We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make up the Milky Way Galaxy which is one of billions of other galaxies which make up a universe...
Over time, I get the same requests over and over again from people. Some of these requests turn into TechHelp videos, and some turn into seminars. I spend more time on things based on the number of people that are interested in them and how many times I see the same emails coming in.
Well, one of those new topics is employee training. I get lots of emails and people who are looking for a database to track employee training, and you'd think it wouldn't be that hard. But the more I read into it, the more there are all kinds of different things you can do. Variations include what kind of training it is - procedures, security, customer service, new employee onboarding. And of those course types, how many lessons are involved? Is it self-paced training or instructor-led? What's the schedule? What are the requirements? Are there prerequisites? Who's the instructor?
That's all kinds of different information. I think this would make a great database. I see some really good paid services online that do this, but of course, one of the benefits of having Microsoft Access in a small business is being able to build something yourself.
So my question to all of you is: who is interested in seeing me build a database on tracking employee training? And secondly, what features would you like to see added? Post your comments down below. When I get back from my current trip, I'm going to start building something like this. It will probably start off as a TechHelp series to build the basics. If there's enough interest, then I will continue with the seminar to add all the cool advanced stuff. Let me know what your thoughts are.
Thomas Gonder
@Reply 2 years ago
I surprised there isn't an Access template for this already.
There are a couple. None of them are great. But my goal is to teach people HOW to build it... not to just use something someone else has already built. :)
Sami Shamma
@Reply 2 years ago
I would be interested in how you will handle the complexity of all the information needed to be gathered.
I would be very interested in the following as it is something I need to add to one of my biggest apps:
Individuals sign up for a course that will run over several sessions.
The system generates a roster for that course for every day a session is held.
Using a barcode scanner, I would like to take attendance by scanning the barcodes on their IDs as they attend each session.
Then download the scanned IDs from the scanner into Access and assign it to that course-specific session.
Kevin Robertson
@Reply 2 years ago
I asked ChatGPT for some suggestions. The image below details my favourite 6 suggestions.
I am sure Adam will be a fan of number 6.
A method to provide feedback based on the training course(s) you took.
Kevin Yip
@Reply 2 years ago
I suspect the reason you've got many requests for this is that there are many such products like this out there. You have covered things like calendar, email and messaging, check registers, and such, and they were probably highly requested too, and that's because they are popular and often used features. The popularity and ubiquity of those products is why you often get asked to put those features on Access. No one would ask you to make an Access app for stamp collecting or embroidery organizing.
Below is my slightly OT rambling:
The common belief is that implementing those features on Access would have the added benefit of integrating one's in-house data with the features. But from my experience, it is often more practical to just use the existing product, and find ways to import/export data between it and your in-house database, instead of creating your own product that looks and works like the existing product.
For instance, if you like Google Calendar, you could either (a) try to create an Access app that works like Google Calendar, or (b) find ways to import/export data between Google Calendar and Access. The latter would usually be the easier route (though not without challenges, of course), at least based on my experience.
Of course, I don't object to anyone creating an Access app for employee training (which I imagine would be quite a daunting product to create in Access). It would be a good way for your students to learn Access, form design, VBA coding, for sure. But those who have an important business to run, and are concerned with how feasible and practical to do something like this, should consider just using an existing product and find ways to integrate your in-house data with it.
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