Training Blog...

While reading the news today it came to my attention that  Sony has announced it will stop making the floppy disk.

A chapter in computer history has ended, and I am sure that many of you have both good, and bad memories of these devices. For myself, I can remember sitting in my dad’s office, and using his floppy disks as make shift building blocks, while the older kids got to play Kings Quest and Zelda.

Looking back on the floppy disk’s life, I can’t help but look at how much technology, and the way we do things changes.  A process or medium that is cutting edge one day, can become a child’s toy the next.

My question is, what are other “floppy disks” that are in our world? Do we too quickly get rid of the old in exchange for the shiny new and hip, or are we holding onto concepts a little too tightly for our own good?

One of the challenges that can come with training is how to energize the employees who are doing it. The environment that we place training in, can often be just as important as what we are training on.

For an organization that is either new to training, or hasn’t offered it in years there is a simple and successful marketing tool I suggest.

Offer free food, and they will come.

“Lunch and learns” are a great way to jump start your training culture. With many of my clients, setting aside one day a month to provide pizza and a training topic have changed the way their employees view training, and the way their company offers it.

And the ROI is impressive as well. In a recent Lunch and Earn with a sales staff team, productivity within the group increased 180% in the first day! That’s an impressive amount, for a few well spent dollars.

How do you start your morning?  Do you go to the gym and get in your workout, take time to make a good breakfast, read the newspaper, read a chapter of a book with a warm cup of coffee, take a walk and watch the sun rise?  I start my morning every day by stopping into the coffee shop next to my office for a cup of coffee.  Yes, my coffee pot at home works just fine, but I don’t get the service at home that I do there.  On any given morning I can pull up and the line is out the door.  The end result for everyone is the same….we will all have something waiting for us under the “pic-cup” sign, but will we all appreciate the effort of the team behind the counter?  I am in customer service myself so I pay very close attention to the service that I receive and I share these experiences with my team.

What makes a customer loyal?  Some experts say that it is based on trust and others may say that it is the relationships that you build.  In my opinion, it is both.  Everyone has satisfied customers, but do we all have loyal customers?  Do you have customers that keep coming back to you for products that they could easily get from someone else?

The little things do count.  For instance, by smiling and addressing your customers by name you make them feel as if you are paying attention and that they are your only customer.  If you talk to customers on the phone, they can hear that you have a smile on in your voice.  With all of the technology that we have today, some of us may have fallen out of the habit of sending a hand written thank you note.  Start at the top of the list and take a few minutes each day to thank someone for their business.  Pay attention to what your customers tell you.  This is key.  Once you have built the relationship and your customer trusts you and your products, they will start to tell you things about themselves.  Things they like, dislike, experiences with previous vendors, their family…you name it.  By taking the time to make note of this, you have something to reference on your next call.

I could certainly keep the list going.  What small item could you incorporate in your day today that would make a big difference in the service that you deliver?

Many times when talking on the phone with TTN users I will reference the “LMS” they are trying to log into, only to be met by a quizzical pause on the other end. “An LM-What?” they ask. “…I thought I was just on a website.”

Yes you are…sorta.  However logging into a LMS is so much more then a simple url address.

According to PC Mag’s encyclopedia, a LMS (Learning Management System)  is “…an information system that administers instructor-led and e-learning courses and keeps track of student progress. Used internally by large enterprises for their employees, an LMS can be used to monitor the effectiveness of the organization’s education and training. It is also beneficial in ensuring state- and federal-mandated courses are delivered in a timely manner.”

For other training definitions, take a look at the “Talking the Talk” archive under the blog categories.

April showers bring May flowers…..April also brings Tax Day.  Since 1955, April 15^th has been the deadline to file your federal and state taxes.  This is a dreaded time for me.  Yes, I am one that waits until the last minute to gather all my receipts, donations forms, and make the appointment to file my taxes.  This doesn’t have to be an agonizing process.  There are a lot of great resources online that are available to help take away the stress of preparation and filing.  Here are some helpful tools that I have come across that you may want to check out:

1. Knowing what information you need to have with you when you file your taxes can be a mystery.  H & R Block has a free tax checklist with 10 simple questions and based on your answers will produce a checklist of all the items that you need to gather.
2. Every year there are changes and updates to tax laws.  There are individual websites, blogs, and forums that are out there that are helpful to answer specific questions you may have.  If you don’t know which ones apply to you, the Internal Revenue Service website provides links that will help educate you on the federal changes.  You can also check out your state website for any changes that may apply to your state filings.
3. Anyone that knows me knows that I lack the technical gene, but I am slowly catching up.  In my extensive search for tax tools, I stumbled across Taxbrain. This site provides a list of tax tools and widgets that can help take some of the guessing out of tax preparation.  For example, you can use their refund calculator to see approximately how much you will be receiving back from the IRS.  They also have a W4 calculator, extension forms, and a tax tips blog that you can follow. Are you ready for the best part?  All of these widgets can be added to your social media sites like Twitter or Facebook.  Very cool!
4. Need help on the go?  Now there are tools made available that can be used on your mobile devise.  Here is a couple that I thought were great.
   1. TaxCaster Mobile from Turbo Tax is a tax calculator that will help you estimate what you may owe or receive in a refund.  This is an app made for iPhone and is free through Apple’s App Store.
   2. Tax Answers from H & R Block.  This free app allows you to submit tax questions right to a tax expert.  There is also a store locator and a tax term glossary built in.  This app is available through Apple’s App Store.
   3. BlackBerry offers an app called Tax Receipts Shoebox.  Keep your itemized receipts organized, generate customized reports and much more.  The cost is $2.99 and is available through BlackBerry’s App World.

Leave a comment with any resources that you may use that you would add to this list.

Here at TTN we are getting ready (and getting excited) for this year’s User Conference July 19-20, 2010, in Minneapolis. Now in this blog I am not “joking around” (c’mon, I couldn’t miss that April Fools reference) but announcing our keynote speaker for our conference!

TTN will be hosting Hal Becker, an all around talented speaker, and great guy. I heard him speak last year, and was impressed by the amount of energy, humor, and teaching he brought up onstage with him… seriously you will not want to miss this guy!

To learn more about Hal, click here.

To learn more about our upcoming conference click here.