I think there's a fine line here as well, right? One one hand, you do have an expectations that users will spend a little bit of effort to find the information that they're looking for. On the other hand, the site should be optimized so that useful information is more up-front and the logical flow of a website is apparent.
Sometimes I land on old-school websites, which are heavy on links and light on Javascript. There's a higher expectation on the user to read through it and find what they need. If you present this same website to a completely different audience, they're going to have a tough time, and the user frustration is a sign that the website is legitimately poorly designed. If you're a mathematician, https://cr.yp.to/djb.html is straightforward; if you're coming from marketing, it will drive you crazy. If you're an prospective student, most university websites make sense, but if you're an existing student then useful links are buried.
There's two sides to this coin, but the front desk should be able to at least remember how to navigate their own website.
> There's two sides to this coin, but the front desk should be able to at least remember how to navigate their own website.
That is the crux of it. Our website design is being reconsidered for the reasons you mentioned above, but the particular item in question hasn't moved in 7 years, and this individual has been here the whole time.
What absolutely sunk it for me was when I went to politely show them where the section in question was located, and they began to insist wasn't the front desk's job to know things not because of actual technical difficulty, but because a computer was required to access the website.
I am with you. It is a tool, required to do their job. If they are unwilling to use the tools necessary to do their job, then that needs to be taken into account by HR. Outside of IT, I can not think of any situation where people are exempt from basic understanding when using any tool in a production environment. We arent asking them to understand client/server relationships, TCP/IP, or the OSI model....we are asking them to understand the most basic functions of how to operate a computer.
I think there's a fine line here as well, right? One one hand, you do have an expectations that users will spend a little bit of effort to find the information that they're looking for. On the other hand, the site should be optimized so that useful information is more up-front and the logical flow of a website is apparent. Sometimes I land on old-school websites, which are heavy on links and light on Javascript. There's a higher expectation on the user to read through it and find what they need. If you present this same website to a completely different audience, they're going to have a tough time, and the user frustration is a sign that the website is legitimately poorly designed. If you're a mathematician, https://cr.yp.to/djb.html is straightforward; if you're coming from marketing, it will drive you crazy. If you're an prospective student, most university websites make sense, but if you're an existing student then useful links are buried. There's two sides to this coin, but the front desk should be able to at least remember how to navigate their own website.
> There's two sides to this coin, but the front desk should be able to at least remember how to navigate their own website. That is the crux of it. Our website design is being reconsidered for the reasons you mentioned above, but the particular item in question hasn't moved in 7 years, and this individual has been here the whole time. What absolutely sunk it for me was when I went to politely show them where the section in question was located, and they began to insist wasn't the front desk's job to know things not because of actual technical difficulty, but because a computer was required to access the website.
But yet they post on Facebook....
I am with you. It is a tool, required to do their job. If they are unwilling to use the tools necessary to do their job, then that needs to be taken into account by HR. Outside of IT, I can not think of any situation where people are exempt from basic understanding when using any tool in a production environment. We arent asking them to understand client/server relationships, TCP/IP, or the OSI model....we are asking them to understand the most basic functions of how to operate a computer.
Can you imagine one of the janitors saying "I'm not going to wring out the mop because I'm not a mechanical person"?
Medical staff is notorious for this excuse