Put simply, the importance of standing out from the crowd has never been so important.
We always associate brand, customer stories and partnerships with reputation, but I want to throw professional qualifications, certification and accreditation in to the mix as well.
Not only are they good in terms of Best Practice; but they can also be used to help sell you to your customers. They inevitably help to gain trust and credibility. IT companies such as Microsoft and Cisco have offered them for years, but the security sector in general – and manufacturers in particular – are not ignoring this area either.
Take a look at any security website or manufacturer’s Internet home page and it’s quite likely you’ll find a link to a training or education page with online ‘teach yourself’, scheduled public webinars or the dates to attend some kind of face-to-face classroom event or series of events.
Some – Axis Communications included – even go as far as offering a way to become ‘certified’ in either a technology or their own products.
Although for some time now there have been training programmes for those looking to begin to install IP video surveillance, it does seem that during the past year or so this development has intensified.
What works well… and why?
I’d like to share some of the things we have been doing recently – what has worked well and why. I’d really like to hear your thoughts on this subject, too, so feel free to comment by clicking the link at the foot of this blog.
One of the challenges we have found in the UK market when it comes to training is how much time customers and partners can actually commit to it. As a result, the most successful form of training – by a long way – is attending offsite sessions at our facilities in a classroom environment.
When it comes to demonstrating the technology, people want to see it for themselves, touch it and feel it. We show it live, on screen and give the opportunity to play with settings, run scenarios and ask questions there and then.
The most popular sessions are run over one or two days, and either attended by a mix of partners and customers from different companies or they’ll be bespoke seminars for a single installer or partner.
Time out of the office is precious, so it’s always important to make sure the right people attend (technical or sales folk, for instance) and that once they’ve committed to attending they’re then allowed the time to make the most of it.
We train hundreds of delegates each year in this way and, once they’ve completed the classroom session, they are well on their way to applying for certification.
Webinars and online training
Webinars are a great compromise for those who find it too challenging to take time out or who just want to have an overview of new technology, products or complementary solutions from our technology and application partners. Attendees can log on and ask questions remotely; but the downside is that we have to talk about video rather than show it, and nothing beats live interaction!
Online training is the final option we offer through our Learning Centre. This offers complete flexibility as it can be taken at one’s own leisure and can be a good way to get a basic grounding in concepts around video surveillance and also find out what can be done with today’s technology.
This method doesn’t need the customers to register their participation, and is the least interactive way in which we offer education. The onus is very much on the customer to then follow up if anything is unclear or there are additional questions.
My personal view is that classroom training is absolutely the best way to learn; dedicating a couple of days without distraction to becoming an expert in something key to one’s business can’t be beaten. However, I understand that not everybody can give up this valuable time. Please let me know what works best for you and your company?
Phil Doyle is regional director for northern Europe at Axis Communications (UK)
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