Google Apps for Work - Manual (Page 39)

Change Management Guide 39
Phase 1: Core IT
Complete the training plan | Best practices
Here are a few things to consider as you complete your
training plan:
•
Incorporate targeted training needed for special user groups.
You’ll want to address your user community’s needs in your training
plan. Maybe you’ll need special training for the Communications
team on Google Sites. Be sure to include those needs in your plan.
• Use existing training resources and formats. Work with your
company’s Training or HR department to understand how training is
traditionally delivered in your organization. If you have an online
learning system and most users take eLearning courses, you may
have a great option for most of your users.
• Make sure the training format fits the content. Most users prefer
to learn more complicated training from a live instructor so they can
ask questions. Don’t hesitate to add classroom training for your
Google Apps power users like administrative assistants, IT
administrators, and help desk staff.
• Identify trainers for your courses. Once your list is complete, you’ll
want to select trainers for each of your courses. You may have
trainers in your IT or HR departments or work with a Google for Work
Partner. Trainers can come from many places, but some could need
more preparation to deliver a course.
“We do a training needs analysis. We
look at the client and their needs. We
need to understand how the company
wants to use Google Apps.
We want to be as personalized as we can
be. It’ll be up to the client if they use on-
site training. We recommend they have
one-on-one or hands-on with
administrative assistants.”
—
Tracey Flynn, Training and
Communications Manager,
SADA Systems
SADA Systems is a Google Apps Enterprise
Partner based in the United States.
Determine your training plan Learning from Solarmora, a fictionalized company
Andy knew that people in the company generally
used email in similar ways: to send and receive
messages. Email isn’t rocket science, Andy thought,
so why not provide everyone with the same
training? In fact, the company had a big auditorium
they used for important meetings with all of their
employees that could fit up to 300 people. Andy
thought he could conduct a few sessions covering
the basics of Google Apps in that auditorium a few
weeks before each migration.
Oops! Andy didn’t consider the special training
needs of his user community. While many people
use email and calendar to do similar things, some
people have specific tasks that won’t be covered in
a general session. Andy’s Google for Work Partner
also pointed out that training a large group in an
auditorium wasn’t the easiest way for most people
to learn.
Andy’s Google for Work Partner recommended
specific training for administrative assistants—
including how to set up and manage email and
calendar delegation. Show the administrators how
to do it, and they could assist managers as well.
The Google for Work Partner helped Andy create
the perfect curriculum for his users. The curriculum
included basics for everyone, and special training
for administrative assistants, IT admins, help desk
staff, Google Guides, and executives.