Liaisons - Obviously your SkillSoft rollout was very successful, based on statistics. Please take 5 minutes to answer these questions so we can all learn about what you did. Please reply via Comment - just comment to this blog post!
1. What did you do to market SkillSoft in your library system?
2. What did you do to help participants get started? Complete courses?
3. Did you blend the content from the SkillSoft courses with any other training or support?
4. Please share any other thoughts/comments about the SkillSoft project
Thank you!
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10 comments:
Julie Zamostny
jzamostny@washcolibrary.org
Western Maryland Regional Library
1. What did you do to market SkillSoft in your library system?
I followed the usual paths: email, staff meetings. Then I took some less than usual paths. For example I wrote a Skillsoft parody to the song, "Don't You Forget About Me" and I published it in the February edition of the Learning Newsletter. I also created an Xtranormal video to provide one last bit of motivation to stragglers (http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6957521)
2. What did you do to help participants get started? Complete courses?
Jennifer Spriggs was responsible for her wonderful Skillsoft Kickoff since I didn't come on board till January. However, I did help some folks complete their courses by meeting with them 1:1 when they were having difficulties--particularly when navigating the interface and finding relevant courses.
3. Did you blend the content from the SkillSoft courses with any other training or support?
Not this year. However, we recently put into place a telecommuting policy and we'll be requiring any interested individuals to complete 1-2 Skillsoft telecommuting courses.
4. Please share any other thoughts/comments about the SkillSoft project.
I'm still looking for a way to discourage folks from waiting till the very last minute to complete their Skillsoft hours. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
1. What did you do to market SkillSoft in your library system?
I posted in our online newsletter (Administrative Bulletin)and sent regular emails to all staff members announcing the kickoff meetings.
2. What did you do to help participants get started? Complete courses?
I ran a total of 10 Kickoff classes in two different locations, at the Central Branch and also in one of the branch libraries. I also met with a few people individually to introduce them to the program (if they couldn't attend classes).
Other than berating them repeatedly :) I didn't do much to help them finish, except for sending reminders to managers to give the participants time "off the desk" to work on their classes.
3. Did you blend the content from the SkillSoft courses with any other training or support?
Not particularly, but if staff members called about programs which I knew were offered through SkillSoft (like customer service)I tried to direct those people to Skillsoft as an alternative site for training.
4. Please share any other thoughts/comments about the SkillSoft project
I think that if I can get more people involved, they will see what a great resource this is for getting CE hours. I'm glad that the Office 2010 classes will be offered this year, since the entire library is switching over to 2010, and we can't afford to run classes for everyone.
I'm also planning on reserving times in our training lab, just a few hours here and there set aside so staff can leave their departments and work undisturbed. I know that it is difficult for some people to actually "get away" from their jobs long enough to complete the classes.
I'm going to send some informal gifts to our top users, and maybe a small gift (notepad or similar) to all those who finished, just to recognize their work. Also, I'm going to send an email to the whole staff with final numbers (courses completed etc.) but haven't decided if I'm going to include their names.
Robin Jacobsen
PGCMLS
Prince George's County Memorial Library System
1. This was the year when word of mouth really took off. After having limited seats, and with little experience with online training, suddenly it became the thing to do for many staff.We offered a series of Orientation meetings that included a little extra time to play with a course, just getting started. The Orientation information remained on the Training wiki throughout the year to refresh the memory.
2. There was a real response from some individuals in large branches, so there was no need to nudge people to complete. It was truly appreciated.
3. We did incorporate SkillSoft into our supervisory training for Librarians, and this contributed to the excitement. I recommended that managers "assign" a common course as the basis for a staff meeting. Circulation supervisors used it for customer service refreshers. It was a real boon for those who needed support with MS 07 software, and we used the information in designing our in-house training. It was an important tool for us this year. Thanks.
1. What did you do to market Skillsoft in your library system?
Montgomery County Public Libraries includes Skillsoft as a learning opportunity on the annual training survey completed by staff during their performance review process. Staff discuss with their supervisors their training needs for the upcoming fiscal year.
2. What did you do to help participants get started? I created an App Share through Wimba and posted the link within the Skillsoft Training announcement. The App Share walked both "newbies" and returning participants through the login process, how to search in the catalog for a course, how to add a course to their Plan, and how to print their certificates once the course is completed.
3. Did we blend the content with any other training/support? Yes, we asked all of our managers and supervisors to complete two pre-selected HR courses prior to attending a face-to-face discussion and wrap-up of the course.
Kate Tavakolian, MCPL
1. What did you do to market SkillSoft in your library system?
I held a kickoff session and an early morning "staff training live" session to introduce the program and posted reminders to our staff intranet. Since we have a relatively small number of staff, I also tried the personal approach and simply talked to people and suggested courses.
2. What did you do to help participants get started? Complete courses?
I gave general instructions in the kick off sessions, made sure folks knew how to find me to ask questions, and sat down with those who ran into problems so we could work through them together.
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3. Did you blend the content from the SkillSoft courses with any other training or support?
No. We discussed it, but simply ran out of staff time to follow through.
4. Please share any other thoughts/comments about the SkillSoft project
I think this has been a wonderful resource and filled an enormous (and growing) gap in our ability to meet training needs. The few folks who I persuaded this year to take advantage of the customer service/supervisory skills modules were very impressed and I think their comments to co-workers will encourage more participation this coming year.
1. What did you do to market SkillSoft in your library system?
Since SkillSoft is so familiar now to library staff, marketing it is pretty easy. But I did send-out the usual flurry of emails, mention it in the Learning Newsletter, and create a Getting Started Quick Start Guide and PhotoStory.
2. What did you do to help participants get started? Complete courses? Again, since this wasn't the first time that we had launched SkillSoft, it was pretty easy to just turn the learners loose on the portal. I sent out the Quick Start guide several times during the year along with reminders. In Allegany County we did require that all library staff complete 6 hours of coursework. Some staff completed even more than that!
3. Did you blend the content from the SkillSoft courses with any other training or support? No.
4. Please share any other thoughts/comments about the SkillSoft project. We are so appreciative to have access to SkillSoft - thank you! I have spent the last couple of days entering in to our training tracking database all of the courses that were completed by our staff and it was overwhelming.
1. What did you do to market SkillSoft in your library system?
Project and orientation dates were announced via an all staff memo. Posted flyers for SkillSoft in general, and the various discussion groups, in all branch workrooms and breakrooms. Sent periodic emails to supervisors and participants. Made several intranet news posts.
2. What did you do to help participants get started? Complete courses?
FCPL launched SkillSoft by holding group orientations at our 3 regional branches. For those who could not make one of the group sessions, we arranged one-on-one meetings, either in person or via Wimba. (Will add a self-serve screencast orientation this year.) We posted the SkillSoft ppt and orientation handouts along with a link to the SkillSoft login on the learning page of our intranet. Every few months I ran reports and emailed folks who needed encouragement to stay motivated.
3. Did you blend the content from the SkillSoft courses with any other training or support?
We held several discussion groups on umbrella topics such as communication or teamwork, rather than focusing on one specific course for discussion. There was a core course list that listed 4 or 5 approved courses for each discussion topic. This worked out very well! Staff interacted more and discussed what was similar or different between the various modules. Folks did a great job of applying the learning to their jobs and came up with lots of real life scenarios to discuss, although the facilitators did have a discussion guide for back-up in case it was needed -- it rarely was. These discussions also got folks interested in courses that others had taken. A core course list was designed specifically for managers, and manager discussion groups were held separate from the general staff sessions. This was done so that both staff and managers felt free to discuss topics “Vegas style”. Folks from both sides of the management fence commented on how helpful this was for them since they were able to discuss and work through real issues. Completion of the Leadership & Change course was assigned to the participants of our leadership group and was discussed in one of those sessions.
4. Please share any other thoughts/comments about the SkillSoft project.
With roughly 60 participants, we had over 130 completions, with a few folks taking 3 or more courses. One eager staff member completed 10 courses!!! That being said, if you do the math, that means many folks only completed the one required course. Which isn't a bad thing, but I think our numbers could be improved. I believe the low ratio of completions to participants is due to staff putting courses off until the last minute. As others have commented before, ideas on overcoming procrastination are welcome.
Ann Reinecke
areinecke@carolib.org
Caroline County Public Library
Denton, Maryland
1. What did you do to market SkillSoft in your library system?
Caroline had several staffing issues that reduced available time for skillsoft training during the past year. Marketing was minimal--staff were made aware of skillsoft training via staff intranet and meetings. In previous years, modules were identified and assigned by supervisors. Time was scheduled to ensure course expectations were completed. For the upcoming year this will be our plan – staffing issues or not! Only 2 from Caroline took advantage of the training over the past year.
2. What did you do to help participants get started? Complete courses?
We had not targeted anyone that needed specific training. Materials for orientation and navigation of the SkillSoft site were made available. Staff knew that they could ask for support as needed. Staff who did complete courses were accomplished online learners and needed no assistance.
3. Did you blend the content from the SkillSoft courses with any other training or support?
We had planned to use the "Dynamics of Leadership" piece and use it in a blended learning session in September 2009. Staffing issues prevented this from happening. The plan was for several to complete the module separately and create a plan to bring back what they had learned to rest of the staff.
4. Please share any other thoughts/comments about the SkillSoft project.
Staff love the self-paced approach to SkillSoft. Although Caroline was/is having staffing issues, staff development coordinators need to come up with a better plan to maximize contact with SkillSoft this next year. Identifying staff to participate and scheduling time for completion is the only way to get the most from the project with our current limitations. Devising a plan prior to training to ensure courses are applicable and relevant is needed. No more taking courses “just for the sake of taking courses” to score CEUs -- an issue 2 years ago. Staff need to be responsible for the transfer of training bringing back what they have learned into their work environments.
1. What did you do to market SkillSoft in your library system?
We showed all of the staff how to use Skillsoft at our 1/2 day trainings in the Fall of 2009. Also, posted info on the staff blog.
2. What did you do to help participants get started? Complete courses?
Gave a demo at the 1/2 day trainings. Staff Development team showed people interested how to log on and complete courses. Posted reminders on the staff blog.
3. Did you blend the content from the SkillSoft courses with any other training or support?
No.
4. Please share any other thoughts/comments about the SkillSoft project
We didn't have a lot of participation in my county. Many staff found the courses very dry -they didn't keep their attention. Also, it's very difficult to find time off desk to complete the courses - the few staff that completed more than one course did it from home. I know other counties love Skillsoft, but that's not what I'm hearing from my staff.
Mary Anne - St. Mary's County
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