In the training world, it’s easy to just do what everybody else does. But there are a number of misconceptions about training that you should be aware of.

After helping hundreds of customers get started with ScreenSteps, I can safely say the three most common requests I get are:

1. "How do I convert Word docs into ScreenSteps articles?"
2. "How do I convert PowerPoint decks into ScreenSteps articles?"
3. "How do I include videos in ScreenSteps articles?"

In fact, converting existing Word docs to ScreenSteps articles was the first priority for Washington State Community and Technical Colleges once they purchased a subscription. (I personally transferred 600 of their Word docs to ScreenSteps.)

I have a good friend (whom we'll call Rick) who runs a small agency that helps online businesses.

Rick's agency is very successful, but he's at a point where he's stuck.

The problem is that if Rick's agency brings on any more clients (especially larger clients), he will run out of hours during the day to get all of the work done that needs to be done. That's because every time Rick adds another client, it requires specific tasks to be performed that only Rick knows how to do.

When Owen Hutchison helped the Royal College of General Practitioners roll out Salesforce, he put together a robust plan of action.

Owen's Change Management Plan included:

• The impact the Salesforce rollout would have on each department (based on the changes to procedures and technology)
• A training schedule for each department, including usability testing
• Detailed procedure documentation (created in ScreenSteps)

When new employees are hired on, your company needs to take care of 3 main things:

1. Paperwork (insurance, taxes)
2. Compliance training (e.g. ethics training, security awareness training)
3. Operations training (policies, processes, and procedures)

I'm betting that you've already got something in place for #1 or #2. Plenty of HR systems deal with paperwork, and several LMS apps deal with compliance training.

The question for today is, do you have a system in place for #3?

This is the second of a 7-part series where we talk about different kinds of job aids that your Support Reps need you to make for them.

This is the first of a 7-part series where we talk about different kinds of job aids that your Support Reps need you to make for them.

When a manager sits down to "train" a new employee, the main focus is almost always on how to use the system.

But that approach leaves everybody frustrated. The employee doesn't actually know the context of when she should be doing those actions, NOR can she remember everything the manager showed her. And the manager is frustrated because he notices that the employee seems to constantly interrupt him with questions.

It's a lose-lose-lose (the system loses in this case, too) situation.

Instead of only focusing on showing employees how a system works, I recommend focusing on all 3 of these elements:

If you are planning a training session, I want you to pull out a piece of paper and a pen, and do 2 things.

Sometimes, hyperlinks are scary. You ask yourself, "Do I really want to leave the page I'm on?" 

This is especially true when reading documentation, policies, procedures, and job aids.

If you see a link (like this link here) in a knowledge base article, you don't want to click on it because you don't want to leave the help article you're on. After all, if you leave, there's a chance you'll never find your way back.