fun—which, I believe, is the real future of libraries, training groups, and everyone we touch through all the work we do. For by showing others how easy it can be to achieve significant and long-last goals, we are offering the best we have to offer as trainer-teacher-learners.

Paul Signorelli

Paul Signorelli is a writer, trainer, presenter, and consultant based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He works with clients to successfully facilitate the introduction of new technology into organizations; prepares and presents webinars and other online and onsite learning opportunities for a variety of clients; is actively involved in ALA and ASTD; continues to prepare articles for "American Libraries," the eLearning Guild's "Learning Solutions Magazine," and other publications; and co-wrote "Workplace Learning & Leadership" with Lori Reed for ALA editions. Paul can be reached at paul@paulsignorelli.com.

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23 Free Webinars for Nonprofits – October 2009

October 6, 2009 By

Thanks to the Wild Apricot Blog for posting a great list of free Webinars for October 2009.  In these tough economic times, FREE is GOOD!

Intro to the post states:

Have you noticed how many great free training opportunities the Web offers to nonprofits, these days? Live or recorded, online seminars (webinars) or web-based teleconference calls make it easy and affordable for your staff and volunteers to get in direct contact with expert resources, without anyone needing to take time off work or to travel.

Of course, if you’re like me, you tend to find out about these online events a day after they’ve happened! So… here’s a list of webinars I’ve rounded up for this month, just to help with that whole “planning ahead” thing:



Stephanie Zimmerman

Stephanie Zimmerman is the Training Coordinator for the Library System of Lancaster County (Pennsylvania), a federated system with 14 member libraries, three branches and a bookmobile, which serves 490,562 residents. She designs and implements technology and development training and consulting to the member libraries. This includes training on Innovative’s Millennium Integrated Library System, Microsoft Office Applications, emerging technologies (i.e. social media) and various other areas. Her goal is to remove the fear of technology and help others to realize the amazing possibilities it provides. Teaching others to do things for themselves and see their excitement when they break through their barriers is her greatest reward. Stephanie has been a software trainer for 15 years. Her past employment involved training on federal and county government applications. She also worked for a private industry marketing company where she traveled across the country showing manufacturers and retailers in the consumer packaged goods industry how to use geodemographic targeting software. Always wanting to help others, Stephanie graduated from Millersville University (in Pennsylvania) cum laude with a BA in Social Work. She was also a student in the Computer Information Systems program at Harrisburg Area Community College. She is a member of ASTD (American Society of Training and Development). She is also a regular contributor to the T is for Training podcast which focuses on training in libraries. She was a trainer for WebJunction’s Spanish Language Outreach project and has done training for Commonwealth Libraries. She is grateful to have landed in the world of libraries. When she began her current job in January of 2004, there were no other library trainers in her immediate area. She turned to the social web to begin networking with other library trainers across the world and immediately realized her passion for social networking and social media. All of her continuing education has been done through these networks and she can’t help but push others to discover the immense opportunities available through online collaboration. Stephanie lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her family which includes husband, Bill (a self-employed stay-at-home-dad) and two children (ages 2 and 4 months). When she’s not being Mommy, or working, you’ll most likely find her singing. Stephanie can be reached at szimmerman[at]lancasterlibraries.org.

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On Demand Training for Staff

October 5, 2009 By
CC image courtesy of misterbisson on flickr

*CC image courtesy of misterbisson on flickr

Sometimes I think the best training is the training that doesn’t happen in the classroom, it’s the unscheduled training. The kind that happens when you’re walking down the hallway and someone stops you with a question. Or hearing someone talking about a problem in a meeting and knowing you have solution you can offer.

I’m not saying people don’t learn while sitting in a classroom, they do. But sometimes they lose what they learned before they have a time to apply it. Sometimes they haven’t used the tool or service to encounter the situation so they don’t know what questions to ask until later.

Because these impromptu, or on demand, sessions are one on one, people often feel more comfortable asking questions they may not ask in front of a group. One on one sessions have other advantages too. You move at the pace of the individual, not the group or a schedule. You can walk them through the process step by step, more than once if needed. You can see if the person doesn’t understand right away and explain it again or in a different way.

I also find that providing on demand training can make staff more interested in attending your training classes, give you new ideas for training sessions and even get you invited to department meetings for training!

How do you make these on demand sessions happen?

Leave your office

Or cubicle or desk. Get out, walk around, talk with people, ask them questions, don’t wait for them to come to you. There is a psychological barrier to approaching a desk, it is the same barrier that stops patrons from approaching the reference desk. When approaching a desk staff may feel that they are interrupting or be embarrassed to be asking for help. It also requires them to make a conscious decision and seek you out. If you are out walking around they might remember they have a question or a problem and, since you are there anyway, ask. They don’t feel like they are interrupting you or standing in a spotlight.

Speak the language

Or at least don’t make them speak yours. Don’t make staff know the correct terms for everything before they can ask you a question. Don’t make them feel dumb for not know the proper names of tools or processes. It is your job as the trainer to listen to what they are asking and translate it to your terms. It is ok to provide the correct terminology but don’t do it in a way that makes the other person feel dumb. When answering do it terms they can understand.

Show them.

Don’t just tell them, show them and by show them I mean have them do the hands on part, not watch you do it. Go through the instructions slowly enough the person can do them and take notes. People learn by doing, they can watch you and take all the notes they want, but doing it themselves will stick with them much later. Plus it helps improve their confidence using the computer, which can be a problem for many staff.

Show them again.

If they didn’t get it the first time, show them again. For some staff it will take several times through the same instructions before something sticks, that’s ok. For others you may need to show them in a different way. You may need to structure it in a way they understand or that they can apply. People learn differently, be prepared to modify your instructions to help the individual you are helping better understand them.

Be approachable.

This may seem obvious, but it is worth repeating. Even if you are out walking around and possess the most amazing training style if no one feels they can ask you a question it does no good. Smile, make eye contact, say hi, ask how things are going. These may seem simple but we all know it can be easy to let your attention stray to that big project you are working on or that you need to pick up milk on the way home.

Bobbi Newman

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