Training-One-to-One

24Jun11

The days of manuals are long gone. Some random observations of teaching adults are that they learn best by doing, not watching. Showing a busy professional how to get information, if her secretary is away, is a real life application which will resonate with them. Lastly adults are different learners than kids because they are used to being smart, functioning in this world. So when they sometimes can’t find what they are looking for, their frustration level quickly zooms off the chart. All good reasons to have a good game plan about top strategies to teach users. The blog post from real life experience at major Canadian law firm Cassels Brock encompasses a lot of good ideas. One wants to outline a few top tips prioritizing from the many search features, actively encourage the user to sit in the driver’s seat learning the database,and lastly, for the closer, leave behind an attractive cheat sheet with screen captures.

Kathleen Hogan and John Gillies also reap another benefit by creating “goodwill by helping resolve issues we would never otherwise have heard of. I liked the humbleness and willingness to engage the learners in this statement. As one who does not regularly search in Quicklaw or Westlaw, I appreciate I may have “dumb” questions compared to the expert searchers. The trainer or teacher is an active participant in the learning process, and by being out on the floor, she will see issues emerge that may be left unreported. An excellent opportunity to gather facts, perhaps spot a trend or issue and suggest improvements to the vendor.

– Brenda Wong