Hey Everybody! I was on a little bit of a writing hiatus but I am back with my monthly article just like your students are about to be back on campus. I hope you had a great summer break and were able to fix all of those pesky rooms that were left broken last semester. Or maybe you did some fancy new upgrades. Or maybe you didn’t do either of those because none of your orders have shipped! Sorry, that might be a sensitive subject to some.
Whatever you did this summer, I hope it was not too stressful and I hope you are feeling rejuvenated and ready for another year of school. With all of your students and faculty coming back to campus I wanted to provide a few back-to-school tips for everyone.
Tip #1: ALL HANDS ON DECK!!!
As much as we all like to do our own jobs and not be bogged down with random tasks, the first couple weeks of school is not the time to draw those lines. The main goal of the start of the semester is to ensure everything is working and the experience is at an all-time high. That means boots on the ground and troubleshooting as quickly as possible to avoid any class downtime, regardless of your position in the almighty hierarchy.
No professor wants to stand up at the front of the room and fiddle with classroom technology for 20 minutes before being able to talk through their syllabus. This is embarrassing for them and not very reassuring to their students. Help your users be great at their job by giving them nothing to worry about.
And remember, your users are mad because they are confused and annoyed by something that is not in their area of expertise. They don’t hate you as a person, they are just upset. This is your area of expertise, so fix the problem and teach along the way.
Tip #2: Keep Training!
I know you offered training for your users over the last month and only 10% of them showed up. For that 10%, they are going to do great! For the other 90%, they are going to call you freaking out on the first day. THAT’S OKAY! Your role is to use this as a teaching opportunity and encourage those users to learn more. This could be a lesson you teach at the moment as you are helping them solve the problem or reaching out after the class is done to schedule a more formal training time.
For your users, they don’t always know what upgrades you made or maybe they are just a bit rusty and need to get back in the swing of things. The follow-up after class shows that you care about their success and want them to do well. It is a small thing we can do to make our lives easier as well as boost your user’s confidence.
Tip #3: Remember why we do this!
The main goal of any educational institution employee is to make sure that the students are learning and have a great experience doing so. Of course, there are plenty of other things to worry about but the utmost priority is to ensure students have everything they need to be successful. Regardless of what position you hold, you are contributing to that cause.
If you work in AV or IT, I would guess that your office is in the basement or a building off campus somewhere. When this is the case we get caught up in our day-to-day work of making sure systems are up and running and we forget that on the other side of those systems are human users. Be sure to check in beyond the diagnostics dashboard and go check on the faculty using your systems as well as the students receiving instruction. Although all of your systems look great on the surface and all pieces are online does not mean everything is going well. Frustrations are generally high at the beginning of the year and this is a great time to collect feedback from your users on their pain points. Also seeing the hustle and bustle of campus is a great way to be reminded why you do what you do!
Bonus Tip: Start Planning for Next Year!
I mentioned the supply chain issues at the beginning of this column and unfortunately, I don’t think those issues are going away anytime soon. I know you are busy with the start of the year and trying to stay afloat, but I urge you to look at your plans for next summer. If you need equipment, order it now and buy extra just in case.