Jennifer's Jargon re: User Groups

Friends, 

Just had a conversation today with a client re: User Groups...  Am a huge fan of the concept -- the formal Blackbaud regional User Groups are fantastic networking opportunities, as well as the chance to hear news about what's new and what's coming down the pike.

Even more important (IMHO) are internal User Groups -- meaning you and your colleagues get together regularly to chat re: how folks are using The Raiser's Edge to fulfill roles and meet organizational goals.  As a client, I had standing monthly RE User Group Meetings.  Each month we'd look at each other and think, "Do we really have anything to talk about?" and next thing you knew it was 1.5 hours later and we had discovered 5 new tips & tricks, uncovered a hidden process flaw and had a good laugh about it.  It really helps to keep all users on a parallel track, identifies future power users and allows everyone to feels empowered to "own" and become experts on their piece of the system.  Also welcomes new users into the fold and provides a level of soft training.

If you're not already doing it -- consider it!  Maybe start with a light agenda over a brown bag lunch... Believe me, interesting conversations will quickly ensue -- everything from "What in the world does this attribute mean?" to "How can we empower our CEO to feel more connected to the daily stats?"  Have different folks take notes at each meeting and assign follow-up tasks (ie: creating a new query, searching Knowledgebase, contact Customer Support, etc.).  Personally, I've observed that clients that host regular internal User Groups are ultimately much more successful, satisfied and retain qualified RE users longer than those who don't.

 Until next time...  :)

Jennifer