On a few occasions, clients have asked us why we require them to have a Site Trainer. Since the need for a Site Trainer/ Data Manager may not be apparent, we have prepared the following document to illustrate this need.
Explorer is not a word processor or simple email program. Explorer Systems provides a highly sophisticated, comprehensive, enterprise-sized museum management tool that will eventually run significant portions of day-to-day museum operations and track literally every dollar the museum earns. The installation of Explorer marks a time of change and growth for the museum. As Explorer integrates across the museum, once independent and isolated departments suddenly become inter-dependent. Marketing, Fund Raising, Membership, Accounting, Visitor Services, Programs, Scheduling, Education, Public Relations, etc. will use, rely on and value Explorer data. Once this begins, these departments will need to become more cohesive and aware of how their actions and decisions affect the operations throughout the museum. A data manager facilitates and manages this growth.
The Data Manager/Site Trainer supports user accountability; enhances system performance; reduces confusion; oversees proper system setup, reduces reporting inaccuracies; provides additional in-house training and end-user support where needed, centralizes Explorer issues and knowledge and serves as information distributor, system monitor, and differentiates Explorer-related issues from other problems such as: network, pc or system-related issues. In addition, this critical position helps staff maintain a positive and confident attitude toward Explorer – a tool they will use for much of their wok day.
Overall, the Site Trainer/Data Manager enables the museum staff and management to realize the substantial benefits Explorer was intended to provide.
Explorer will track and manage literally every dollar that comes though the door: Gift shop, admissions, birthday parties, camp-ins, membership and donation fees, education classes and school visits, parking and facility rentals, etc. For most facilities, this amounts to millions of dollars per year.
We understand the difficulty in additional salary expense vs. the perceived value of a data manager for a small museum. This can be quite difficult to overcome and thereby see the significant value of designating one person as 'data manager/site trainer'. In fact, the Explorer data manager tends to be the most undervalued position within the museum. It is this person, however, who will make sure data needs are met, provide system stability, insure data accuracy, facilitate interdepartmental communications and significantly increase user productivity.
The 'site trainer' is not for Explorer's benefit to reduce calls or make our jobs easier! On the contrary, we developed the ‘train the trainer’ approach after trying many different methods, as we found this is what works best for you.
In addition to the above reasons to designate a site trainer / data manager, here are a few site-specific reasons we have encountered through past experience:
1. We find the lack of a designated 'site trainer' leads to a general lack of accountability; poor system performance; confusion; setup, data and reporting inaccuracies; and general user dissatisfaction where there should be none. This naturally leads to the erroneous perception that the system is at fault and will not work for the site or fulfill certain users’ needs. This, in turn, greatly hampers the museum's ability to realize the substantial benefits the system was intended to provide.
2. With a 'site trainer', you have someone on site who can train replacement staff and handhold less computer literate staff.
3. We may spend considerable time training individual staff only to have the person we are training either not 'get it', or leave shortly thereafter. While we have made every attempt to simplify and make Explorer as user-friendly as possible, Explorer is still a large, comprehensive and complex system. The week of training can be a very challenging experience and is not suited for all. Many staff, while perfectly capable, do not have the ability to learn a computer program of this size by seeing or doing only one time. In fact, most staff members will need repeated instruction in the weeks after training is completed in order to feel comfortable with their ability to use the system. The Site Trainer is left on site to accomplish this very task.
4. Sites without a site trainer, who indicate they just want us to train all staff, pose the following problem: the more trainees we have, the more difficult it is to coordinate everyone’s schedules. It can be particularly challenging for upper level staff to clear an entire week to devote to training. In addition, the more people that sit in on training sessions, the less focused those sessions become. What inevitably happens is too many people ask too many user-specific questions and we don’t make it through the material. The net result is no one is fully trained when it is time for us to leave.
5. The site trainer keeps Explorer issues and knowledge in one place and serves as information distributor, system monitor, etc. It is this person to whom staff members turn first when they need a question answered or a problem solved.
6. A well-educated site trainer helps staff differentiate Explorer problems from other problems that may appear to be Explorer problems, but are not, including network, pc or other system-related issues. This is important in that it helps your site fix the actual problem instead of ‘living with it’ or erroneously believing it is software related. It also helps staff maintain a positive and confident attitude toward Explorer – a tool they will use for much of their wok day.
How to choose a Site Trainer
This person may not need to be full time and should not be a department head. Department heads generally do not make good site trainers as they typically do not have the time or inclination to devote to this position.
We find that it can be quite helpful to look at your entire staff when identifying your data manager. Many times an excellent person can be found in the younger, non-managerial staff, such as box office cashiers or other floor personnel who have a history of excellence in their existing positions and show an aptitude for and an interest in computers, plus a strong desire to grow personally.
At the minimum this person should show a superior aptitude for computers and learning new computer software. He or she may be the person that other staff calls on to help resolve their issues. In fact, if you would NOT call this person to help you with a computer problem, chances are he or she is not the right choice for the site trainer/data manager position. Given the significance of Explorer at your site, it is quite legitimate to hire specifically for this position if you cannot find the appropriate person on staff.
To be effective, the site trainer you choose should be able to demonstrate the following skill sets:
- Navigates quickly and easily in Windows Explorer and can explain to others the file and directory structure of the computer. (Windows Explorer is the file management tool that comes with all Windows operating systems, and should not be confused with Internet Explorer or our software, Explorer Systems.)
- Ability to manage users and security in your site’s Windows organizational structure, which may be a workgroup, domain, or some combination of both.
- Understands and can explain to others basic networking concepts. Examples include: client-server architecture, switches, LAN cards, network traffic and speed and how these impact performance.
- Creates and manages share folders across the network and map drives where needed.
- Installs, uninstalls, updates and troubleshoots software.
- Communicates clearly.
- Demonstrates clear aptitude and ability to learn new software programs, has a history of doing so.
- Is someone you can count on for a long term position.
THE NEXT GENERATION IN MUSEUM MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE