Fancy IT systems won't do your organization any good unless your staff has the necessary skills and knowledge to use the systems, so make sure that resources are set aside to cover the costs of staff training. There are various ways to approach IT skills training, from formal classroom lessons, to informal one-to-one knowledge transfer.
Here are some basic recommendations for IT skills training.
Basic IT training for all staff.Any staff member who uses a computer for daily work should have some basic training in navigating and using the operating system, using the Web and safe computing basics, and common productivity tasks (usually MS Word and MS Excel basics). Classroom training in these skills is available from organizations such as CompassPoint or CiBER. Self-directed training courses are available on CD or online such as Microsoft's Electronic Learning Library (MELL), available as part of the Microsoft donation program from TechSoup Stock.
Training for specific procedures. Your organization has unique IT systems such server data organization, specialized applications, and internal IT processes like back-up system maintenance. Ideally, the documentation of these systems developed earlier in the HSC process can provide users with adequate training for most of these procedures.
Training in specialized applications. If your organization uses specialized applications, you will need to develop a process to train new users on these systems. You can provide external training on these applications, such as vendor workshops, or internal training, such as one-on-one training with a super-user. In instances where the cost of external training exceeds the available resources, we recommend that you choose one user to become the trainer. This user, often the accidental techie, should receive "train the trainer" training on an application so that person can train other staff members.
Role-based training. Often a role in your organization will have unique knowledge of the systems involved in that role. In a case like this you should transfer this knowledge to other staff, either through accurate documentation or through job shadowing or other one-to-one training.
Worksheet 6: Support and IT Staffing