Like many organizations who have a fiscal year end in December, you may already be planning your budget for 2012. Or, you may be planning to plan your budget. Since I have a brain for planning, I am usually thinking about 10 steps ahead down the road at all times. I know many of you who plan budgets each year have to be the same way. For corporations to get a budget in place, you have to start early. If you are in that position, I thought it would be good to help you think about ways to get the training you need incorporated into that financial plan for 2012.
To provide a successful training program for you organization, you need to know what on-going and remedial needs you have. Talk to your colleagues. Find out what would help them be more efficient and effective in their work. You can do this using a formal survey, sending an informal email, or even just by walking around. Make sure you refer back to feedback from this year’s training sessions.
After you determine your general needs, be sure that you take into account new technology that will be implemented within your corporation in the next couple of years. You may need a “new features” training session for new software upgrades (like Microsoft Office 2010, for example). If you need help during this process, give me a call so that we can help you determine what training options are available for the software that you are using. Here is a link to our page about our training services for you to see some of the options available to you: www.versitas.com/training-services.php .
When lining out your training requests for the budget, make sure to include the training/trainer costs, supplies, snacks/refreshments, and any other associated costs/fees. You will need to be flexible and figure out where you can compromise on your plan due to financial restraints. Look at outsourcing versus in-house training. Sometimes it takes more time/effort to create an in-house program when there is already someone with the expertise you need outside your group. Other times, you already have what you need for a portion of your training to be done within your organization.
No matter what you choose for your training program, make sure you are looking for what will best serve everyone at your organization. It might be easy to just keep doing what you have been doing. If that is helping everyone be successful, then you are on the right road. If not, then you will definitely want to re-examine and adjust. Again, if I can help, just let me know!
Most Windows students that I work with use computers that are 2-5 years old. If this is the case for you at work or at home, you may experience memory problems that can cause random reboot and/or computer freezes. If you think your computer may be experiencing memory problems, you could find out for sure using the Memory Diagnostic Tool provided with Windows 7.
After using Windows 7 for a year or so, I feel like I am beginning to find out more of the “fun” features. By “fun” I mean in a techno-nerdy trainer way. I love finding new tips and tricks to make Windows 7 more functional and easy to use. Some of these tips could be classified in beginner/novice, while others are more advanced. I decided to include some of these tips in this post and in the next one to add to your Windows 7 repertoire. 
Since the number one application that I do training on is Excel, I thought I would include some tips on Excel in this post. Most of the training requests that I get are for Excel Intermediate or Advanced. Over the years, it seems that there are a few features that have come in handy several times, either for myself or in helping others in a training class. I hope you are able to use these tips, too!
Every once in a while, I go back and look over my tips and tricks file for different applications. This month, I reviewed the file for Word. I use Microsoft Word almost every day, so I think reviewing over the shortcuts, tips and tricks at least once a year is definitely worth the time investment. I know I cannot remember everything, so a refresher course on Word is extremely helpful! I thought I would share a couple of the ones that the students in my Word classes really like including turning off the Automatic Word Lists and shortcuts to adding lines.
My post last week was the end of my second year of Versitas blog posts. In most ways the time has flown by but in other ways it feels like I have been writing for longer than two years. Either way, I enjoy celebrating milestones, so have decided to do a post on how to celebrate your achievements (or enjoy the journey). 
In the last blog, we looked at three time wasters that many of us experience on the job. This week, I thought we would look at a three more. I realize that these may not be new to you, but it can be a good refresher. I know that I fall prey to some of these, too!
We have all heard the saying, “time is money and money is time.” But, have we really put that into practice in our work lives? It seems that our time at work is so precious and fleeting. The increased competition both internally and externally in our organizations can put pressure to need to put in more and more time every day. But, is that really good for our sanity and our personal lives?
Lately, I have been burning the midnight oil trying to get all of my summer project to-do list completed. I completely underestimated how long each task would take because I had not correctly figured how much my two year old son would be “helping” me. I thought that he might play some on his own, but he really, really wants to help Mommy on all of her tasks. Since I know that he is working so hard to want to really be my assistant, I have not discouraged him from being my helper. 
Today, I was privileged to do training for two really great women. I am always a little nervous before I meet a new client. I want to make sure I do a good job. Because of this, I am anxious to find out if I am going to be able to help the new client and answer all of their questions. 
