Whether its partner development or end-user tuition, training is undergoing something of an evolution. No longer a Cinderella discipline, training is increasingly understood to be a means to add value, a technique for boosting engagement for both partners and end-users and an essential tool for developing user adoption.
While some, largely those in the training business, might disagree, training has had a poor image. Hardly anyone disagrees with the statement that there has been some pretty poor training on offer. Manufacturer-led training initiatives have sometimes been confused with enhanced selling exercises – the two things are different. Third party training has sometimes been undermined by a lack of resources and genuine expertise.
Furthermore, the picture is complicated by a failure to communicate the ‘personal ROI’ to the people being trained – the ‘what’s in it for me’ factor. This is particularly true of a lot of ‘one-size-fits-all training’, which has little or no relevance to the delegate’s role and responsibility. Poor quality training is often characterised by little interaction and delivery by non-professional trainers. Within end-user training, one common mistake is to focus on technology and not the people who will use it.
Partner training
For the manufacturer, training partners to provide the interface with end-users can often determine the success or failure of a long-term relationship with the end-user customer. In maturing AV markets, it is rare that the technology is entirely to blame. Alistair Hayward, Head of UKI and ANZ at Promethean, believes that:
“At Promethean we believe that the role of training should be to better equip partners so that they can be successful in developing long term customer relationships. This is achieved by enabling them to effectively guide initial investment decisions and support customers in gaining maximum value from technology in the long term. This in turn should lead to repeat business and more solid trading relationships.”
And so how does this commitment to training partners cascade down to the end-user level?
“The challenge has long been that budgets for technology investments are allocated on the hardware cost and training is very rarely factored into the process. In many cases, it is misconceived as a ‘luxury’ as opposed to an essential purchase. Again, we invest a lot of time and resource in helping partners to reposition the role of training and wherever possible build in core skills or product orientation as part of a technology investment package.”
Value proposition
Hayward recognises that the end-user training initiatives must be funded in a way that makes the whole thing sustainable:
“We must also remember that training provision can provide an extra revenue stream for partners, but this needs to secure the right balance between ensuring customers are able to use our product in the first instance, then supporting them through further skills development as their confidence grows. In our experience, providing basic orientation training as part of the original purchase package then leads on to future training sales opportunities for partners.”
With many end-users not always commercially aware, making training a separately billable item has led to a widespread belief that ‘training is expensive’. Instrui’s Pip Thomas, Director and User Adoption & Engagement Consultant, counters this suggestion, asking:
“Expensive? Compared to what? Buying technology that doesn’t get used? The simple fact is that only use of technology delivers value. The quicker you can win over users to the value of the technology to them, the better value you’ll achieve on your investment. User training – in whatever form it takes – is likely to be only a fraction of the cost of the technology and its deployment yet this is the most effective way of driving user adoption.”
Time-effective
However the benefits are argued, there is now doubt that the legacy of the recession is everybody is short of time these days, with opportunities to take days out of the office limited. Making use of new media and technologies we have seen the variety of training and professional development initiatives markedly increase.
Thomas comments: “No single style of training will suit everyone. There are alternatives and complements to in-person/on-site training. We design and deliver training programmes tailored to the specific project and its users. These might include one-to-one sessions over Skype (or another VC solution), step-by-step videos and self-paced online courses. Digital technology provides a variety of ways to learn, to suit the individual’s learning style, their level of personal motivation and their and their organisation’s specific circumstances.
Hayward has found that “Webinars have proven an effective time-saving alternative to traditional training courses – both for partners and for customers. We regularly host product, market and skills webinars for the channel which provide valuable development opportunities for partners.”
“When we launched the new ActivPanel, which is a quantum leap from the original IWBs, we spent a lot of time planning on how best to support our partners with taking it to market. As part of this training activity we delivered a series of regional roadshows which made the product training much more accessible. Partners were able to attend sessions which only required a few hours out of the office.”
“We are also working on a training toolkit which will equip them with the essentials on how to sell, set-up and promote the new ActivPanel.”
These activities have run alongside our annual partner event which has significantly grown in attendance over the past three years. We’ve found that when the content is compelling enough, businesses will find time to leave the office, because they know that it will deliver value back for them.”
“Finally, we shouldn’t forget the power of social media when it comes to the dissemination of training opportunities. We feature a regular programme of ‘How to’ guides on YouTube for example, which now includes the new ActivPanel.”
ROI
Thomas believes that: “The value of good training is well understood within many end-user organisations committed to ensuring their employees are equipped with the skills, confidence and motivation to explore and engage with new technology, and channel players who are committed to ensuring the technology they supply delivers the anticipated benefits. It is seen – quite rightly – as a competitive advantage by both.”
She adds that channel partners should explain how training and on-going support delivers value on investment to the end-user customer. By monitoring and evaluating technology usage, organisations can ensure there is a strategy in place to train new employees, and support users when there are system updates.
Hayward cautions that the cost of training should be structured to meet the budget and requirements of the customer. “If running an off-site session which requires room hire, refreshments and other related expenses is out of budget, then a lower cost solution should be explored. There are some very low cost ways to access and deliver training – especially with social media. We have made a number of previous webinars available on YouTube for customers as well as product related ‘How to’ guides for the channel.”
“The important thing is to ensure the customer is able to acquire the right knowledge and develop a basic skill set to use the technology effectively.”
Should the manufacturer not simply absorb the costs of training the end-users of its technology? To a limited extent, argues Hayward: “Manufacturers absolutely have a role to play in supporting the channel with accessing and delivering customer training. However, this support does not necessarily have to be in the form of sponsorship per se. For example, Promethean has a UK-wide business development team who can deliver product orientation on behalf of partners, where appropriate.”
Alistair Hayward, Head of UKI and ANZ at Promethean: “In our experience, providing basic orientation training as part of the original purchase package then leads on to future training sales opportunities for partners.”
Training on the .tv – for free!
It’s been a year since the launch of HowToAV.tv, the free online training channel from AV distributor CIE. HowToAV.tv provides free, instant and accessible training materials and has proved to be a huge surprise hit with AV professionals worldwide. Just 12 months on and the now multi award-winning channel has achieved impressive viewing figures of over 120,000.
HowToAV.tv was devised by CIE following the success of its free nationwide technical training seminars. Chris Edwards, Marketing Director at CIE explains, “CIE were one of the first AV resellers to deliver high quality training as a marketing tool rather than simply a revenue stream. Having delivered training to more than 400 professionals, we wanted to grow the program, our audience and our profile without the cost increasing exponentially. HowToAV.tv gave us an opportunity to introduce CIE to a wider audience, allowing our brand to compete with some of the biggest players in the AV distribution sector.”
Limited to easily digestible three to five minute videos, information – delivered by AV industry experts – can be accessed at any time, from anywhere, via a smartphone, tablet or computer. Content is aimed at all levels of experience to solve everyday challenges such as “Connecting Apple TV to an Analogue Amplifier” as well as tackling bigger training themes such as “Understanding HDCP 2.2 for 4K UHD”. The wide range of informative and unbiased videos offer instant solutions to technical issues, installation advice and technology tutorials – all delivered in a user-friendly, vibrant style.
To keep the channel fresh, HowToAv.tv is also interactive. AV users and professionals are encouraged to submit a training theme request or query, via a comment or direct message, to which HowToAV.tv will always provide a response. Often it will also create a video to fulfil the request; in fact, many of the videos are in response to educational requests from the audience for a collaborative approach.
The HowToAV team: CIE were one of the first AV resellers to deliver high quality training as a marketing tool rather than simply a revenue stream.
