If you have to train your casual users,
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 8:59PM
Steve in Recruiting

then the system is probably too complex.

One of my roles is to train users on our online Job Vacancy and Applicant Tracking system.  I easily spend a full hour or more on the fairly laborious five page process to enter and submit a job vacancy for approval.  Once a vacancy is submitted, in some cases as many as eight approvals are required before the job can be advertised.

I finally concluded today that the system and the associated processes are just too complex, difficult, and at times counter intuitive. 

We need to make things simpler, easier to use, and maybe even enjoyable for users if we expect them to embrace the systems and processes that we have tried to convince them are so far superior to the 'old' methods.

And sometimes we need to be strong enough to admit we made a mistake, go back to the start, and build someting else, something better, even if it means taking some lumps in the short term.

Article originally appeared on Steve's HR Technology (http://steveboese.squarespace.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.
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