Simply stated, a high-touch service requires human interaction.
Think about checking out at the grocery store, waiting in line for somebody to ring you up. Or handing a check to a bank teller to make a deposit. Those are all high touch because another human needs to interact with you to complete the service.
Low-touch service, on the other hand, uses some automation or a system, removing the need to have another human being interact with you to complete the service. So, instead of waiting for a cashier at the grocery store, you can check yourself out. And instead of waiting in line at the bank for a teller, you can take a picture of a check to make a deposit.
High-touch Employee Training
Many businesses tend to have a high-touch approach when it comes to training employees on operational procedures. If you want to know how to set up a new customer account, Jim is going to need to carve out some time tomorrow to show you how.
If you want to know how to use the ticketing system, Sabrina needs you to schedule two hours on her calendar so she can set up a virtual meeting, and walk you through the steps.
A low-touch approach is usually reserved for certification training, ethics training, self-awareness training, and security awareness training. Businesses purchase a LMS, buy a bunch of professional courses, and send them out to employees.
But when it comes to learning how to do your day-to-day job, you have to wait for somebody to fit you into their schedule.
Why Is Low-touch Training Not an Option (for Operational Procedures)?
When it comes to training employees on how to use your business's technology (e.g. CRM, ERP, accounting software), providing a low-touch option rarely comes up as a possibility for 3 main reasons:
First, many teams don't have defined processes or established procedures. When a new employee joins a team, a co-worker will spend a couple of hours with her, clicking around the screen without any sort of direction. The content ends up being whatever happens to pop into the co-worker's head at the time of "training."
This type of training is called "shadowing." And it's pretty worthless.
Second, most teams don't have time to create an entire course in Storyline or Captivate. Quizzes, drag and drop activities, and matching games take a lot of time to create. Recording the computer screen for two hours tends to be popular, but employees rarely sit through an entire session.
In the end, it's just easier to meet in person and ask questions on the fly.
Third, almost all teams think that videos, quizzes, and games are they only way to create a low-touch course. The thinking goes, "If there isn't a graded assessment, a picture of a smartly-dressed woman asking questions, and 20 modules, then it's not an effective course."
In other words, many teams don't realize that there are plenty of other options for creating low-touch training.
Why it Makes Sense to Create a Low-touch Option
At some point during the next 6 months, one or more of your employees will:
- Quit
- Get Sick
- Get Promoted
- Rotate Positions
When that happens, another employee will have to:
- Fill in temporarily
- Fill in permanently
At which time you will have to:
- Schedule a training
- Reschedule the training
- Explain everything
- Explain it again after the employee does it wrong (repeat as necessary)
That may not sound like a big deal. But consider this – you are a human being. Your high-touch training will be different each time. The amount of time you can devote to training will be different each time.
At first, you'll be excited and do a great job. The second time around, you might leave something out. The third time around you probably won't care, and do as little as possible (letting the new employee figure it out).
Providing a low-touch training option for operational procedures can be great for learners and great for trainers. If you want to do a hands-on training, you still can. But if everybody is swamped during the new-hire's first month there, low-touch training materials give you a great option.
Use ScreenSteps to Create a Course for Operational Procedures
Here are 3 steps to creating a course in ScreenSteps that will teach employees how to perform operational procedures.
Step 1: Create Your Job Aids
You don't need employees to be able to explain what's under the hood before they can use a system or perform a procedure.
You need them to be able perform tasks. So skip the exercises where they match definitions.
Step 2: Create Your Exercises
Step 3: Leverage the Chrome Extension