Last Updated: January 26, 2000
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On copy editing
To avoid being trampled by technology, just remember
these three things: training, training and training
As technology has stomped through your newsroom, what footprints has
it left behind? And how many of them are on the backs of your staff?
In our zeal for the latest electronic wizardry, we sometimes lose sight
of a fundamental truth: Technology does not solve problems, people do.
To be sure, they may use technology in the process, but people, not machines,
are the key component every time.
Similarly, we tend to view the cost of technology only in terms of hard
assets that can be depreciated. But every change in technology carries
a human cost. And we are wise to be mindful of that, or we may find that
our employees’ productivity and morale is depreciating as well, along with
the quality and credibility of our product.
Implementing change
Before you decide to implement a technological change, determine whether
it will truly move your operation forward. Make sure you’re buying new
tools, not new toys. The best way to make this determination is to ask
the people who will use the tools.
Newsroom employees of every stripe should be included in every step
of the process, including buying decisions and the design of hardware and
software. A leading provider of new pagination systems not only suggests
such involvement but requires it. Why? Because they know that their success
depends on it.
Once you’ve decided to move forward with a technological change, consider
its impact on your newsroom work processes. Take advantage of the opportunity
to reconsider and reinvent how you do things. Trying to make new technology
fit into a traditional newsroom structure is like trying to put a square
peg into a round hole: It’s just not a good fit.
We may be hesitant to consider sweeping reorganization at a time like
this, thinking that we need to soften the blow of implementing a new technology
by changing as few other things as possible. This concern is laudable but
misguided.
The change is going to be difficult no matter what you do. Why not go
for broke? Send a signal to your employees that you are committed to moving
your newspaper forward, and that this change is one way to do it. Grumbling
aside, your people will be right there with you.
The right tools
Remember that no employee can perform at his or her best unless he or
she is given the tools to do the job right.
Again, we tend to think of tools in terms of the beige boxes on our
desktops, along with the unseen servers and software that make them run.
But the most important tool that we can provide our people is knowledge.
And our failure to provide adequate knowledge is the fundamental cause
of most of our “technological” problems. We simply do not train our people
thoroughly enough to give them mastery over their machines.
Is it costly and time-consuming and disruptive to provide extensive
training? Certainly. Does it pay off in the long run? Absolutely.
We all know the dilemma: While we’re installing the new system, we still
have to put the paper out every day. We’re short-staffed as it is, so how
can we afford to cut people loose for hours and hours of training?
In response, we tend to provide minimal training — just enough so that
we can get by — and then only at the time of system implementation. The
trainers leave, and never come back with reinforcement. When we hire a
new employee, it’s sink or swim. The result is a permanent reduction in
efficiency and a real drag on morale.
Realistic training
The answer: Do whatever it takes to train your people thoroughly when
your system is implemented. Bring in contractors to fill in for those being
trained. Temporarily shift duties from one department to another.
And be realistic about the learning curve. Remember when you learned
your multiplication tables? Did you have them down pat the first time?
The moment when you think you’ve given your people enough training is the
right moment to give them some more.
Make your training program ongoing. Don’t rely solely on outside trainers.
Provide intensive instruction to some members of your staff, thereby creating
your own in-house experts. These “super users” will be able to help others
learn every day, and provide training to the new employees who come on
board after the outside trainers are long gone. Offer refresher courses
periodically.
Finally, don’t pine for the past. The paste pot is gone, and it’s never
coming back. Our new machines can make our newspapers and our working lives
better, as long as we show them who’s boss.
Hank Glamann is news editor of the Houston Chronicle and a member
of the ACES executive committee.
