Mandating AutoCAD/desk Training

[murray-clack]

For YEARS now, I've been trying to convince the powers-that-be in my company on the importance of CAD training.  I've jumped through the hoops about lost productivity and loss of profit because of bad habits or lack of training, etc.

I am now THIS CLOSE to getting them on board with paying for a well-known online training service (including a skills assessment add-on to figure out everyone's problem areas upfront), and they are ok with the cost, so money isn't an issue per say.

However, their big worry is they believe it will be hard to convince the CAD users to take the training they desperately need.  When I mentioned that training [with expected results] should be made MANDATORY, they got nervous and said "Oh, we can't do that.  You can't mandate they take training if they don't want it".

I'm like "WTF?... You're the EMPLOYER. You can mandate ANYTHING that eliminates mistakes, decreases lost time, increases productivity, and increases profits". I also mentioned we have lots of mandatory training already like ISO, WHMIS, First Aid, etc. with expectations of employees taking and passing the training, so why can't CAD training be mandatory?

Management seems too worried about making the CAD users feel targeted or threatened.

Am I the ONLY one who thinks if you are not doing your job properly, you shouldn't be employed with us if you are not willing to improve yourself?

[pendean]

User have to want the training for it to be effective: "mandatory" anything is a total waste of time and money, always has been, always will be.

Do your users want it? Or did you forget to ask 🙂

[RobDraw]

Proper training of some kind should be mandatory and ongoing to keep people aware of new features, standards changes, etc. The ongoing part is important. If their is no follow up, some people will call it a waste of time. Tell them if things don't change, their next performance review and/or raise in pay will be based on them being able to demonstrate that they are adjusting their workflow to the new standards. That should give them the incentive to do their work better. Another incentive is to not allow them to work on new projects until they have attended the training or self trained and adjusted their workflow. I've dealt with a lot of people that refused training and with these types of incentives, they either stagnated, started training, changed their workflow to the new standards, or left the company.

[BrianBenton]

The company I currently work for has standard CAD training that is required by all CAD users. It demonstrates the company's standard operating procedures to make sure that we are all doing things the same way. After that each office has regular "brown bag" lunches that are voluntary. However, decisions and instructions are made during these meetings on standards. If a person misses them, a new way of doing things is developed, they are out of luck. They are still required to do things per standards whether they attend the meeting or not. The standard is the standard. 

[RobDraw]

@BrianBenton , I worked for a place that was very similar in that aspect. Giving people a chance to help establish the standards worked really well. It gave them a chance to voice their concerns and adjustments could be made before pushing changes out to the masses. The meetings did get a little heated at times but that was only because some of us were really passionate about our CADding. It also took some of the load off of the CAD manager with the added advantage of not making him look like a dictator.

[murray-clack]

One of the things I've been doing for years are "Lunch and Learns" where I pick a topic like Associative Dimensioning or XREFs and put on a demonstration tutorial (it starts off with a "Cliffs Notes" powerpoint to understand the narrative, then  I go into detail with a live demonstration, and then everyone gets a handout at the end of the presentation).

They seem to work ok, but I have 80 CAD users in my office, so it can be hard to determine what courses to put on, and I ASKED what courses they want, but these people are SO BAD at CAD they don't even know half of the features that are available.  This is why I want to do the CAD Skills Assessment so I can pinpoint who needs what, and then I can assign what chapters of whatever tutorials they need through the training service I want us to subscribe to.

What's ironic - or hypocritical, I can't decide - is that the person I am conflicting with is saying "you CAN'T make people take these tests because they'll feel they're being targeted", but then a few days later he releases an email talking about mandatory testing to help deter suspicious emails and phishing attempts, and if they fail, they have to take the course AGAIN.

Pot, meet kettle. 

[BrianBenton]

"I have 80 CAD users in my office, so it can be hard to determine what courses to put on, and I ASKED what courses they want, but these people are SO BAD at CAD they don't even know half of the features that are available. " 

This is a big problem. I've worked at places before where they asked the users "What CAD training do you want/need?" How are they supposed to know? There has to be an assessment of some type so you know what they don't know so you can train them. Since the employer won't mandate assessments, you'll need to find a way to measure them yourself. 

You could also try a different approach. Since the employer won't mandate assessment and training, ask if they will reward assessment and training? That way nobody is forced to do it, but if they do, they gain something? There are several options the company could take. Develop a program that has anyone going through assessment and training gets a small raise in pay? Or a one time bonus or gift certificate for Amazon? Or maybe they earn extra paid time off?

I've used services like Knowledge Smart to assess CAD skills. It's good. It gives a score and shows which areas need work and which ones don't. Use this, then train those users in their problem areas, then test them again. Then give each individual a reward based on their score improvement. Just some ideas.