IT systems are a vital element of almost every business today, so an IT upgrade is always a major event. IT commonly is seen as the sole responsibility and domain of technical staff, but, in reality, it is also a Human Resources issue. A business can only function if its technological and human assets are properly aligned and capable of operating in unison. This means that upgrading an IT system requires a corresponding upgrade in the skills and knowledge of the staff who are going to be working with the new system.
Training Your Staff
Software and hardware upgrades or installations inevitably mean that some workplace habits and processes will need to adapt. This can be challenging or frustrating if staff are not given appropriate guidance to help them continue doing their jobs effectively.
Learning and development is, therefore, an important consideration for HR, as it can reduce the friction associated with the IT upgrade, while assisting employees in using their new resources to their maximum potential. This leads to improved performance and increased job satisfaction.
Training should be customized to suit the particular situation of the company, and it should be tailored to each specific team or business unit. Technical staff will need to take advanced courses in developing and administering the new systems, while end-users will need to learn how to use the features of a new customer relationship management system (CRM), intranet, or other software.
In reality, staff training often is overlooked during an IT upgrade. But for the businesses that do so, the benefits can include:
- Reducing user errors and implementation hurdles
- Helping staff leverage the full capabilities of the new hardware or software
- Reducing the workload for IT support
- Ensuring that the upgrade delivers the expected ROI
- Increasing staff satisfaction by demonstrating concern for their development
Important Considerations
One major consideration for HR or Training managers is giving the staff a say in the IT training program. Often, the staff will have some insights into what areas they need to improve and what aspects of the IT system they are unsure about, which can provide valuable guidance as to what training is needed. This also helps staff to feel personally invested in the development program, and to understand that the business is interested in their input and opinions.
Another idea worth entertaining is making an IT training policy part of the organization’s long- term operations. Some support still will be needed after the conclusion of training, and there inevitably will be things that were beyond the scope of an introductory course. For this reason, follow-up training can help in refreshing and extending the skills that were developed, as well as introducing further updates to software or hardware, which inevitably will occur.
It is vital to take a long-term approach to business IT systems, by ensuring that the Human Resources aspect is not neglected. Although staff training takes time and costs money, it delivers gains in efficiency and morale to the organization, which lead to significant savings. Staff IT training is a way of dealing with problems before they arise, and of minimizing the short- and medium-term productivity losses that occur during the normal learning curve. Human Resources should be focused on helping employees do their jobs as effectively as possible, so it should be expected that arranging IT training will become more and more of a necessity in the future.
Phil Bickerton is a Sales manager at Saxons Learning Solutions, which provides enterprise IT training to organizations in Australia that are looking to up-skill their staff. Saxons specializes in both technical training and desktop training. As part of Saxons Group, Saxons Learning Solutions also is affiliated with Saxons IT Solutions and Saxons Training Facilities.
