Are You Playing e-Learning/LMS Help-desk?
My organization is just finishing up its compliance period and I have gotten my share of calls and e-mails from staff regarding their courses. For As long as I have been in e- learning, the majority of the calls I’ve received from users have fallen into one of the following issues:
- A pop-up blocker on the user’s computer is enabled.
- The user does not have Adobe Flash.
- A manager wants to confirm their staff took the course.
Whether you receive similar calls regarding your courses or other calls for assistance, here are a few tips to make things a bit easier for you and for those taking your courses.
- Create concise job aids for common problems. Send the appropriate job aid via e-mail to staff in need. For example, directions with screenshots on how to disable a pop-up blocker will be well received plus they can use it again and again instead of calling again and again.
- Provide clear information on the LMS, Intranet, course announcements of whom to contact if assistance is needed. Also provide links to help pages and job aids.
- Give your organization’s help-desk the heads up. Let them know certain courses are currently in demand and they may also receive calls. Give them information regarding the types of calls that might come in, solutions, and job aids they can also send callers.
- When your are not available, add helpful information to your out-of-office message. For example, links to help pages and job aids.
- Provide instructions to managers on how they can access their own reports and/or staff transcripts themselves if your LMS accommodates that ability.
These are some tricks I have been using over the years and some I picked up recently and will be applying going forward. Hopefully, these will relieve the influx of calls and also provide quicker resolutions for anyone taking your courses. Please feel free to share your tips in the comments section. Thanks!
Working With IT
It seems universal for e-learning staff - working with IT is a challenge. It certainly has been for me at the organizations I have worked. I do want to note that my current IT department has very talented and supportive staff. However, as with most IT departments, they are in big demand and dedicating the resources that are asked of them is challenging. That said, there are things we can do to create a more productive partnership with our IT brethren.
Know Who does What – Get to know the people in IT, each person’s responsiblities and their specific expertise. When bringing IT in on a project you want to be sure you have brought in the right people, or are asking the person who can most effectively assist you.
Engage IT Staff- Do not try to just delegate tasks to IT. Just as instructional designers do not want training needs dictated to them, but want to very involved in identifying training needs, IT needs context and involvement to be successful. When you share the details of the project and its goals, they can more effectively prioritize their tasks, find solutions or alternative approaches, recognize the impact on your organization and/or customer, and provide insight not recognized by the project’s core team.
Know Their Schedule and Workload - As best you can, know what projects they are already busy with and how your project may fit in with their schedule. If you must ask for unrealistic time lines, at least be cognisant of it and more than likely a reasonable compromise can be made. They will also appreciate that you understand the demands made upon their department and the investment required to assist you. Appreciation can go a long way and may even increase the effort they put into your project.
All in all, bring IT in just as you would want your own staff brought into a project, as experts and valuable consultants.
