Skip to main content

Smart Stuff Dumb Users

People have a love of technology. We have smart phones, watches, refrigerators, and cars. The reason is technology is supposed to make our lives easier, so we do less work and have more leisure time. Technology is also fun. I refer to all the smart gadgets as “grown up toys.”
 
There is one problem. The smart stuff is only as smart as the users. Smart not only refers to the gadget, but the user. How many people buy a fully loaded car or a highly advanced phone, but do not use all the features? Usually the reason is not taking the time to learn how to use all the features or overestimate the need for the features.
 
In workforce development, we do the exact same thing with technology. For example, imagine a workforce system implemented an online unemployment insurance filing system designed to save staff time and money by allowing people to file claim from anywhere there is an internet connection. It sounds wonderful. People will file unemployment online and manage their own claims. Now imagine the same system is so complicated people cannot use it without staff assistance. The language on the web page is unclear and people do not know where to click or what information to enter.  It’s great having smart stuff, but if no one knows how to use it, the purchase was not a smart use of funds.
 
In another example, imagine virtual reality employment preparation. While wearing special glasses, you could interview for a job of your choice and could also experience what a day on the job would be. Sounds great. If you are ready to go out and purchase bunch of these glasses, don’t get too excited. I just made that example up. It sounds smart and like the future of employment preparation, but without showing people how to use the technology or marketing the technology, the smart technology is just taking up space on the shelf.
 
What is the solution to prevent workforce systems from looking dumb in the age of smart? The answer is education. Before your system invests any money, survey the users. What do they need? How do they access the workforce system? What technology do they own or have access to? What is their comfort level with technology?  Next after you purchase the technology, invest in marketing and education. Marketing and education should be ongoing. It should not be a one-time event. Knowledge is power and the more people know about a system or new piece of equipment, the more likely they are to become power users.
 
 All of this may sound silly to write about, but in the age of “do more with less” workforce systems cannot afford to buy expense smart paperweights. Planning and researching your systems needs will prevent your system from looking dumb in the age of smart.
~Karen Cirincione
Twitter: @kcirincione

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mastering the Grilled Cheese Sandwich Project

An engaging book club discussion about email, how we work, and also just how we as people manage our lives. The more we talked the more I started to realize that essentially project management is essentially a life skill everyone needs to master to be successful. If we simplify Project Management down to the easiest way of explain it and applying, we can define it as taking a big end goal and break it down to smaller goals, figuring out the tasks with each smaller goal, and then allocating lots of resources along the way. Ultimately at the core of project management is planning and organizing, but communication is really at the heart of it all. A project may be big, like building a bridge, creating and implementing software, or it can be as small as figuring out what to make for dinner. Along the way to said goal, every step needs to be clear and everyone needs to communicate about all the said steps along the way. Sounds easy, but apparently it is not so simple. One would think ev...
Post a Comment
Read more

A WIOA Fairy Tale

I thought it was time to have a little fun with WIOA and write a fairy tale. My last fairy tale was published in June of 2014 and was before WIOA legislation. To read the first workforce development fairy tale, check out the archives. Once upon a time in a far off land called Weeoha, lived a community of residents. Many of these residents had jobs and careers, but some found themselves in need of services and assistance to get jobs. Some were reliant on the government for assistance with basic needs because they could not find jobs. Three of these residents, Jack Butcher, John Baker, and Josie Candlemaker, found themselves not satisfied with their lack of opportunity and decided to go on a pilgrimage to find the legendary Cup of Career Success.   According to urban legend, whomever drank from this cup was promised eternal employment and self-sufficient wages as long as they desired. Jack, John, and Josie set out on foot to find the legendary cup. Their first stop was to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How do you Birthday?

Another year in my life has passed. It’s time for another birthday. Each year as the day approaches, I take the time to reflect on my past year, my accomplishments, and my goals for the year. My birthday is like my personal New Years’ celebration with another opportunity to have the best year ever.   I am not afraid of a birthday. Age is just a number, but each year is what you make of it. Each year I have seen the sun rise, the rain fall, and the snow melt, I have been given a gift from the universe. Many people do not get to see another birthday. I owe myself the opportunity to set goals and feel proud as I work towards achieving them. Sometimes these goals have been born from unhappy feelings and bad situations, but growth brings wisdom.   In my working life, and especially as a workforce professional, I know some of my growth must be professionally. Having experience working with job seekers looking for jobs, I understand how crucial professional growth is...
Post a Comment
Read more