John Gaughan of Crystal Lake, IL never thought he would be on board when his supervisors told him that he would use a computer to help train living, breathing employees. He comes from a time when a person shadowed you while you worked or took over your duties until he or she “got the hang of it.” Now, he is talking to people about logging on to a website, following prompts, and answering questionnaires. When they are finished learning those tasks, they are trained to do the job.

“I’m glad that I did not shy away from this use of technology and web-based program. If I did, I would be archaic – and probably out of a job,” laughs John Gaughan of Crystal Lake, IL. He is not necessarily a whiz with technology but the system was easy enough to get accustomed to using. Also, he realized it was a priority that he learn the system through and through, so that the new employees would be able to come to him with questions.

Luckily, John Gaughan of Crystal Lake, IL caught on quickly and was able to get his company’s new employees up and running in no time. “He is a team player, a leader and is so versatile in everything he does. We would not be as successful as we are today if it was not for his work ethic and determination,” adds his supervisor of many years. Many of the people the company is now hiring are quite comfortable with the constant use of technology and online databases. They tend to be younger and have truly grown up in this era.

Still, one thing he always reminds people is that while the online training seems to cover just about every scenario humanly possible, there is almost always something missing. The interactions between the humans that need to work together and the clients they need to serve is never something you can automate. John Gaughan of Crystal Lake, IL still trains his employees on the floor for that real, personal experience. “It is amazing, though, how much we are able to accomplish on a computer in this day in age,” says John Gaughan of Crystal Lake, IL.