Technology equipment might be stand alone but it still needs people to start its functioning and to operate it. Therefore, election management bodies (EMBs) need to employ staff to look after their technology and to use the technology.
All users of electoral technology need training. This may include permanent staff, casual staff, consultants, contractors, voters, candidates, political parties or the media. The level of training required differs with the complexity of the technology as well as with the kind of user interaction.
Even after a user has been trained, there is a need for ongoing support since there may be occasions where a user requires further assistance.
Staffing
One of the technology staffing decisions facing an EMB is whether to use internal staff or external staff, such as contractors or outsourced suppliers. There are advantages and disadvantages to either course, and there might be a need to use a mix of both.
Where there is a need for full-time assistance to fulfil a technology related function, depending on locally applicable regulations, it is probably more cost-effective in the long-term to employ permanent staff. Besides the fact that external contractors tend to have a higher per-hour cost than permanent staff to compensate for lack of tenure and contract overheads, the acquired experience, institutional memory and knowledge is more easily lost.
However, where the need for technology related staff is intermittent, particularly during the implementation and training phase of technology use, it may be more cost-effective to use external contracted staff. Use of external staff for purposes with a limited life span avoids the need to find other employment for those staff when the project ends, or to pay severance.
Another advantage to using external staff, particularly for highly specialised functions, is that they are more likely to have the necessary expertise than in-house staff. This is most relevant when the technology under consideration is new to the EMB, and internal staff is unlikely to know how to deal with it. However, even with ongoing systems, external staff with an exposure to a wide range of clients and access to specialised training may be more effective than internal staff for specific work.
Conversely, an advantage of using internal staff, particularly for ongoing use of technology, is that internal staff is more likely to have a thorough understanding of the EMB's specialised systems and needs than external consultants would have. This is especially so where an EMB uses customised systems that are not in general use elsewhere.
When internal staff is used there is a risk of relying on a small number of individuals with the relevant knowledge. This can be dangerous, as all staff members move on eventually, by choice, accident or design. EMBs can take steps to ensure that the departure of key individuals do not place the operation of their technology at risk by requiring that they document their knowledge systematically so that others can operate the systems in their absence.
Another solution is to ensure that a range of staff, internal or external, are able to operate each system, so that individuals do not have a monopoly of knowledge about a system.
Since there are pros and cons to using either internal or external staff, most EMBs tend to employ a mix.
In summary, internal staff is best used on ongoing functions when there is a need to preserve institutional memory while external staff are best used for short-term tasks such as implementation and training, but they are also useful for specialised tasks requiring technical qualifications or wide experience.
An EMB might also need to employ a range of staff whose main purpose may not be to implement or operate technology, but who nevertheless may use technology every day in their occupation. Virtually all clerical and policy staff use technology on a daily basis although they are not technology specialists. In these cases, the decision to use internal or external staff depends on their main function, rather than on their technological skills. Nevertheless, as technology use becomes more prevalent, the technology skills of such staff are likely to become more relevant to their selection and ongoing employment.
Training
As mentioned above, users of technology may need to be trained. The level of training required depends on the complexity of the technology and the degree of interaction the user has with it. Training levels can range from obtaining university degrees and extensive hands-on experience to completing intensive course work or day-long courses.
Ideally, for the general user, technology is designed to be user-friendly and to require a minimal amount of training. This is particularly important where the technology is expected to be used by large numbers of people and for a short time. For example, an electronic voting system should be simple enough for any voter to use without the need for any external training. Similarly, any technology operated by large numbers of casual polling staff should be easy to use with minimal training.
Training casual staff
The training needs of casual staff such as polling officials are very different from the needs of permanent staff. Technology training has to be tailored to the limited tasks they perform, which can mean delivering training in a short, easily-digested form and recognizing that it may not be practical or cost-effective to deliver intensive, lengthy training. In this case, it is advisable to choose technology that is simple to use and requires little supervision so that minimal training will be needed.
Often technology training for casual staff is designed as a module in their overall training. If appropriate and possible, training materials, static or interactive, could also be delivered using software from a CD or over the Internet.
Training permanent “non-technical” staff
The majority of full-time or long-term electoral officials, those who perform clerical, administrative, operational, and supervisory and policy work often use technology such as word processors, spreadsheets and other office automation software tools in their daily work. In this case, technology is a tool to complete a task and some sort of formal training can help significantly to improve productivity and to extend the range of tasks that can be undertaken by “non-technical” staff.
In many countries, training companies provide training in most popular software applications. This is generally conducted in computer labs where trainees are each allocated a computer on which they follow structured hands-on programs, with a trainer leading the session. These training courses may typically run for a half day, a whole day or several days on a particular topic, depending on its complexity. Courses are usually provided at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels to cater to the ability and knowledge of the trainees.
Computer training course companies usually supply a manual and sometimes sample computer files on disk for the trainees to take with them after the course, so that the knowledge gained in the course can be reinforced and revisited by the trainee afterwards.
Another way of accessing training in how to use office automation software, particularly where face-to-face training is not readily available or practicable, is through self-learning training techniques, such as written manuals, videos, software training packages and Internet training packages.
Where large numbers of staff need to be trained in a particular technology, it may be cost-effective to employ one or more trainers to come on site and conduct the training in the workplace, using real-life systems and examples. This can be preferable to more generic training, as it can be tailored to the particular needs of the workplace, making the training more useful and relevant.
Modern office automation software often comes with built-in “help” functions and with intuitive interfaces such as buttons, menus and help wizards that enable users to operate the various systems with little formal training. In a sense, the training to use these systems is built into the systems themselves. Many staff, particularly those who are performing relatively straight-forward tasks, are able to use these systems with little or no formal training.
One way in which modern software assists this process is through the use of common standards and conventions across different programs, so that, once a process (such as the cut and paste function, for example) is learned in one application, the same process can be used across a range of applications without the need for further training. This feature is an aspect to be considered when software is being purchased—software that uses common standards across a range of applications is generally preferable to software that does not use consistent common standards.
However, while many users can operate their office software to an acceptable level of productivity with little or no formal training, there are many features of modern software applications that are not readily apparent without some training. For example, mail merges can save a great deal of effort if used effectively. To make the most of mail merge programs, it helps to understand how to link the documents to a source data such as relational databases and how to use variable fields in the merge document. Formal training can help explain the intricacies of these and similar processes, leading to increased productivity with reduced effort.
Another important aspect of technology training is that it should be an ongoing process, rather than a “set and forget” approach. Particularly because software is regularly upgraded with new capabilities, it is important to ensure that staff regularly refresh and update their skills through training. One way to achieve this is to include technology training in each staff member's training and development plan, with a commitment from the staff member and management that technology training will be regularly refreshed.
Training technical staff
Technical staff, including permanent staff and external contractors, need more intensive training to enable them to perform effectively. This may take the form of university or technical college qualifications, or specialised training for technicians.
Some companies provide accredited training courses to a recognised standard. These qualifications can be used as a guide as to the level of technical skill obtained by potential staff, and can be used by employers as a means of determining the suitability of applicants for technology jobs.
As with non-technical staff, technical staff should also keep their skills up-to-date by regularly undertaking further training to refresh their knowledge.
Since all training targets adults, it is worth considering that the methodologies have to be adapted to them with an emphasis on methodologies using participative techniques that have been found to be more effective.
Validating training
In order to ensure that time, effort and money invested in training is worthwhile, training should be validated. That is, any training program should be evaluated to ensure that it is meeting the identified needs and that it succeeds in raising productivity and delivers effective outcomes.
Care needs to be taken that technology training is appropriate to the needs of the trainee and the election management body as a whole and that it is relevant to the tasks to be undertaken by the trainee in his or her work. Since there might be a great variety of training programmes available it is important to choose those that can provide real benefits in the workplace.
Training can be validated a number of ways. One of the most important ways is to use performance measures to gauge the success of the process for which the training is being used. For example, measures of the success of training voters using an electronic voting system can include error rates, number of complaints from voters and number of requests for additional assistance; performance measures for in-house staff can include accuracy of voting results and speed with which election results are finalised.
Training should also be evaluated by the trainees. At the end of any formal training session, it is good practice for the trainer to provide the trainees with an evaluation questionnaire. This typically asks the trainee to rate a series of statements or questions about the training experience on a very good to very bad scale. This kind of evaluation lends itself to being computerised, so that results can be quickly amalgamated and analysed.
Training evaluation can be beneficial to both the trainer and the trainee. For the trainer, it gives valuable feedback about the effectiveness of the training session, from the perspective of the trainee. For the trainee, a good training evaluation will focus the trainee on how much he or she learned from the training and whether his or her training objectives were attained.
User support
After technology has been installed and users have been trained, there will still be a need for ongoing user support. There will be many occasions where a user will need assistance with a problem occurring during his work.
Typically, user support is supplied at several levels, depending on the complexity of the problem. Support can be provided internally, by staff on site, and externally, by contracted technical experts.
Internal user support
The first port of call for internal user support is usually a help desk facility. The help desk has at least a twofold purpose: to resolve any problems users have with the system and to help the users to employ the system more effectively.
Help desk staff can be either in-house staff or contracted external staff, but the help desk concept is best categorised as internal support as it is generally tailored to the needs of the particular organisation and familiar with its operations.
Many user requests for support from a help desk can be handled by phone. Users can be talked through solutions to problems. In more complex situations, depending on the structure of the computer system in use, where computers are networked, help desk staff or other technical staff may be able to fix problems remotely, from their own computers. In this case, off-site staff can manipulate software and systems used by local users and run diagnostics on their systems to identify faults. These kinds of support are less costly than support provided on site, as problems can be handled without help desk staff leaving their own locations.
However, some problems cannot be fixed remotely, and support staff will be required to provide on-site assistance. Where support staff is co-located with users, this may involve no more than a short stroll down a corridor. However, where support staff is not on site, particularly where an EMB has dispersed offices, provision of on-site support can be costly both in time and money. In this case, maximising the ability to handle problems remotely can help solve problems faster and more cheaply.
One way to maximise the ability to handle problems without on-site attendance by support staff is to train local users to handle common and/or minor problems themselves.
External user support
Depending on the level of internal user support available, for more complex problems, external user support may be required. External support is typically required when proprietary hardware or software needs to be serviced or repaired, or where problems are beyond the ability of internal support staff.
External support tends to be more expensive per hour than internal support. The time taken to respond to requests for external support can also be an issue. External support providers may not be available to fix problems when the EMB would like them fixed, as they have their own priorities. If external support is provided at urgent notice, this usually incurs additional cost.
One way to minimise the cost of external support and to maximise the chance of getting urgent assistance when it is needed is to negotiate a service level agreement (SLA) with an external support provider. Under an SLA, a service provider agrees to provide a guaranteed level of service for an agreed price. For example, different hourly rates can be agreed for responses to problems dependant on the level of urgency involved. In this way the EMB will know the cost of seeking urgent help compared to waiting a little longer, and can make a judgement about whether urgent assistance is really necessary, and whether it justifies the extra expense.
When hardware or software is being purchased, it may be possible to include a guaranteed level of external support in the purchase contract. Most items purchased will include a guarantee of some kind, at least covering quality of manufacture, and statutory provisions may require a minimum level of guarantee.
It is important to be aware of the items and services covered by any guarantee before a contract is signed. In addition to normal guarantees, it may also be possible to negotiate additional support guarantees as part of the purchase price, which may be cost-effective in the long run if ongoing support costs are consequently reduced.
