I am going to take one tiny moment and NO pleasure in saying:
I TOLD YOU SO!
Yes, all caps and in red. I TOLD YOU SO. There are only a handful of you whose faces and names I can remember, but the rest of you, you know who you are...
Whoa! Wait a minute, behind you, Legal Assistant, ...is that? Oh my, it sure is... it's Laid-Off C.O.O! I know you VERY well, Mr-I-Have-People-That-Do-That-For-Me. Who's updating your resume and your cover letters now? Don't you wish now you had taken a couple of those salaried hours of mine and learned how to perform simple tasks in Word and Excel? Yep. I know you do.
Yes, all caps and in red. I TOLD YOU SO. There are only a handful of you whose faces and names I can remember, but the rest of you, you know who you are...
Hey Legal Assistant, in the unemployment line...remember the time I invited you to a Word class on creating an automatic table of contents? You confidently, perhaps even defiantly, replied "I'll never need to know how to do that". She believed in job security, ga'bless'er. Just last week I was at a firm offering an Excel class and an Outlook class, one of the paralegals came in and sat down expecting the Outlook session to start, when she realized I was about to start Excel, she got up, pushed her chair in and said, "I'll be back for Outlook, I don't use Excel." Seriously? First, who REALLY doesn't use Excel? What paralegal with half a brain couldn't identify SOME way that Excel could be use on SOME matter SOME where? The more truthful statement would have been. "I'm comfortable in doing my job the way I do it, I'm very busy and I have no interest in expanding my skills in a way that 1) might make my job easier 2) might help my attorney better review or work on a matter and 3) I have no interest in learning how we can better serve our clients.
Esquire! You here too!? Wow. Remember the time, I begged and pleaded you to attend a lunch and learn on BASIC Word skills for lawyers? Or how about that totally awesome Training Golf Challenge that the entire firm participated in BUT you?
And you there, you look familiar...ahhhh yes, now I remember you. You are that firm administrator that looked me in the eye at last years Central Florida ALA Partner Expo and said "Oh, we don't need training."
As a trainer (I'm more than "just a trainer" btw) I face these people every day. I'm always amazed at the number of people who turn - if not RUN away from training. In this case, I'm of course, I'm referring to computer and legal technology training but certainly the thought can be applied more broadly.
I'm contracted by a large firm with several offices in two states to provide their new-hire training as well as to offer regularly scheduled and varied monthly training sessions. At first, attendance in those sessions (which are webinars kept to 30, 45 or 60 mins) was sparse. Just a few of those types who actually chase after these opportunities would loyally attend. But little by little as the word got out from them to their peers and to their office administrators about how useful the sessions have been, I've seen a steady growth in attendance. Hmmm, am I that good or the economy that scary?
What can you do to promote training and attendance in your firm? Well, here are a few things to consider:
And you there, you look familiar...ahhhh yes, now I remember you. You are that firm administrator that looked me in the eye at last years Central Florida ALA Partner Expo and said "Oh, we don't need training."
As a trainer (I'm more than "just a trainer" btw) I face these people every day. I'm always amazed at the number of people who turn - if not RUN away from training. In this case, I'm of course, I'm referring to computer and legal technology training but certainly the thought can be applied more broadly.
I'm contracted by a large firm with several offices in two states to provide their new-hire training as well as to offer regularly scheduled and varied monthly training sessions. At first, attendance in those sessions (which are webinars kept to 30, 45 or 60 mins) was sparse. Just a few of those types who actually chase after these opportunities would loyally attend. But little by little as the word got out from them to their peers and to their office administrators about how useful the sessions have been, I've seen a steady growth in attendance. Hmmm, am I that good or the economy that scary?
What can you do to promote training and attendance in your firm? Well, here are a few things to consider:
- Keep sessions short and relevant. Don't offer a 3-hour "Word for Lawyers" session, instead offer a 45 minute session like "Top Ten Things Every Attorney Should Know About Word".
- If your state requires CLE, look into applying and getting it for your technology sessions. Most states offer it and it's pretty easy to qualify.
- Be sure you have a likable and trusted trainer in front of your attorneys and staff. Not every Help Desk tech is right for a training job. See my old post about this topic.
- If a billable hour is to be lost, make it worthwhile. Be sure they walk away satisfied - no THRILLED that they attended and with some new skills that they can use the minute they get back.
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