What Do You Do for New User Orientation? 97
An anonymous reader asks: "What do you do for new user orientation? I started at a company as part of a very small help desk / MIS department. Part of my job is to give orientation to all new computer users for the entire company (no more than 10 new users a week). Right now I have to sit with each user, go over logging in, passwords, email, outlook, Microsoft Office, and so on. This takes between 30-45 minutes. What do other IT departments do? I was thinking of a Flash presentation or website, and maybe even a short orientation movie. What ideas have you tried and how well did they work?"
A movie or flash is nice (Score:2)
- prepare (scenario and stuff)
and more importantly
- keep up to date
I know, I've done that for a product presentation. After one year, new version, throw away the presentation, start over again...
Mark
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I agree that multimedia is good, but it's not the only thing to have. I've been giving and receiving presentations for a few years, and a good video is really useful. More useful, however, is a paper copy containing all of the key points. Paper can be picked up and browsed at one's leisure, it can be pinned next to the desk (quite useful for new users learning how to log-in)
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The average presentation we do for clients is between 2 hour and 3 hours of which 1 hour can be product presentation. We make call center software and when a client is really interested and wants to see all sides of the product, I can easily spend 1.5 hours.
In a recorded presentation you wan
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I'd like to produce some demos for my friends and coworkers a la the outstanding Slime video you can find on this page [tech.coop].
Some programs provide a very powerful working environment but leave new users wondering, "How am I supposed to use these features to get something done?" A video is the best answer.
video : big powerful program :: code examples : big complex API
Large turnover (Score:4, Insightful)
Large numbers of new users every week can mean immense expansion or they are really put of by your new user orientation meetings.
If its turnover, perhaps it would be easier to skip the email/office stuff until they need it.
New Users (Score:3, Insightful)
Orientation? (Score:5, Funny)
But we don't call it "orientation", we call it "hazing".
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and coincidently... extremely high turnover rates.
Not that it's a bad thing in your scenario.
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Here's what I do (Score:5, Funny)
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Better would be a quick session to show users how to logon, and present them with a simple printed booklet to cover details. This has the double advantage of being much easier to maintain than a Flash presentation, as well as usually being easier to process mentally.
I know there are many who might throw up their hands in horror when I say this, but for all that
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A small printed manual, however, will let people take notes, draw doodles, and vent their anger toward the damn booklet instead of you.
Note that I said SMALL. People don't want a 300pg binder unless the job actually calls for one!
We do something similar here, although I've turned the book into a small Wiki. While I do have to edit and revise any edits people make (for clarity, spelling, formatting and so forth), they ar
Not the Flash presentation! (Score:5, Informative)
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Do you mean that your office lets you molest the same sex? Sign me up!
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no bad language: Gay is off the list, fist fuck is ok.
no molestation of the opposite sex : Sign me up.
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There is ?
You guys hire as *employees* people that aren't yet done with primary-school ?
Is this a US-thing ? That employees are to be treated as pre-school idiots ? Is basic normal human behaviour not among the things you would expect from someone *before* even considering hiring them ?
I've had like half a dozen different jobs (not counting smaller short-time s
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If someone behaves in an unacceptable way towards you at work, and you notify your supervisor about this -- but nothing happens -- then I agree it's reasonable to hold the company responsible.
But there's a long way from that and to require companies to hold "sensitivity training" or similar stupidity to avoid liability for what is clearly not their fault.
It also seems to me the US workplace is amazingly intolerant. Personal ex
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Yes. It's what you get when you live in the most retardedly litigious society in history. Every little thing has to be spelled out to the letter, and no leeway can ever be given, lest somebody should get fired for not using common sense and try -- and probably succeed -- to strike it rich with a lawsuit.
Of course, the fact that you're likely to encounter a few pre-school idiots in any reasonably sized working environment might have
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Thing is, if some idiot behaves unacceptably towards me at work, I'll first simply tell him: "I don't accept that behaviour, please stop it." (it's not that hard!)
If that didn't work, I'd talk to my supervisor: "I've got this problem with [idiot] -- he keeps doing [thing] even though I find that unacceptable and have clearly said so to him."
Which would result in [idiot] getting a stern talk with the supervisor, perhaps even a written warning,
Set up a wiki (Score:5, Insightful)
And unlike a flash presentation it's searchable and less of a pain in the rear end to update.
PS. Wikis can be read only for regular users too...
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Your new users need something quick simple and effective.
They have office, so could create an effective powerpoint (or equiv) presentation going over the basic requirements.
I would be against giving them access to the intranet before they know whats expected of them.
A web browser is not the right tool for training (easy to browse elsewhere...)
Re:Set up a wiki (Score:4, Insightful)
I did the same after starting here - added a wiki page of all those things I wished I had known during the first few weeks here (new company, new country) so jotted them down to try and save the same pains for anyone who joined after me. A few other brit contractors have already sent me an email thanking me for putting it together
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On a side note, orientation isn't going to do anyone good unless it really grabs people's attention and a movie or flash is just going to put them to sleep. They don't care! I have to do all sorts of annual training for my job, from fire extinguishers to information assurance, all of which I click or
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Didn't read my commend, did you?
A wiki can serve as a superset of an introduction. You can set up a linear set of pages to serve as an introduction. No digging needed.
I do second that it's hard to motivate people to actually go through an introduction, but if the job requires a formal introduction I th
Swim or drown (Score:4, Interesting)
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In all fairness, a 'test' like what you suggested is a good idea. I work at a large defense contractor, and I have a good idea why it costs $500 for a hammer. 'Software Engineers' that can't grasp basic concepts like source control. One told me that instead of using this complex subversion, we should just pass around tarballs of our source code. Another person brought on to administ
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And then I'd have to go and eat David Frost's liver because it's his fault that almost none of "At Last the 1948 Show" still exists, and you just know it's not going to taste very nice.
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. .
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Passing around tarballs sounds silly until the only other option is Subversion.
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Either you're joking, or you're lazy. Subversion is relatively easy to learn and certainly easier than trying to keep a bunch of tarballs in sync. Heck, everything you need to know about Subversion is in the very well written book, Version Control with Subversion [red-bean.com]. Once you've read it and understood how to work with Subversion, then tell me which is easier.
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Yes, I knew what you meant. My point was that Subversion doesn't suck. It would be interesting to hear your specific complaints with it other than "it sucks". My guess is that your complaints are based on a lack of knowledge about basic version control practices and not actually any issues with the software itself. That's why I suggested you read the book I linked to.
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If you must have specifics, the thing that bothers me the most is that you have to run a merge before
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If I'm hearing you correctly, it sounds like we simply have a difference of opinion on which is better, centralized or decentralized version control. I can see the benefits of both, but my general preference is centralized version control. With Subversion (a centralized version control system), the code in your repository is what's most important, and your working copy is simply a temporary work space. Before you start working, you run an update to make sure you've got the latest stuff from the repository.
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You get the point, but don't seem to think it's a problem. BK puts it more eloquently than I would (of course, they're trying to sell you something):
Maybe you don't think that's a big deal. Th
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Dunno. All I have to compare it against inside your narrow little corridor is CVS, so maybe it's the best of what I would contend is an inherently bad design. Lots of folks have nice things to say about Perforce, though, so maybe not.
Various things (Score:3, Insightful)
That's closer to ideal.. In reality most people get an email. I've heard that a near one-on-one instructor/student training class is optimal.... I've also heard that there's a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. I'm still waiting for both.
Gather them (Score:1)
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That only works if the flow of new employees is sufficiently large. Otherwise once a week is too often... They did this on a former job of mine. By the time the orientation came along I knew everything already. Orientation only works if you're disoriented
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Get a co-worker to just start screaming and crying (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Get a co-worker to just start screaming and cry (Score:2)
Seriously, that's the funniest thing all morning.
Training? (Score:2)
Orientation (Score:1)
Seriously we have a one sheet document with all the basics like logging in, email, internet and so on. We go through this with them at their PC to make sure they understand. They receive one-to-one training for any specialist software and we are always happy to talk them through the basics of Office.
My 2 cents for what it is worth is not to over-complicate things, keep it short, give them some basic quick refere
Orientation (Score:1)
Well... (Score:1)
I wish
Nothing (Score:2)
I happen to know of an IT department at a big company that does nothing for new user orientation. That's right - nothing. Oh, and there seems to be an unwritten department rule that new hires aren't allowed to touch a computer for the first two weeks.
I'll leave as an exercise for the reader to explain why someone who has been working there for 6 weeks still cannot check their voice mail...
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Only a while ago did new users get a internet and telephone rulebook and that's the closest they got to written documentation.
Thanks to this question and the fact I've got to do a network migration I started a draft on a user guide just now. I hope the finished version will save us plenty of dumb newbie questions.
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I have the joy of being (in my team), the only one of twenty PMs without a notebook (handy, when the entirety of my job is meetings and such. I have to use paper. Even more hilarious, yesterday the PMs twice-weekly meeting. Twenty people, nineteen of them with notebooks. Me peering over someone's shoulder and scribbling furiously on my paper.)
And then there's the lack o
Server crash drill (Score:2)
Course Management Software. (Score:1)
Check out moodle.
--saint
We who are about to die.... (Score:2)
Our Process (Score:2)
We give them a copy of the appropriate policies, go over a brief overview of those policies, show them how to access the extensive CBT library we've created, and explain why security has tazers, extendable batons, pepper spray, and guns. Then, we send them on their merry way with a firm reminder what happens to people do things they are suppost to with data they have access to.
God, I love IT in the Healthcare setting.
Geeks and businessmen... (Score:2)
Make them build their own desk or chair (Score:4, Interesting)
They were shown to their new spot, given the tools, and told that this was their first order of business. That was all.
Nearby employees were told to offer any and all assistance, but only if asked.
This worked on many levels. It was symbolic of the philosophy at the company. For some, it ended up being a "team-building" exercise, or a social ice-breaker. For others, it showed that they were clever and self reliant. Some folks couldn't get it done, and refused to ask for help. This almost always signified termination at their first opportunity. And the
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I'm on my 4th day, and its good so far.
Make Your Own Orientation Movie (Score:1)
Ahh new employees! (Score:2)
Good times... good times...
Well,,, (Score:2)
Casual quick meetings and a fact sheet (Score:2)
"...and so on" (Score:2)
I assumes that phrase includes showing them how to do the 'ol Ctrl-Alt-Del, right? And where the Big Red Switch is (in case that doesn't help)?
I'm (mostly) kidding of course. They should already know that. On the other hand, I still recall the time when I had to sit down and show a person (at the small company that I was working for at the time as a VMS and UNIX admin) how to use Word headings and automatically create a table of contents of a document. (It was sort of like showing fire to a caveman.) She
New Employees (Score:3, Insightful)
To know things (rules, passwords, techniques, etc.)
To feel things (comfort with the people around them, a small sense of 'at home')
If you get the second one, the first will take care of itself. Spend time with the person. Actual "Face" time. Teach them something (anything) about the company, so they get in the learning mode -- they'll pick up a lot in between the lines of any topic you pick. Make the rules of the company (dress codes and crap like that) as small a part of the conversation as possible, but provide them with a document on it. Play the rules down. You want them to feel free, so that they'll talk and learn and grow on their own.
Take 'em to lunch. Do it as a small group -- not necessarily the whole team, but more than just Boss and hire. Get them to be social and see people around them as lunch partners.
Then GIVE THEM A TASK WHICH WILL REQUIRE COMMUNICATION WITH THE GROUP. After they've got plugged in, the assimilation process will take care of itself.
The idea that you'd want to give them a movie or something suggests that you're not interested in spending time talking with people. I don't want to work at your company.
This is an easy question (Score:2)
Some companies do not care (Score:2)
I made a PDF full of nice big screenshots and labels as a reference for using remote access and webmail. I print it out for each new employee and offer to review it with them. No one wants the review, most people throw out the reference.
This would be fine except they're not doing it because they are
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hehehe (Score:2)
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Paper (Score:2)
Avoid anything computerized. New users may not be able to view wikis or movies, etc. especially if they don't yet have an account or have not been told how to access it.
I use a plain paper employee guide which describes everything and provides sufficient information to use all services (email, Unix, Windows, voice mail). I print a copy and give it to new hires. (Altern
Short and sweet (Score:1)
Security video (Score:1)
at the company where I work (Score:2)
have fun
Ask after religious preferences first (Score:3, Interesting)
To wit, PC vs. Mac vs. Linux. Mac users are also asked about how long they've been using them.
Next is setting up their accounts; this involves warning them of the minimum acceptable complexity allowed for passwords, showing them how to change their passwords to something marginally more memorable than the automatic preassigned random gibberish, and reminding them of the minimum requirements after the first password change attempt is rejected. I then tell them that neither I nor anyone else will ever ask for their password — if I or anyone in IT need access, we will change it, and tell them the new password afterward (so the user may change it back); anyone who asks for their password should be reported to me and to the central IT security number immediately as an attempt to breach security.
After that, I point out the selection of web browsers available on their workstation (IE/Firefox/Opera, additional options for the Mac), advocate Firefox for regular use, and direct them to the central IT website's security training -- which is mostly dick-and-jane "don't share passwords, human!" common sense stuff; there's a quiz as part of it. I tell them to complete the security training, while I do something vaguely productive nearby (borrowing a mobile laptop if need be) and wait for questions. At the end, I point out the main IT policies page, note that most of it is common sense, but they should glance through the policies as soon as possible, because they may end up "nailed to the wall with rusty railroad spikes as a warning to others" if they fail to follow them. If they express doubt, I invite them to stop by my desk to see my rusty railroad spikes. (Bottom desk drawer; four of 'em, plus a 6kg sledge with a 40 cm handle. Just in case.)
Once that's done, I then introduce them to the most regularly used software applications: email, Office, calendaring app, the local quick-and-dirty non-Acrobat PDF maker, and so on. The VPN software usually requires a digression into a bad analogy to explain why it's important. ("If you use the dumb-as-a-senator idea that the internet is a series of tubes, the problem is that most of the tubes are transparent, and might let any evil passerby see what's inside. Unless you're willing to give me all of your credit cards now to go shopping with, this is a bad thing. A VPN uses cryptography to run an opaque garden hose over to one of our secure machines, so people can't spy on you until after your traffic leaves our network again.") An overview of the strengths and limitations of whatever POS machine they're stuck working at follows.
I then give them my mixed guru/BOFH lecture:
I have happy users; I am beloved, respected, and feared. Aside from an expresso machine for my office, what more could a geek want?
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Pop quiz, are these the same rusty railroad spikes that a
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Pop quiz, are these the same rusty railroad spikes that are the first thing confiscated by security when an ex-employee latches on to all this as an inroad into "creating a threatening workpace"?
No; since one of the important folk hereabouts is an expert in railroad history, I actually have a plausible excuse for having those around; they're mine, but he uses them as props for talks occasionally. The sledge actually belonged to my predecessor; I have no idea why he had it. Additionally, few openly expre
Is what you're doing not working? (Score:1)
PowerPoint? (Score:2)
Better: Get yourself a small-ish room. Fill the room with 10 workstations and a projector. You work on a computer on the projector -- probably with RDP/VNC access to the other machines in the room, so that in most cases, if a user has a problem, you can take over their computer and demonstrate the solution to the entire room.
Basically, do what you would do in your video, but with one group, once a week, and actually be there for it. Should only take 30-45 mins, right? Figure it m
Face time (Score:2)