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Darren Strange aka The Office Rocker has a new guest blogger, Colin Ashurst from Durham Business School, who has nailed what I see as one of the biggest challenges facing companies today. Time and again I see computers being used as nothing more than glorified typewriters. It is amazing how sometimes workers employed to perform word processing don't even know the fundamental techniques for putting together a word document. I've seen people use tables to set their paragraph spacing. I've even seen a case of someone who types all their word documents into one large file, named after the month - they are essentially using Word as their filing system! I've seen people type letters in Excel instead of Word, because they didn't know they could embed a spreadsheet in a Word document. I've seen people Copy & Paste letters dozens of times because they didn't know about Mail Merge. Really, this sort of stuff happens! (digression: if you job involves producing documents in Microsoft Word, take a look at my Three Golden Rules for Effective Word Processing).
Businesses know they need technology, but they don't foster a power-user culture. They plonk technology on workers' desks but don't support them in using it. An article in the Microsoft Momentum newsletter says:
Companies typically arm their employees with arsenals of desktop applications and features designed to help them work faster and smarter. [In] a 2004 Microsoft Office survey that reached more than 38,000 users, respondents consider 17 hours of their 45-hour workweek unproductive [...] implying that desktop tools simply aren't being used to their full potential.
It goes on to say of Power Users:
Power users are a whole different story. They are typically non-IT employees with a great personal interest in technology, along with a deep understanding of what technology can do to help them. The good news: Anybody can become a power user with some knowledge and the right motivation.
The article goes on to explain that getting the most from IT is about more than just providing a computer and software. It is about fostering a power-user culture, encouraging and supporting users to become more proficient in the use of Information Technology. Training courses help, but fundamentally it is about your attitude towards technology from the top down. If the managing director uses Outlook to schedule meetings, then the staff will too. If the performance review process recognizes employees for embracing and evangelizing use of technology, they will want to do it. Organizations can leverage their power users so that all employees become proficient in Information Worker tools and techniques.
As a Technology Consultant and Small Business Specialist, I see it as part of my job to help organizations foster and leverage their power user culture. I can begin that process by using the Business and Technology Assessment Toolkit and providing a free IT Health Check.
It's appropriate that The Office Rocker got me thinking about all this, because Microsoft's 2007 Office System has made great progress in this area. The new "ribbon" user interface puts features on display just at the moment they are needed. It isn't perfect but it greatly reduces the amount of searching around in menus and dialog boxes for features. New additions such as SmartArt and Quick Parts make it much quicker and easier to build professional documents. Document Themes make it effortless to transform the look and feel of whole documents and Live Preview is great for seeing how things will look without having to actually make any changes. If you haven't yet seen the 2007 Office System, call me for a demonstration. I'm sure you will want to upgrade once you see what it can do.
For historical reasons, my Live ID (formerly called a Passport ID) has always been different to my main email address. This was getting annoying because it meant that I didn't get presence information against my ID in applications like Outlook, SharePoint and Groove, so my friends and colleagues could not see what my online status was.
I discovered it is really easy to change your Live ID to match your email address and all of your online profile information and Messenger buddy list will be updated automatically - others will not even notice you made a change unless they are really observant. It is a safe operation with no negative consequences.
The process is simple. Just visit http://account.live.com and sign in, if necessary. Look for the Change link, next to your email address. Click it and follow the instructions. That simple.