Application Training
Action-packed, hands-on instruction from the guy who wrote both Slack For Dummies and Zoom For Dummies.
I HELP ORGANIZATIONS
get the most out of Slack & Zoomcommunicate bettersolve problems quicker
KNOWING IS NOT ENOUGH; WE MUST APPLY. WILLING IS NOT ENOUGH; WE MUST DO.
—GOETHE
The Problem
It’s no understatement to say that the world of work has changed. Meetings that used to take place in person have gone online—with no end in sight. Organizations are even announcing that their employees can work from home indefinitely.
Against this backdrop, ask yourself the following questions:
- Did employees at your organization communicate and collaborate well before the pandemic?
- Has communication worsened since the pandemic?
Be honest. More likely than not, endless email chains and overflowing inboxes overwhelm your employees. I’ll bet that they often can’t find key documents—or that it takes them far too long to locate them.
Generic online tutorials cannot possibly address the specific needs of your organization.
Perhaps your employer has embraced new-fangled collaboration tools such as Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. You want to get going, but you’re a little skeptical because one or more of the following facts apply to your organization:
- It doesn’t exactly sport the most tech-savvy employees.
- Employees are stuck in silos and are unable to effectively collaborate.
- Its history with adopting new technologies leaves a bit to be desired.
- It has experimented with new communication and collaboration tools before and people quickly reverted to email.
- You think that these tools are only for startups. (You’re wrong.)
- You think that Zoom can only function as a videoconferencing tool. (You’re also wrong.)
- Employees are using either these applications reasonably well but they could do more with it. Much more.
- Employees are struggling with them.
Alternatively, you’re only using a small fraction of the tool’s functionality. You don’t understand its true power. Exhibit A: One reader of Slack For Dummies who left this Amazon review:
Or maybe you just want the author of both Slack For Dummies and Zoom For Dummies to help your firm get off on the right foot.
The Limitations of Watching Asynchronous Online Training Videos
Sure, anyone with an Internet-connected device can find plenty of free online videos, tutorials, and even entire courses. For a whole host of reasons, though, they may not be ideal for ensuring:
- Long-term employee learning
- The successful use of new collaboration tools within your organization
First, those videos they aren’t interactive. That is, employees at your organization can’t ask the video real-time questions, much less get insightful answers. Second, no generic online tutorial can address the specific communication and collaboration needs of your organization. For example, it’s folly to think that a healthcare company faces the same communication challenges as a retail or financial services firm. Finally, relying upon individual employees to watch videos on their own schedule may not bear the fruit that you may expect. A good deal of research suggests that employees learn better in peer environments.
The Solution
Slack and Zoom Training
My Bona Fides
An Experienced Trainer
I have been conducting corporate training on and off since 1997 when I worked in human resources for CapitalOne. Back then, I was the go-to person training on both sexual harassment and performance reviews.
Once I moved to more technology-focused roles, I often shared my knowledge with others informally and then formally in proper training classes. Over the years, I have taught thousands of people in four different countries. The topics have varied, but all of them involved using different applications. For example, at Lawson Software, I was the primary trainer for the New Jersey office on its HR and payroll suite. I would frequently hold public and private classes for Lawson clients. I continued conducting training classes when I hung my own shingle in 2002.
Working with Phil not only made the process pain free, but it ended up being fun. I was actually sorry when it was all over. Phil is a delight.
—Barbara Green, Human Resources Director at O’Connor Hospital
FAQ
READ FIRST
Before we connect, it’s important to determine if we are a good fit. Please read this short page to make sure that we are on the same page. I’d also recommend checking out my rates.