Tech Ed Success Strategies: A menu of approaches to keep members in the know

by Carolyn Schwaar

If you haven’t seen a full classroom of members at your technology sessions since you switched your MLS software, here are some success stories that may help turn that around.

Although members often indicate on surveys that they want tech training, experience shows that the majority also want it free and rarely on the day it’s being offered. When it comes to learning about technology, some members boldly charge forward, some participate unenthusiastically, and some have to be dragged kicking and screaming. Luckily, you can take a variety of approaches to keep your members tech savvy.

Northern Virginia’s Traveling Techie
The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® (6,330 members) offers a comprehensive schedule of one-day computer classes on the basics of e-mail and the Internet, as well as two-hour classes on Microsoft Word, Outlook, and other popular applications. But the association’s most valued technology training takes place at its brokers’ offices.

NVAR’s technology services coordinator Tom Nuzum wasn’t satisfied with the number of students attending the association’s in-house classes, despite his best efforts to attract them, including postcard mailings and other promotions. So he asked a few members what kind of technology training they wanted. They wanted Nuzum to train them at their offices.

That was enough for Nuzum and his colleagues to hear. “We decided that it was a better use of his time to go out to offices and do demonstrations,” than to hold classes few attend, says Anne Gardner, the association’s education director.

Nuzum now spends two days a week in the field, not only teaching computer skills, but also troubleshooting technology and showing offices how to optimize and network their PCs. “It’s almost magical, what started to happen,” says Gardner about the traveling training. “Nuzum started with one presentation, and the next thing we know, he was spending the whole day at member offices.”

Nuzman’s first on-site consultation with an office is free for the first five people. Above that, there’s a $20-per-hour fee so that the association can cover expenses. “The consulting is still far cheaper than any other technology support a broker could get,” says Gardner.

Sometimes the program also works in reverse: when an entire office needs training, Nuzum encourages the staff to come to the association’s computer lab for a custom class.

Nuzum also conducts spot office visits to see if brokers need any tech services such as training, trouble shooting, or upgrades. “NVAR’s technology outreach program is the best thing we could possibly do for members right now,” says Gardner. “They just love it.”

Dayton Covers All the Bases
To ensure that its technology classes deliver the instruction members want, the Dayton Area Board of Realtors®, Ohio, (2,300 members) always asks members for feedback, listens to their requests, and collects student evaluations for every class.

Dayton knows which classes members want and delivers them. The most attended technology classes currently are those about digital cameras and PDAs, such as Palms, says Nicholas Popadyn Jr., the board’s director of professional development. And as with all of its classes, the board works to get them approved for Ohio continuing education credit.

Popadyn attributes the success of his technology program to an up-to-date computer lab, MLS training, classes on the most popular software (Word, Publisher, and Powerpoint) and real estate-specific software (Top Producer). Because of the program’s popularity and member demand, Dayton held over 150 computer classes and another 70 classes on using the MLS last year alone.
“We promote the heck out of the classes through newsletters, billing stuffers, faxes, blast e-mail, and on our Web site,” he says. Clear and detailed class descriptions also help members determine if a class is too basic or too advanced for their skills.

Member feedback, research, and trial and error has helped the association determine ideal class length, frequency, and cost. The association keeps classes short (three hours or less) and affordable (from $20 to $50) and hires the most motivated instructors, says Popadyn.

The association’s most basic classes, including how to use e-mail, how to use the Internet, and an introductory class for first-time computer users, are all offered frequently.

Missouri Delivers Tech Ed Via E-mail
Although two-thirds of association members in Missouri have e-mail, most don’t use it effectively, says Terry Murphy, education director at the Missouri Association of Realtors® (18,122 members). That’s why MAR created a custom technology tutorial on using e-mail and the Internet for its Graduate Realtor® Institute (GRI) designation program.

Offered twice a year, eGRI is taught live, electronically. The instructor e-mails information, assignments, and deadlines to students who respond via e-mail, eliminating the need for complicated, expensive distance-learning software. “Students can e-mail the instructor with questions at any time,” says Murphy.

Richard Mendenhall, National Association of Realtors® 2001 past president and a Missouri GRI instructor, wrote the course, which guides students through a variety of tasks, such as creating an e-mail attachment, conducting an Internet search, and creating electronic postcards.

More than 300 students have completed the course so far, and Murphy anticipates that the association will need to offer the grads additional advanced training in the future.

Idaho’s Technology GRI Component
The Idaho Association of Realtors® (4,278 members) offers its GRI students a full day of technology training, with an emphasis on using PDAs effectively, using the Internet to market successfully, and using technology to reach clients.

The association brings in instructors from independent education companies such as Matthew Ferrara Seminars. “The best way to ensure attendance is to make sure the instructor focuses on topics that the students really need,” says Shelby Kerns, Idaho’s education specialist. She says members are responding positively to the quality of the GRI instructors.

North Metro’s Custom Computer Lab
The North Metro Realtors® Association, in Coon Rapids, Minn., (1,000 members) recently purchased seven computers to create a learning lab for members. To keep class costs low for members and still cover expenses, North Metro shares the cost of hiring instructors with a neighboring association. Both associations market the classes to their members and offer the same low price.

Classes are kept small -- two to a computer -- so members can ask questions and interact with the instructors, says Tracey Douglas, the association’s EVP.

North Metro offers beginner MLS classes on inputting listings, and recently added courses on the Internet and digital cameras. “The program got off to a slow start, but it has really gone well the last two months,” says Douglas. “We’ll review the arrangement after the first year to see if we need to adjust it. But so far member reaction has been very positive.”

North Shore’s Low-Budget Tech Ed
Computer labs, software, upgrades to hardware and software, and instructors can be financially out of reach for many associations. But that doesn’t mean associations can’t offer their members top-notch technology training.

Linda Skory, rce, ltg, the EVP of the North Shore Association of Realtors®, Danvers, Mass., (1,127 members) says associations that don’t have their own computer lab should hire instructors who bring their own laptops. “Many good instructors prefer to teach with their own equipment anyway,” she says. Another cost-saving approach is to partner with a local college, chamber of commerce, computer school, or store, such as Gateway, that offers classes.

According to association education directors, the most popular technology classes among members cover:
1. Personal digital assistants
2. MLS data entry
3. Personal Internet marketing
4. Digital cameras
5. Using e-mail