Computer Software Update: Out of The Comfort Zone

Your routine has become, well, routine. Not to the point of mundane; but, shall we say, comfortably routine? You have attained the lofty position at the home medical equipment dealership where very little surprises you. Familiarity breeds contentment. Finally, everything is under your control. The HME shop is your domain. The comfort zone is now in effect.

You confidently sip your first cup of fresh coffee, anticipating another controllable day, when the owner approaches and nonchalantly states, "Good morning. Oh, by the way, we're implementing a complete computer system and HME software."

"Nothing endures but change." - Heraclitus

Suddenly, the coffee isn't strong enough. Nothing appears as it had just moments ago. Your comfort zone has been penetrated. Your confidence shattered. You instinctively look downward for the trap door in the floor. How could this massive overhaul possibly make your job easier? Your climb back to routine will be a long, arduous one.

"An idea is a point of departure and no more. As soon as you elaborate it, it becomes transformed by thought." - Pablo Picasso

HME automation isn't a new idea. Decades ago, larger HME companies had a vision of computers performing tasks so employees would be free to attend to the business of interacting with other humans. No longer would people be stuffed into the bowels of the HME operation processing endless streams of paperwork. A computer and its corresponding specialized software could not only process the data which the HME business (and the government) required, but also effortlessly store it without filling a room the size of the Grand Canyon.

"What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul." - Joseph Addison

With the advent of the personal computer, techies no longer were the only class of professionals expected to know their way around the manipulation of data. As computers became a way of life in most industries, more of us reluctantly swapped our No. 2 pencils and three-ring binders for a whirring box and dot matrix printer. But that transformation didn't occur overnight. In fact, it's still gripping many of us now, even in the 21st century. Even when change can be for the better, we'd instinctively run in the other direction. After all, we dupe ourselves into thinking, "my current routine is extremely efficient."

Sure, some of us embraced the new technology, but the majority of us were nearly swept away by the technology wave, kicking and screaming at every new turn--at least at the beginning.

We were intimidated by computer equipment, which seemed to magically appear bit by bit until the sign on the door could read Silicon HME. We were intimidated by terms like LANs and WANs and baud rates. We were intimidated by this adolescent person who called her/himself a "trainer." Humph. A trainer should have at least as many hash-marks as I do, we grumbled, At least!

"You mean, this whippersnapper's going to show me how to do my job? The HME job I've been successfully performing for the past umpteen years?"

"Everything should be as simple as possible, but no simpler." - Oscar Wilde

Slowly, we realized that progress wasn't going to leave us in the dust. We adapted to typewriters (Ever ask a 10-year-old what a typewriter is?), microwaves and fax machines. We learned how to jump through regulatory hoops and various insurance claim requirements. Certainly we can overcome the newfangled definitions for words like backup and escape.

We listen intently as the HME software trainer introduces various areas of the system. We hear familiar terms like equipment, patients and CMNs. "You mean the computer will do that for me?" we inquire in disbelief, "But how?" The confident trainer asks that we remain patient.

Of course, by the conclusion of the initial training day, our heads spin due to information overload. After adding data to various individual files, it seems impossible to create an actual third-party order out of this hodge-podge, much less accurate accounts receivable.

Sleep is difficult. What will be the result of all this? Will we become dinosaurs in a computer-driven world? What will the second day bring for us? Will any of this begin to make some sort of sense to us, or will we become hopelessly lost in a sea of data screens?

"I will point ye out the right path of a virtuous and noble education; laborious indeed at the first ascent, but else so smooth, so green, so full of goodly prospect?"- John Milton

Our unruffled trainer again requests our patience as screens and facts continue to assail our consciousness. Blank stares fill the room, except for one person who gets it. We think: How could I be so inadequate? Surely my vast HME experience can help catapult me through all this at some point. However, at this point, the comfort level with this system seems as far as a distant galaxy.

"It is only the ignorant who despise education."- Publius Syrus

Another day of training. Another lesson in patience. More confused looks class-wide (except for one). Finally, reality takes a cold, hard stare into our souls. Either we're going to raise the white flag, in which case we'll search the want ads for "microwave operator." Or, we're going to give this our best shot and go down swinging. After all, the owner obviously decided that we have what it takes to do this; otherwise, the investment wouldn't have been made. Hmmm. Let's buckle down rather than let ourselves down.

Coincidentally, the software's integrated functions begin to take shape. No duplication of work! We'll need to practice for this to become anywhere near routine, but we can see how this method will save time by the eight-hour-day. Now, there is a smidgen of confidence.

"Confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged bosom."- William Pitt

Seasoned software trainers face trainees of varied experience--both in the HME industry and in general computer knowledge. What they see, class after class, is similar to what a physician expects from a patient who has just received a less-than-cheery diagnosis: denial, anger, then acceptance, and finally, adjustment. Unfortunately, each of us struggles through these emotions at his or her own pace. This means that adjustment and sometimes even acceptance are only realized after the training period has concluded and the implementation era begins.

A trainer's main goal for an initial training class is to sufficiently motivate each student to accurately implement the system in a minimum amount of time. Of course, accurately is the key word. Picture in your mind a baseball manager who gives the team a stellar pep talk, then sends them onto the field. At a bare minimum, if the manager didn't teach the team the fundamentals of the game, we could expect to see the Bad News Bears between the white lines--but surely they will be motivated.

On the other hand, if the same manager instilled the fundamentals into the team, yet told them that they'd probably lose anyway, guess what the result would be? In the same way, a seasoned software trainer not only presents the system using the most effective teaching methods, but also effectively motivates the students to learn the system. Through experience, a trainer notices when the "I get it" light comes on for the majority of students. He or she takes mental notes and adjusts the presentation for the next initial training class to instill more self-confidence in the students using the software.

Unfortunately, many students fail to ask the questions crucial to their understanding--afraid that the questions will make them appear inadequate or less computer-savvy to the rest of the class. As one senior trainer in our industry has observed, "The reality is, I like to take that question and make the person who asked it feel as though he or she were responsible for the entire group benefiting from its answer. That encourages further group involvement in the training class, thus making the entire experience more productive for all." The senior trainer continues, "A good trainer would much rather take five minutes up front to answer the so-called stupid question rather than the 30 minutes it would take to repair the stupid mistake."

If a trainer also is involved in the implementation procedure once the new students (now users) return to their operations, he or she can rate the effectiveness of various training exercises by the users' questions. This wonderful advantage allows the trainer to experience more of the acceptance and adjustment periods of the learning process. By assisting or directing implementation, the trainer can continually search for opportunities to fine-tune training methods, preventing the type of teaching personality where rigidity and boredom begets a cure for student insomnia. Based on responses in the field, the trainer gains a direct perspective of the student-turned-user and can make academic adjustments of his or her own.

Of course any effective trainer must also take continuing education very seriously. A trainer must not only thoroughly learn all software enhancements, but also remain familiar with regulatory issues and the state of the HME industry. Knowing the software and the industry is a given for anyone representing the software company; however, in a more subtle sense, a trainer can impact future programming enhancements simply by listening to students.

Students provide that fresh perspective that most companies usually struggle to explore as a result of being too close to their own products. Salespersons constantly hear about these issues in a general sense, but prospects' motivating factors for raising these issues are quite different. Students are more likely to offer specific, positive suggestions directly related to their personal HME experience and their exposure to the software package. A quality trainer will note each of these suggestions, presenting each to the company's development team for review.

"If one has determination, then things will get done." - Chinese proverb

Once you take wing from the security of the training center nest, the implementation process begins. Be determined to set goals and self-imposed deadlines for each step of system set-up and data entry. Your ultimate goal will be for the morning coffee to taste as fresh as before, the comfort zone to return to normal, and another controllable day at the HME shop to begin. Your routine will be somewhat different, of course. Most likely, it will be much more controllable as your company becomes a more efficient operation. Plus, you will have experienced satisfying personal growth. Congratulations!

"A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions." - Anonymous

This article originally appeared in the October 2001 issue of HME Business.

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