Stay on course with timeefficient IT training

Helping your technology team understand your IT training needs and engaging in some online learning makes sense in a fast-moving world, writes Brent Snow.

How are you going with all the technology changes that are occurring around you? Technology is moving at a mind-boggling speed and keeping up with all the change is becoming more and more difficult.

Some of you will be dealing with SMAC, the acronym for Social, Mobile apps, Analytics and Cloud computing, which involves the concept that four technologies are currently driving innovation in business. There are also security responsibilities and many other changes that are very rapidly having an impact.

Philosopher William Penn famously said: “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” Using our time wisely is a great challenge given that there are so many things competing for it. Time is precious and, for a lawyer, time is money. So how do you make enough time to do all the IT training that you need in order to remain productive in your job and keep up with your clients’ demands?

Traditional training as we know it – that is, the typical classroom-style training – is very time-consuming. I am finding that it is getting harder and harder to get lawyers and partners in a classroom. I know that it is not a matter of them not wanting to attend training; it is mainly because of other demands on their time. You often have to weigh up the benefit of going to training or finishing that contract for your client. This is further exacerbated by the typical times allocated for training classes. They are often slated for an inconvenient time, creating a conflict and an inability to attend.

Latest learning trends
With that in mind, it is worth knowing that there are two trends in IT that are changing the way we learn. You have probably seen or even used YouTube as a training ground for something. You can learn almost every skill you need on YouTube or at online learning sites such as Udemy (www.udemy.com) or Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org). You may have used video learning from The Great Courses (www.thegreatcourses.com) initiative that brings university lectures to your computer. There are also webinars from a raft of different industries, blogs sites and news feeds. This trend is called multiple method learning and it is really a game-changer in the education arena.

The second trend is a move away from group learning to personalised learning. As computers become more sophisticated, they are able to cater for our personalised learning. You may have experienced this to a small degree when you have done a Google search. Google captures your entire search history and knows pretty much what you are looking for already. When you start a search, it will bring up all types of suggested results that it thinks will apply more closely to you, based on your past search history and what it has learnt about you. This is all done to make a more personalised experience for you.

Learning is moving in that way because most learning is an individual experience, even when you are taught in groups. Some online courses now track how you answer questions, so they can adjust the learning to what you need and not spend time on things you already know.

What about your firm?
You may be thinking … my firm still trains in the classroom and in groups. That is probably true for most firms at this stage, but you may have noticed a push for online training by your IT trainers. That is a clear sign there has been some thought around this. It is important that you help your technology team understand your needs. Here are some things that you could address with your IT team and technology trainer to help move towards a more time-efficient training model.

1. Ask for shorter, more focused training sessions.
2. Talk to them about creating short, 5-10 minute YouTube-style videos or introducing some e-learning that you can watch at any time.
3. Schedule time with them for a 15-minute one-on-one session for something that would really help your productivity.
4. Give them ideas about what type of training would benefit you.

Working with your technology team is an important part of ensuring you are getting the training you need. Remind them that it is not just about learning; it is about time. They may be thinking like Willy Wonka when he said: “So much time and so little to do.”

Remember, learning is always something we have to make time for, whether it is technology or CLE courses. Time is of the essence and you are the one that ensures your time is not used for the worst. It is important for your own success to keep up with IT.

Brent Snow is director, global support and Asia-Pacific regional IT for Baker & McKenzie.