One area of improvement that many small businesses may not think about is in coaching the staff on general computer use abilities. With my time at MovePoint Moving Software I've had to be on the telephone tech supporting many different ability levels of client. Usually there is a general lack of basic windows PC talents in the present workforce. Understanding ideas like what is a net browser, basics on how things work, or where to often find things like print. In many cases the errors we'd end up tech supporting are related to how they use the PC.
Training your staff could appear like a costly proposition but with internet courses, or dvd instruction available there are cost effective strategies to do it. The value of coaching has multiple benefits.
First is speed. When the individual using the computer has a more comprehensive understanding on how a P. C. and common software works it means they can do their jobs faster with less time trying to “figure out” the correct way to do what must be done. While most software is analogous it decreases the creative thinking to try and find some way to do what they require in the software. How long will they spend before the answers come to them, they find them, or give up and move on? Since those hours were not free you are paying for the absence of training just not getting the benefit of reduced future time.
Second is confidence. For many people who were not raised around PCs there is a lack of confidence in what they are doing and doubt that they will break the computer. This ultimate means they hold themselves back and so aren't working at their most effective pace. Providing coaching to the individual can go a good distance at building their confidence and help them explorer the PC and the way to do their job in a more efficient way. Confidently that they will not destroy the computer comes speed.
3rd you are creating good will and a morale boost. Providing coaching to a worker can be a great way to show the employee you are making an investment in their success and not just using them for your own. That morale booster can transpose into fidelity, satisfaction, and ultimately productiveness.
Ultimately less outside support calls are required. Some companies use outside computer advisors to confront problems, or your software suppliers may limit your support time. More education means less calling for help, and spending on outside tech support. In numerous cases avoiding malware and malicious software that can cost lots of headache and time to mend is as straightforward as a little education.
In my past experience handling and providing support to users over 95% of the issues we dealt with were caused by how a user used the software and over 70% of them could have been avoided with some basic PC use coaching. I have seen “powerusers” or folks with high computer proficiency get the best out of our system. These folks definitely had a lift up on their competition and out performed their coworkers, can your staff benefit from general computer training?
Scott Bonner — Senior Developer, MovePoint LLC. Frequent Contributor on Moving Business Network. To learn more about Scott Bonner’s Web Development Experience visit www.scottbonner.com