The Sharepoint Sessions – Part Two – Training Approaches
by Bill Ives
This is part two of my four part notes from a local event sponsored by Knowledge Management Associates, “Real World Sharepoint Experiences.” Pam Conway from Compuworks spoke on “Training Approaches to Drive Sharepoint Adoption.” Pam began her session by noting that acquiring skills is only one part of training. You also need to inform users on the why they should use the tool. There is a sales component here. You also need to build connections between users so they can help each other and reassure users there is real value to the tool.
Sharepoint is an application that needs training. As Sadie mentioned in the first session, most obstacles are change management issues, new workflow, new policies, cultural change, and the shift to tighter collaboration. You need to show how current problems are solved by Sharepoint – users will feel excited if they feel their problems are being addressed. Your training plan should cover all the features of training above. It should be business role based training, not tool based training. Sharepoint provides an e-learning add-on. You can use it as a supplement to custom ILT. It is also necessary to provide documentation in the form of custom job aids, quick reference cards that are role based.
