Experience the Laserfiche Community in Action at Regional Training
July 21st, 2009 Comment on this article
The Town of Okotoks hosted last month’s Regional Training in Alberta, Canada, and nobody, it seems, came away from the four-day event without a great idea or inspiration to bring back home. Teresa Olsen, Executive Secretary of Lac Ste. Anne County, Alberta, was even inspired by the chairs used in the Okotoks Council Chambers: “Our Purchasing Agent is looking into acquiring one for our Council Chambers!”
Olsen says she found strength in the numbers of her fellow users attending Regional Training. “Networking with the other municipalities within Alberta using Laserfiche has opened all kinds of doors,” she says, “from working in the system on an everyday basis for our human resources department, to condensing our development department filing room by amalgamating all our safety codes, permits and subdivisions into the Laserfiche for easier tracking and usage.”
And she was also was able to follow up on an Agenda Manager webinar she attended last year with a personal demonstration of Okotoks’ AM system at the training, courtesy of Municipal Secretary Linda Turnbull. “We ran through the conversion of an agenda with it,” she says. “We’re currently using Adobe to make our agenda, but I really like the tracking system of Agenda Manager. If we decide to change things up, we’ll definitely look at Laserfiche.”
Laserfiche Luminary Rachelle Meredith, Corporate Records Coordinator for the Town of Okotoks, liked this year’s addition of a bonus no-cost educational overview day hosted by staff from Laserfiche and the training’s sponsor, Canadian reseller IKON Office Solutions – A Ricoh Company. Designed for all users, the first day of training’s free, all-day workshop pulls together the most popular presentations and demonstrations—including tips and tricks, Quick Fields 8 and Workflow 8—from January’s International Conference, as well as case study success stories from local Laserfiche Users.
“Especially in this economic climate the User Workshop was an excellent way of encouraging new and current users to get the most out of Laserfiche,” Meredith says. “What more could a Laserfiche user want?”
Practical Inspiration: Tips, Tricks and Future Projects
Meredith picked up some simple tips she says will go a long way to make Okotoks’ system even more user-friendly. “The number one is desktop shortcuts straight to specific file classifications,” she says, “which is a nifty little trick to secure further buy in from Town personnel who are comfortable knowing their electronic records are accessible and secure, but don’t necessarily want to see everything we have every time they use the system.”
She adds that the Town of Okotoks is currently looking at a mapping module that will complement the already captured cemeteries documentation residing in Laserfiche as well as a workflow implementation in several other town departments. “We’re only just scratching the tip of the Laserfiche iceberg,” she says.
Just scratching the tip of her own Laserfiche iceberg was Natacha Leblanc, Okotoks’ newest Desktop Support Analyst. “As the newest member of our IT team, the training was a huge bonus for me. I now know what to expect when our users ask for my help.”
Rekindling the ‘Wow’ Factor
Town of Okotoks rekindles the "wow" factor with regional training
Besides the tips and tricks users were able to take home, Meredith found real value in the relaxed but still intense learning environment. “We’ve been using Laserfiche 8 for almost a year, but in the work environment you tend to go with what you already know, because there isn’t always time to just play with the application and discover new things. So to have the opportunity of a session where we get to explore some of the features I use less often, that alone rekindles my ‘wow’ factor,” she says.
“The training’s just a very cost-effective way to discover new and/or different practices for the various modules,” Meredith adds. “It’s easy to see how you can streamline some of your day-to-day processes.”
And Olsen’s already looking ahead to the next training for her fellow Lac Ste. Anne staffers. “I’ve recommended that our IT Director attend the Administrator’s training portion next year,” she says. “One area we do need to work on is setting up our administration console for any new Departments who wish to start using Laserfiche.”
Our Laserfiche training team is headed around the world for the rest of 2009. From Ghana to Georgia, they’ll be in your neighborhood - wherever that might be. Check out the schedule and reserve your seat here.