Tips for Training Staff on New Software

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? You know the saying...practice!

When it comes to implementing new software, training and practice are just as important as a violinist practicing her scales (although maybe not quite as fun). In this guide, we’ll share tips, ideas and questions to consider when training your staff, admin and clients on your new software.

We’re often asked, “How long will the software take to implement?” 

The answer is...that depends. 

Much like when a family asks, “How long is the home study process going to take?” The answer is...it depends!

The final timeline is ultimately in the prospective parent’s hands. How willing and able are they to work through the home study requirements? How motivated are they to invest the time it takes to get through the process?  

The answer for software implementation is similar.

The length of time it takes depends on things such as:

• How much of the software you’re going to use (which modules?) 

• Do you have a dedicated administrator with time to learn and teach the software?

• How much time each day will you dedicate to learning and teaching the software?

• How well are your workflow processes documented so that they can be converted to a digital process? (See this guide for details on that topic).

Next, consider the follow questions about your organization:

1) What is our organization’s culture around new technology?
2) How much time are we willing to invest in the training?
3) How much money are we willing to invest in the training?
4) How or When do we determine whether to invest in more training or support from the vendor vs. “figuring it out?”
5) Does our chosen software vendor have a robust User Training Guide and regular webinars/classes? Is their support team responsive?

Just like a new iPhone, the more you use your software, the faster you’ll learn it.

Pro tips for practicing and training on your new software:

• Create test cases for practice: families, children, birth parents, organizations, etc. 

• Schedule practice/training sessions with admins and staff on a regular basis and encourage attendance.

• Encourage team members to practice using the software by giving them plenty of time to do so. Make sure your admin is available to answer questions.

• Create quick training videos for clients showing them how to use your client interface (in SAM it’s called the Family Portal). Use free software such as Vidyard or Loom to record your screen.

• Ask for feedback from your staff and families and re-evaluate on a regular basis.

Our online “Get started” user guides, videos, webinars, one-on-one training over Zoom and email support are all available to help you learn and practice using SAM. Take advantage of our team’s extensive experience helping dozens of agencies successfully implement SAM.

Schedule a demo or drop us a note. We’d love to chat.

3 Step Plan for New Software Implementation

In this three part series, we’ll take a deeper look into each of the steps in the software implementation process: Plan, Process and Practice. 

If we’ve learned anything in 2020, it’s that there is only one thing you can count on for certain...change. For profit businesses and nonprofits alike are continuing to adjust and adapt to these changes by evaluating their internal processes and customer experience to see where improvements can be made. For many foster care and adoption agencies, that includes making sure that teams and families are able to complete requirements online with new software (like SAM).

1) Set Goals for the New Software

Clearly state the reason(s) that you’ve decided to look for new software. Then, list your organization’s goals for the software. When we ask potential clients about their goals for SAM, the top three responses we hear are: 

1. Saving time by automating processes

2. Centralizing case management

3. Improving client experience by offering online services

Write out and prioritize your goals and decide which are most important. These are the goals you’ll implement first. While SAM absolutely can achieve all of these goals (and more), we recommend prioritizing them and beginning with just one at a time. That way you don’t overwhelm your team and admins by changing too many processes at once. 

2) Create a needs assessment, or “needs list”

Just as in the social work field, doing an assessment and setting goals are the first steps in creating your plan of action. With software, the assessment phase includes creating a “needs list” of features that you need, then setting goals and making a plan that includes implementation milestones, training, etc. 

The features we want on our needs list can then be organized into “must-have”, “nice-to-have” and “later.” Seek feedback from others in your organization as well as past and current clients to help prioritize this list. Some questions might include:

• How do we want to use the software? 

• What features do we need right away to meet our clients’ needs?

• What tasks are we doing over and over again that can be automated? 

• How many users will we have?  

• Do we need to integrate the software with our other technologies (email, website, fundraising, accounting, etc.) or does the software do any of those functions?

• Are there other technologies we can eliminate and/or consolidate by purchasing this software?

• How much can we spend? 

3) Create your Plan of Action

Now that you’ve created your needs list and set your goals, it’s time to put all of that information into a plan of action. Let’s go! 

First, let’s take a look at exactly what implementation means for your agency. What does it look like? How long do you think it might take? How will you know when you’ve completed it? 

Make your implementation/roll out plan:

• Create a timeline for the implementation and training processes. 

• Choose an admin and training team 

  • Choose administrators and training team leads that understand your processes in detail, have the time to learn and the patience to teach the software, and aren’t afraid to test, play and ask questions about the new technology.

• Begin to research software programs and schedule demos with vendors 

Nicely done! In our next guide, we’ll discuss how to create a Process Map to convert your agency’s specific procedures (or processes) into a digital form. Then, we’ll discuss the important last step, training your staff and clients on your new software. 

Need to connect with families while working from home? Schedule a call today!

Considering investing in new software? Do this first.

Is your agency outgrowing your current systems? Wondering whether it’s time to ditch the spreadsheets and invest in software?

Many organizations including foster care and adoption agencies use spreadsheets and paper files when first starting out. This can be a good solution while your agency is just starting out as spreadsheets are inexpensive, easy to learn and use. As your agency grows (or if you want to grow) spreadsheets can quickly become the problem instead of the solution. 

Lack of data security and accurate backups, lack of consistency, as well as only one person being able to access the data at a time are just a few of the reasons why spreadsheets are not a good long term solution for managing your case files.

In addition, agencies who are looking to move case management and home study requirement collection online are stuck with back and forth emails and snail mail. Upgrading to a web-based database system allows you to engage with families online from anywhere with an internet connection.

Is your agency ready for new software?

We’ve put together a worksheet of questions that you can download for free to review with your team to determine whether it’s time for your organization to invest in or upgrade to new software.

Although this might feel a bit overwhelming at first, don’t worry, you’ve actually done this before! If you’re reading this, chances are that you’re a social worker, administrator, and/or case manager who has been trained in creating assessments and treatment plans.

There are a variety of tools and procedures in social work for assessments. Determining whether your organization is in need of software is a similar process.

For example, collecting data from all involved, applying your professional knowledge, and making an assessment (judgment) are a few of the steps in both areas. 

Whether you’re still using spreadsheets or have a software system that doesn’t quite work for your agency, answering the questions in the worksheet will provided clarity and help evaluate your current systems including things that are going well and where improvements can be made. Use your findings to communicate with your director(s) and/or team members as well as in your software vendor search. 

If you’d like to learn more about how SAM can help your agency grow through improving your systems and connecting with families online, schedule a demo with us! We’d love to connect.