Master Delegation with a Learning Management System
Have you ever had to fire someone? I haven’t, but I had doubts that I hired the wrong person. I explained how to do this task nine times, how do they still have questions!? The awkwardness was even worse because it was my mother.
It’s funny looking back on this. My mom, Veronica, joined the Drost Financial team in November of 2021. Fast forward to April of 2022 and things just weren’t clicking.
And man was I frustrated. She was, too. This was without a doubt my most challenging era of being a business owner. I was stuck. But we figured it out by June of 2022 and we haven’t looked back.
I’ll save my failed attempts for a future post (or over a cup of coffee or a beer). Today, we dive into the Learning Management System that empowers me to delegate any task that is linear in nature and does not involve giving financial planning or investment management advice.
Three Key Steps to our process:
Creating a simple User Experience
Creating the Instructions Database that houses all instructions and tutorials
Linking to the Database in Task Templates and Workflows for peak team adoption
But first, what the heck is a Learning Management System (LMS)?
Per Websters Dictionary, a Learning Management System is a software application used to organize and distribute e-learning materials, assignments, and assessments; track and calculate grades; and facilitate communication among students and teachers.
Or to put it simply in my own words: the place Veronica (or any team member) goes for full and complete instructions on every task they are ever asked to perform.
First Component: The User Experience
An LMS must be easy to access and easy to use. And the only opinion that matters is your team member’s. Let me repeat: If you think it’s super simple to access and use but your team disagrees then you are guaranteeing yourself frustration and failure.
In Drost Financial, we use a simple Excel spreadsheet. We call it the Training Resources Master Spreadsheet. The spreadsheet lives inside the Training Resources folder in our shared document repository (Box, Sharefile, whatever you use) and Veronica has a shortcut to the spreadsheet on her desktop to provide easy accessibility.
When Veronica opens the spreadsheet, this is what she sees:
Key Items:
It’s super simple.
She had input on the Tabs in the spreadsheet. She picked to have items sorted predominately by frequency (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Quarterly Value Adds, On-Demand) which means, to her, it is easy to use.
She can sort the tasks in the Header by Software/Company, Activity, or Instructions, or use Ctrl + F to find keywords for specific activities (Easy to Use)
She is empowered to alter anything in the spreadsheet to make it easier to use. For example, she can edit an Instructions or Activity text field to better help her remember what the task is or to locate the task instructions in the future
Second Component: The Instructions Database
In the screenshot above, you’ll notice most tasks have a link to a Video and a Training Description File in Columns D and E.
Video = a screen recording showing the task being completed
Training Description File = Word document containing written steps to complete the task + her notes about the task, perhaps including answers to previously asked questions.
Each link is live and takes her directly to either the video or the Word document for that specific task.
On the back end, storing these videos and Word documents does not need to be fancy. In our Training Resources folder, we simply have a sub-folder for each Software/Company listed in Column A. From the screenshot above, we have a sub-folder for Quickbooks and Black Diamond. Then inside the QuickBooks folder, we have a subfolder for the Bookkeeping activity where the Video and Training Description Word document live. Inside the Black Diamond folder, there are subfolders for the three tasks listed in the screenshot.
Simple but organized. As the person delegating tasks, I am responsible for keeping the Instructions Database clean. In theory, Veronica should never have to search through these folders as everything should be accessed through a link either in the Training Resources Master Spreadsheet or a Task Template/Workflow (Third Component below).
Third Component: Linking to the Database in Task Templates and Workflows
As discussed last week, each and every one of the items in the Training Resources Master Spreadsheet is built as a Task Template or Workflow inside our CRM, Quivr. Each Task Template and each individual task inside a workflow allow you to write the steps for completing that specific task. Included in our steps is a link to the Video and Training Description Word document.
If I launch the Task Template to reset a client’s Black Diamond password, the Task Template will automatically be assigned to Veronica and within the task, she will be one click away from a video showing her how to complete the task and a written document detailing the steps to complete the task with any notes she has added that pertains to this specific task.
Such simplicity ensures adoption and eliminates redundant or repetitive questions.
Next week, I’ll share what I like and don’t like about our process, perhaps also covering a few FAQs I’ve received on my system and mistakes I made early on that could have easily been prevented.
Until next week,
Steve
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What’s Quivr?
I’ve received quite a few questions about Quivr since launching this blog. As promised in the first few posts, I strive to make this content applicable and valuable to all readers regardless of your tech stack. But Quivr is a real thing and a real community. Our mission is to be the CRM built for the small but mighty financial planner that does real financial planning. Below are a few key features and how to learn more if you desire.
Access to the Quivr Community where we discuss all things operations and host weekly Office Hours to assist with implementing efficiencies in your practice. I’m an open book about my practice and so are the other community members. A rising tide lifts all boats.
Workflow Engine to create multi-person, multi-role processes natively in your CRM prepackaged with 30+ workflows that my firm uses
Task Template builder to create simple, repeatable tasks in an instant prepackaged with 25+ prepacked Task Templates that my firm uses
35+ client-friendly, compliance-approved reports summarizing specific financial planning data
Meeting Module that decreases meeting prep to five minutes
Store, retrieve, and report on all financial planning data
Schedule a demo to see Quivr live.
