5 min read
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down and speaking with Contract Specialist Ben Brittain, M.Ed. of Maverick Solutions about the value of the Conga Learning Pass and earning accreditations.
As an employee of a TaaS company, Ben discusses the importance of the Conga Learning Center, what motivated him to get an accreditation, and the different ways he applied the training.
If Ben isn’t at work, he loves taking a quick weekend trip to Wilmington, NC. The sun, sand, and beachy vibes just get to him.
Let’s hear what he had to say about his Conga Contracts End-User Accreditation journey.
Q: How did you become aware of the Conga Learning Center?
A: The Conga Learning Center was mentioned as a resource during one of our onboarding sessions. Maverick is a training organization, that's what we do, that's our bread and butter. My background is in education and I’m all about making sure that we are prepared for our go-lives. So, I was immediately interested in what Conga had to offer. That's when I went in there and scoped it out.
Q: As you navigated the Conga Learning Center, what motivated you to get an accreditation?
A: There are two pieces to that. One piece was the idea that you can get a badge and post it on your LinkedIn page. I thought, maybe if I pursue further accreditations beyond just the standard, I'll throw it up there, as well.
But the primary driver, I think, was the idea that there was a designated learning path for getting someone up to speed in a particular subject area within Conga. For someone like me who has zero experience with contract management solutions, and zero experience with Salesforce—that sounded like it’d be a problem. But, because Conga is deeply involved with both of those things, this accreditation was exactly what someone like me needed to not only get more than just this conceptualization, but really understand what Conga does, how I can interact with the solution, and how I can use it.
I completed the basic course. Now I can see exactly what Conga Contracts looks like after navigating it on my own, as opposed to just a demo I’m listening to that some expert user whizzes through. What drove me was the idea that I can get hands-on training and by the time I finish the learning path, I will have gained a deeper understanding of the product. This would empower me and would also empower the folks with whom I work with because now I’ll have a deeper knowledge that I can share.
Q: How will you apply the training to product usage? Or was there something in that training that you saw that you've been able to apply to daily tasks?
A: I've been able to use it mentally if that makes sense. For example, I can now visualize in terms of implementation. We’re talking to our implementation team about how we're going to build this full contract solution out to make it work for us.
Not having any experience with Salesforce or Conga, it could have been hard to answer some of their questions. But by doing this accreditation process, even before we go live with the product, I have something that helps me understand and explain it to them. For example, “This button is going to launch a contract,” or “we are going to filter through contracts on this page.” When they have questions, I can say, “Well, here's what that actually looks like.”
Q: The Conga Learning Center offers different opportunities to learn such as a tips and tricks channel with short videos, formal interactive courses, and webinars that are posted on the Conga Customer Community. Do you have a favorite way that you enjoy learning?
A: Well, research tells us that experiential education is the number one way to learn, as long as you have a solid foundation of what you're getting into. So, do I have a favorite? Yeah, I mean to a degree. I think it's hands-on, and the simulation desk is the most favorable to me.
I also like to be able to watch quick videos. The diversification of all those pieces coming together is what makes that platform work. If you offered just one—videos, simulations, or reading articles—it may be a problem. It's the combination that makes it a good opportunity.
Q: How did you carve out time to commit to this training?
A: I work for an organization that values employee development and growth, so I can simply carve out time in my day. I just have to make it a priority. And it’s important for me to use the training because we’ve invested in this product.
I also look at it from a leadership standpoint. I'm the project owner of this implementation and I’m going to be the system admin, so it's my responsibility to make sure I’m empowered, and that I can empower the people that I’m exposing this product to. I have to make sure that everyone else is going to be successful.
Q: Do you have any advice for any of our other Conga customers that are looking for training or accreditations, or how they can ensure that they can be as successful as possible?
A: Step one is to just do it because getting started is always the hardest part about committing. I think what's nice about this platform is that there are different accreditations available at different levels and learning paths—it’s not a forced path.
My advice—don’t get discouraged by thinking that you may be stuck following a prescribed course right from the start. If I were a more advanced user and knew specifics about a particular subset of items, there’s a learning path and accreditation for that. On the other hand, if you're a less advanced user, you're not going to be thrown to the wolves and won’t be in over your head.
Just stick with it, find what's right for your needs, and do it. Don't feel like you have to do it all at once, find the accreditation that makes sense at that moment.
Want to learn more about the Conga Learning Pass? Check out our Training page.
