At many organizations that I’ve worked at, projects often don’t meet expectations not because of a bad product but more due to a lack of staff training.  Many nonprofits have a high turnover rate, so training becomes an ongoing need, not something that you can just schedule once in a while.  Some recommendations:

1. Take advantage of web / phone conferencing software to offer classes regularly.  But make sure that participants are encouraged to ask questions at any time, not just at the end of the session.  Especially when you can’t visually see others’ reactions, it’s important to make sure everyone is absorbing the material.
2. Offer recorded classes on your intranet, but don’t use this as an excuse not to provide live classes.  You can only get so much benefit from a class where you can’t ask questions.
3. Give participants an incentive to fill out evaluations immediately after the class, and pay attention to their comments.
4. Timing is important.  Don’t offer a class a month before a new product is available.  But also don’t wait until the product has been rolled out before classes are offered.
5. When hiring new staff, knowledge of specific applications is helpful, but more useful is selecting employees that are comfortable with learning.  Most jobs change significantly after someone is hired, so choose candidates that are comfortable with learning new technologies.
6. When budgets are tight, it’s tempting to cut training first.  Change how training is offered if you must, but don’t eliminate it completely;  staff productivity will be directly affected.
7. Provide  ‘quick start guides’ to help participants retain skills, but don’t be surprised if you need to often a refresher class periodically.

One last poin:  Take advantage of free / low-cost training offered by organizations such as Nten, Network for Good and Idealware. For example, Kivi Leroux Miller’s recent 7 Steps to Better Email Fundraising and Communications session and accompanying Nonprofit Email Marketing Guide are wonderful resources for those new and old in ephilanthropy.  Personalized training by your nonprofit staff  is optimal but don’t forget to take advantage of other online options.