A guide on how to train staff to accept new technology and use them to your full advantage. The presentation is geared towards libraries.

1. Turn Fear to Passion
Creating Staff Buy In for New Technology

2. Why Is this so hard?
Shouldn’t we just accept,
learn and move on?

4. The Plan
Phases to a technology roll out
– Alpha Testing
– Beta Testing
– Creating the Manual
– Training the Trainers
– Training Everyone
– Soft Rollout
– Ongoing Training and Support

5. Alpha Testing: Become an Expert
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6. Embrace your Inner Nerd
“So, there’s going to be a thing in your life that you
love….The way you love that, and the way that
you find other people who love it the way you do
is what makes you a nerd. The defining
characteristic of [being a nerd] is that we love
things.”
– Wil Wheaton

7. In Other Words…
• Find your passion for the technology.
• Didn’t choose it? Don’t like it?
• Find the positives and let yourself get excited about them.

8. The Dark Side of Nerdom
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9. Flipside: Empower Yourself
• If you know something new is
coming, do preliminary research.
• Identify what may be an issue for you.
• Skill build: practice basic technical
skills regularly. Typing proficiency,
Office Suite, using images in
documents.

10. You are a PR Department
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12. Beta Testing
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13. Creating the Manual
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14. Visual, Clear Instructions

15. Overdrive Example

16. Find the Things that Aren’t Intuitive

17. Training the Trainers
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18. Training Everyone:
Create Realistic Competencies
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19. The Critical Importance of Hands On
• Lectures are the perfect format for the abstract.
• Technology is concrete.
• If your documentation is sufficient, trainees will need
minimal notes.
• Limited access to the product can encourage trainers
to do lecture style classes.
– You must then supplement with one on one hands on
training.
• Yes, even if it seems like it should be easy and simple.

20. Find the Fun
• Appeal to pre-existing interests and areas of increased ease.
• Use humor where appropriate.
• Be honest about limitations and work together to find
workarounds.
i.e. The Space After Paragraph
button in Word 2007 and later.
Acknowledging the flaw and
giving people the power to fix
it.

21. Positive Reinforcement
• Food is motivating!
• Buy a lot, give a lot.
• Appeal to competitive
natures.
• Create completion
certificates or prizes as
well.
• Find small, but useful
prizes.

22. Why Aren’t They Getting it?
• Everyone learns at a different pace and from different
kinds of instruction.
• If a group of people just aren’t getting it, examine first
the product, then the trainer and lastly, the trainees.
• But I tested the product!
– “The design of everyday things is in great danger of
becoming the design of superfluous, overloaded,
unnecessary things.”
— Donald A. Norman, The Design of Everyday Things

23. Not all technology has a user-centric design. What
seems obvious to the designer is confusing to the end
user.
This is when a good manual becomes critical. Let it be the equipment that helps your
staff scale the mountain.

24. The Doomsday Prophets and other Naysayers
• Some feel that anxiety and loss more strongly than others. They
like to spread it around.
• Counteract them with positive gossip and a heavy dose of polite
smiling. They gain power from arguments.

25. That’s a Great Question!
And other useful phrases.
• “I had the same question when I started out and I
found out that….”
• “That’s an interesting hypothetical. I’ll look into it.”
• “It’s not ideal, but it is better than (previous
system) because…”
• “I hear what you’re saying and you’re right, but this is
the best solution right now.”
• “Thank you! That’s a great point. I’ll take it under
advisement.”

26. Flipside: Finding the Upside
• Complaining feels good, but ultimately wears us
down.
• No technology is perfect. Flaws are easy to
identify.
• Ask yourself: how can this make my life easier?
How can I make this technology work in my favor?
• Don’t come to a final conclusion until you’ve been
working daily with a system for three months.
• Think about every time Facebook changes it’s
platform.

27. You Aren’t Stupid!
• There will always be someone quick to critique
themselves.
• Negative self-talk creates self-fulfilling prophecy by
creating a built in excuse.
• Use statements like ‘This is difficult material’ or ‘It
will take time, but we’re all going to figure this out
together’.
• It’s easy to contradict quickly with ‘You’re not
stupid’, but that doesn’t fully answer their concern.

28. That One Person that Just Doesn’t Get It
• You know. THAT PERSON.
• Give them a one-on-one training.
• Discuss their stumbling blocks.
• Acknowledge their fears.
• Stand firm that this is the way it is
now, regardless of their comfort
level.
• Check in with them. Discreetly.

29. Flipside: Oh no, am I that one person?
• Everyone has been this person at least once in their lives.
• This instructor had to take algebra three times.
• You aren’t stupid. Sometimes things just don’t click.
• Find alternate sources of training. Maybe how it’s offered
isn’t your learning style.
• Stay calm. Anxiety can blind the learning process. If
you’re overwhelmed, allow yourself breaks. The
aqueducts weren’t invented in a day.
• Technology is a language. Learning new languages is
tough!

30. What About the Patrons?
• If the new technology impacts the patrons, your
front line people will be bracing for that feedback.
• No matter how much preparation is done or how
awesome the technology, some patrons will
pushback.
• Include responding to patron feedback in training.
– Otherwise you may contend with that negative PR.
– Consider writing full on scripted responses.

31. What Does Good One -on -One Help Look Like?
• Patience
• Calm
• Listening
• Fear soothing
• Hands on

32. Soft Rollout- Begin without Beginning
• No advertising.
• Gentle introduction of the new technology
without expectation.
• Final beta test to sort out bugs and hang ups
• Amend the manual as necessary.

33. Release Day
Can feel like this:

34. But…
• Prepare for the worst and encourage the best.
• Remember that you are the PR department.
– Find a positive spin.
• Address issues as they come up.
• Smile through it all. Especially when you get ‘I
told you so’ from your Doomsday Prophets.
• It takes about 12 weeks to adjust to a change.

35. Forward into the Past!
• Training is ongoing for all things.
• Consider periodic refresher courses.
• No Help Desk? Designate your trainers as
Desk.
• Even better, promote the best trainees to Help Desk
status.
• Ensure that the extra responsibility isn’t a burden or
that feeling will transmit to the trainees.
• Be available yourself to answer questions. Strive for
patience and calm.
your Help

36. Trickle Down Effect
• Get your administration on your side.
• Sell them hard on the technology.
• If possible, train them first. Make them experts.
• Ideally, create an environment that gradually does
not allow for them or anyone else to use
workarounds.

37. Know When to Hold ‘em and When to Fold ‘em
• Sometimes new technology doesn’t work out.
• Give it at least six months before making a final
judgment.
• When possible, avoid long contracts that bind
you to something you haven’t had a chance to
properly test.
• Admit to a failure, but don’t
let it stop you from trying
something new again.

38. Veronica Reynolds
vreynolds@rcls.org