| Are you really getting your money's worth out of what | | | | of a button |
| you've spent on computer hardware, software, | | | | - assemble letters and documents in seconds using |
| licensing, and tech support? There is one | | | | boilerplate text and macros |
| often-overlooked yet crucial area for getting the most | | | | - manage lists of information in spreadsheets by |
| out of your computer systems. | | | | sorting and subtotaling |
| The users' skill. | | | | - use any of the hundreds of ready-made documents |
| Regardless of whether you have the latest hardware | | | | and spreadsheets available free of cost |
| and software or not, if your staff are not familiar with | | | | How can you upgrade your staff's skills? |
| the at least the following time saving features of basic | | | | Contact your local Department of Labor to see if they |
| software programs, you're losing money on your | | | | subsidize workforce training. Call your local colleges to |
| investment: | | | | see if they provide corporate training. Look in the |
| - Macros | | | | Yellow Pages for training, preferably at your site, |
| - Templates | | | | customized so that your staff will learn the features |
| - Mail merge | | | | they'll actually have a use for. |
| - Shortcut keys | | | | Or invest in some online training or teach-yourself |
| - Sorting, subtotaling | | | | programs on CDs. |
| - Automatic formatting | | | | Find an employee who loves computers and carve |
| - Automatic data entry | | | | out some time for him or her to develop the |
| Although many office workers may be capable of | | | | knowledge to be your on-site guru. |
| teaching themselves new features of software, if they | | | | Whatever method you choose for upgrading your |
| don't know what they don't know, they won't think to | | | | employees' skills, just be sure that the potential |
| teach themselves how to do it! | | | | time-saving benefits of all your hardware and |
| How much time would your staff save if they knew | | | | software are being realized. You want to be sure that |
| how to: | | | | your computers are being used as more than just |
| - produce professional-looking documents at the click | | | | expensive electric typewriters or calculators! |