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Get Your Users to Help You
10 Mar, 2010 By: Robert GreenOnce you make the benefits of cooperation clear to your CAD users, they'll be happy to pitch in and help build a more efficient workplace.
In the previous installment of the CAD Manager's Newsletter, I discussed how winning over your users makes them more productive, you more relaxed, and everyone happier. It is my hope that you used the concepts presented to examine how you can win over the users in your environment.
In this installment, I'll share some ideas for how you can use your newly persuaded user base to help you make things even better in your CAD environment. Here goes.
Strike a Bargain with Users
Now that your users like you and trust you — thanks to your thoughtful communication and efforts on their behalf — it is time for you to strike a bargain so that they'll help you in return. What do I mean by that? I'm talking about establishing some mutually beneficial agreements, where your users help you be a better CAD manager so you can help them be more productive users. I'm going to share some areas of mutual benefit that you can bring to your users' attention, tips on how to start the conversation, and an explanation of what the benefits are for all parties.
You've proved to your users that you'll put in the effort to make their jobs easier. Now, how can they contribute to your shared goals?
Find inefficiencies. Senior management will be happier if CAD operations are more efficient, right? And efficiency often comes from reducing clicks, picks, and steps, right? So your question to your users is, "Where are the inefficiencies in your day-to-day work?"
The payoff for the users is that they'll get an even better production CAD environment when the inefficiencies are resolved. The payoff for you is that you can spend more time fixing problems instead of trying to find them. The fascinating thing about this symbiotic approach is that while you remain the solution provider, the users become the detectives that unearth the nagging problems that need to be addressed. When they become involved in fixing a problem rather than just griping about it, users take ownership of the situation.
Moral: Users will help you find problems, but only if you ask them to.
Assist with ordinary maintenance. Certain tasks have a way of coming up over and over again, thus requiring ongoing maintenance. Things that come to mind for me are keeping project file directories organized, deleting unused directories and temporary files, keeping standards directories current, creating archive folders for completed jobs, etc. Your question to your users should be, "Since you are in these directories and dealing with these files more often than I am, can you please keep an eye out for problems and bring them to my attention when you see them?"
The payoff for the users is a better-organized CAD work environment, where files don't get misplaced or lost. The payoff for you is a more thoroughly standardized environment where users are more likely to follow filing procedures and create fewer errors. And even if you still have filing standards violators, at least you'll know about it sooner if a few extra pairs of eyes are helping you watch for problems.
Moral: Users are much more likely to police themselves to keep files organized when they feel a sense of personal responsibility to their CAD manager to do so.
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