Building Effective Training for a Customized Archer Environment
One of Archer’s greatest strengths is its flexibility. Organizations can tailor the platform to fit their unique processes by adding, removing, and modifying functionality as needed. The result is a solution that feels purpose-built for your team—but it also means your Archer environment may look very different from the out-of-the-box experience shown in Archer Academy labs and training courses.
Because of this, we’re often asked: How do you effectively train new users on a heavily customized Archer implementation?
While every organization is different, the recommendations below can serve as a starting point for creating training that is relevant, engaging, and easy for your users to adopt.
Start with Your Audience
Before creating any training materials, take time to consider what your users really need to know.
Your Archer environment may include sophisticated features such as:
- Data feeds
- Calculations
- APIs
- Integrations
- Automated processes running behind the scenes
While these capabilities are important, they typically aren’t the best place to begin with new users. Many users may be seeing Archer for the first time, and their primary concern is understanding how to perform their day-to-day tasks.
Your training should focus on helping users see how Archer can simplify their work and replace cumbersome spreadsheets or manual processes.
At a minimum, users should leave training understanding:
- How to access Archer
- Core Archer skills, including navigation and record management
- Their responsibilities within Archer, based on their role in the process being demonstrated
General Archer Skills Training
Most Archer users benefit from learning a common set of foundational skills, including:
- Navigating the platform
- Editing and saving records
- Searching for information
- Running and interacting with reports
- Understanding dashboards and charts
For example, many users won't realize they can click on a chart to view the underlying data unless someone shows them.
Use Existing Learning Resources
For foundational training, consider leveraging our free Getting Started with Archer course. Users can create an account and begin with the following resource:
Additional Archer Academy courses may also help users become comfortable with your customized environment more quickly.
Create Training Using Your Own Environment
Some organizations prefer to create training that reflects their actual Archer instance, including custom applications, terminology, and branding.
You don't need specialized video software to do this. A simple screen recording created in Teams or Zoom can be highly effective. Walk through the tasks users will perform and explain the process as you demonstrate it.
For inspiration, log in to the learning portal:
Search the course catalog for:
- Getting Started with Archer
- Archer Solutions & Use Case Overviews
- Archer Design Best Practices
Feel free to adapt ideas, terminology, and structure from our training catalog and Help documentation, then enhance them with screenshots and demonstrations from your own Archer environment.
Create Process-Specific Training
Once users understand the basics, the next step is helping them complete the specific tasks and workflows that are part of their role.
Keep Videos Short and Focused
Shorter videos are often easier to consume and maintain than lengthy training sessions.
Benefits include:
- Faster learning for users
- Easier updates when configurations change
- More targeted content for specific audiences
Leverage Workflow Documentation
If you have workflow diagrams or swim lane diagrams, provide them as reference materials so users can see the complete process at a glance.
Then create short videos that demonstrate individual steps or groups of related tasks.
To improve usability:
- Give videos clear, descriptive names
- Include step numbers when appropriate
- Organize content by role or workflow stage
This makes it easy for users to quickly locate the training they need.
Choose the Right Training Location
The best place to host training is wherever users already go to find information.
Common options include:
- Your organization's learning management system (LMS)
- A shared documentation repository
- A company intranet
- Archer itself
- Shared drives or knowledge bases
The key is consistency. Avoid introducing a new location that users must remember to visit.
Once training is available:
- Send targeted communications to relevant user groups
- Share direct links to training materials
- Consider lunch-and-learn sessions to introduce new resources and answer questions
Plan for Ongoing Maintenance
Training shouldn't be treated as a one-time project.
As your Archer implementation evolves, your training materials will need to evolve as well.
Make Updates Easy
Short videos are easier to replace when functionality changes. If you have longer, process-focused videos, consider creating brief supplemental recordings that highlight only what's changed.
Many organizations find it helpful to treat these updates like release notes for end users.
For inspiration, take a look at our:
What We've Seen Work Well
Organizations that successfully train Archer users typically take a two-part approach:
1. General Training for Everyone
This training covers foundational skills such as:
- Logging in
- Navigating applications
- Searching for records
- Viewing reports
- Basic system usage
Some organizations direct users to our free introductory course, while others create a customized version using their own Archer environment.
2. Role-Based or Workflow-Specific Training
These shorter demonstrations focus on the tasks users perform most often.
They're especially valuable for users who need to learn one or two specific activities and don't have time to watch a lengthy end-to-end process overview.
That said, some audiences do benefit from seeing the complete workflow from start to finish. In those cases, consider providing:
- A full process walkthrough
- Time stamps or chapter markers
- Links to related task-specific videos
This allows users to choose the level of detail that best meets their needs.
Share What Works
Have you developed training for your Archer users? We'd love to hear about your experiences—what worked well, what challenges you encountered, and what lessons you learned along the way.
The more we share ideas and best practices, the easier it becomes for everyone to build effective, user-friendly training programs.
All the best,
Megan
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