Relias interviewed Information Systems — EMR Clinical and Training Coordinator Leslie Cohn with Family Service of Rhode Island in Providence, RI.
Established in 1892, it is one of the oldest and largest nonprofit human service agencies in Rhode Island.
Q. Why Relias?
A. “As many companies are experiencing, turnover is on the high end. With as many as 25 new hires in a month it is extremely difficult time wise to keep up with all the competencies for new hires and get real time statistics on the results. We needed a system that was compliant and consistent-the whole deal.”
Q. How are you using Relias today?
A. When we started with Relias, we used it for new hires and new orientations. Our CFO said, “I want to take advantage of everything Relias has to offer.” So he spoke to Human Resources about enhancing our usage. Human Resources has begun to use it for licensing, we use it for reporting, and we are using it to import our live training. For example, if we have someone come in for guest speaking, we would record the session and import the video into Relias.
“Human Resources has begun to use [Relias] for licensing, we use it for reporting, and we are using it to import our live training.”
Q. Did you find support from Relias to assist with your CFO’s request?
A. When my CFO says, “I want to take advantage of everything Relias has to offer,” I took that literally. I’m a QA person, that’s what we do. I started taking some tutorials because I’m kind of a visual learner and it led me into discovering Relias Connect, the social community for Relias customers. In the community, I started using the health & human services group page and the course developer group page—I just read everything I could possibly read. It didn’t really take a long time before I started asking some questions, got some great answers, and found that there wasn’t much of a learning curve. One of the best ways to learn is learning through others, and that’s what the community is all about. I think the community is amazing! Also, there’s not just one support consultant, there’s many—there is unconditional support.
Q. You mentioned live training, do you practice a blended approach to training?
A. I like to have face-to-face training, but there are going to be some people who are overwhelmed and they’re not going to hear everything. We might provide face-to-face training throughout the month, but we always upload a follow up to Relias either in the form of a video or FAQ document. If the FAQ’s are on Relias, they’re more apt to go there, so we’re starting to do that more and more. Whatever I do with my training, I try and partner it up with Relias so if there’s something ancillary to what I’m doing people don’t need to depend on me but can depend on themselves to go on Relias and learn the material.
We do some training on ethics and some from the state. We tend to tape it or take the PowerPoint and put it on Relias so that people who couldn’t come or people who did, but need a refresher, can go online and have access. It also helps with our efforts to go paperless. We also use Relias for attendance tracking so folks can get credit for going through the live training.
Q. Can you elaborate on uploading your custom training into Relias?
A. Yes, I put everything we do in Relias. When I create a course, it goes in Relias. We’re using Relias as much as possible and moving toward helping our employees become as independent on the job as possible. I recently just put out a test on the new EMR system we use, but first I had to tell my staff how to use and navigate the EMR. So I made a short PowerPoint on how to use the EMR and put it in Relias. It’s easier than reading an email with instructions, and lets us point everything out consistently and easily. I really think the formality of Relias and e-learning is much better than email because some people are going to avoid those. I had very few phone calls the first day after rolling out EMR training to over 130 employees.
“When I create a course, it goes in Relias. We’re using Relias as much as possible and moving toward helping our employees become as independent on the job as possible”
You can put your whole orientation on there, and we’re very interested in learning more about the new tool, Policies and Procedures—I know HR is going to love that. I also added two of our handbooks and our IT policy manual is already in Relias, and we’re tracking who has read it.
Q. What would you say to someone who isn’t using online learning?
A. First of all, it saves a lot of time—you no longer have to attend a training for a full day, where you lose an employee for that full day. There is also more accountability, having an exam at the end ensures they learn the material. You never get anything back from a face-toface course to let you know they have retained the information.
I like that the training is self-paced and can be paused, so if you have something come up you can go take care of it and come back. I like the fact that in an emergency, you can come back. It’s very flexible. It’s compliant, saves time, and stress.
“I find it’s saving money and time because we don’t have to pay to send people out to an off-site training when you can have them do it here in Relias.”
When you have your whole organization on it, you can save money. I find it’s saving money and time because we don’t have to pay to send people out to an off-site training when you can have them do it here in Relias
Q. What’s next?
A. What I want to do now is sit down with trainers and managers and figure out how we can save even more money with Relias. I personally have gotten so much out of it. It always makes me feel good if I help someone or they help me, I like to teach, I like to learn. It’s what I do, it keeps me young.
