By Matt Kleski
Matt Kleski
Ohio State Office Specialist, MIDAS Change Agent, MIDAS Super User
Farm Service Agency
The MIDAS Change Workshop was presented in Ohio via LiveMeeting and Conference call for employees located in the county offices, and by live presentation to the state office staff. The workshop was presented twice in a statewide format on Jan. 8 and Jan. 10, 2013. All employees who expect to complete the end-user training were encouraged to participate in the workshop.
In Ohio, employees were encouraged to complete the Foundational Learning sessions through USDA Connect, but in many cases the Change Workshop provided the first avenue to see some of the functionality of MIDAS and ask direct questions about the system. Throughout the two sessions approximately 240 employees across Ohio participated in the workshop.
One of the obstacles present in any new system, not just MIDAS, is giving up a familiar system for a new system. In addressing this issue, the workshop provided a run-down of the common terms that will be used in the MIDAS environment. This was an important component of the workshop in order to prepare employees with the knowledge of terms they will be introduced to in further detail at their end-user training. With this approach, the workshop ensured that employees wouldn’t be starting from scratch learning the terminology and functionality of the system all at the same time.
The workshop also highlighted an introduction and sample screens of business partner, product master and workflow functions. An introduction to business roles and security roles, along with the distinguishing characteristics of the two was also included in the sessions.
In evaluating comments that came from the sessions, employees enjoyed being able to see what the system may look like and how multiple daily functions will be compacted into one operating system. This was the first time that many employees saw how office functions like viewing a business partner, or completing a farm reconstitution would potentially flow in MIDAS. While “change” can mean many things to many people, in the case of MIDAS it is moving the agency forward. This workshop began to bridge the gap between the unknown and unfamiliar with what will one day be the familiar and routine daily operations.
