By Brendan O’Leary, Training Development Manager
For any software vendor, it is vital that you talk to your customers to get as much feedback as possible to influence the product and services you offer. At BridgeHead, one thing we have invested heavily in is our product training. Most people reading this would agree that, with the right training in place, today’s healthcare IT professionals will perform better in their jobs. But, what I have found interesting in my research is how much training is considered a ‘nice to have’ as opposed to a core requirement.
I recently came across the following quote and was immediately struck by the truth that it holds – ‘too busy chopping wood to sharpen the axe’ (which I have since learned is a derivation from a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln). I can’t recall how many times I have continued performing tasks inefficiently, even when I knew that there was a better way. The problem is that the better way normally involves an investment of time and I am generally so busy that I don’t feel I can invest that time. This is particularly true when I am involved in a major project or when a deadline is looming. Do you ever have the same feeling?
Recently, when I had some breathing space, I tried to reflect on the tasks that are consuming too much of my time and whether there are ways that I could achieve the same results by working smarter. The good news is I found a number of ways to reduce time spent on what I call my ‘housekeeping’ jobs, which has enabled me to increase the more time I spend on more satisfying projects. Some of the solutions have been quick fixes, others require more effort. However, all of them needed an investment of time up front.
For example, a recent personal quick win was to install a small irrigation system in my garden. Last summer, I was spending hours each week pointing the hose at the plants; this year I will be able to carry out other, more enjoyable, tasks whilst the plants are being watered.
An example of a longer-term fix has been to train myself to touch type. It has been quite an effort, but I’m now typing at over 20 words per minute. Slow by an expert’s standards, but probably 4 times faster than I could manage with just my 2 index fingers. It has been well worth the investment because of the amount of typing I need to do for my job.
So, why am I blogging about this? Well, one could apply this principle to any area of life. But, my particular interest is to help our customers be more successful. And this includes helping them to take full advantage of their investment in BridgeHead’s Healthcare Data Management (HDM) Solution. In some cases, customers are missing time saving and efficiency opportunities simply due to a lack of awareness of improved features that would allow smarter and quicker ways of completing tasks, yet achieving the same results.
The ‘t’ word (time) is a problem too. The main idea here is that if customers free up time and allocate it to product (re)training, this would then enable them to reinvest that time in more productive pursuits. What could you, or your team, achieve if you could find a few extra hours a week/month?
So, how can BridgeHead help? We have a detailed product roadmap and a rigorous development schedule that allows us to continuously improve our interfaces and tools. For instance, did you know that we now have an Installation Manager that can remotely install or upgrade the HDM components on servers that require backup? Or that our VMware backup can automatically detect a new virtual server, create a backup object, and then run the object? The net result, our customers become more efficient, save time and are able to focus on other areas of their job function.
Alongside this, we have also been improving our training courses by enhancing and augmenting relevant content, adding alternative training delivery methods and also additional payment options. We continue to run regular Webex-based courses, but have recently introduced self-paced training courses that can be taken at our customer’s convenience. So, why not check out BridgeHead’s new training centre and think about if it is time to step back, take a breath, and sharpen your axe?
Can’t wait for part 2 of this blog? Need more details around our revamped approach to customer/partner training? Then why not get in touch to find out what we can do today to make your life easier at your workplace tomorrow.
